Veganism

CONSUMER INTELLIGENCE

FINAL REPORT

VEGANISM

SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION        3

CATEGORIES        4

MORAL RESPONSIBILITY        4

EMPATHY        4

CONDITIONS OF ANIMALS        4

RELIGION        5

ENVIRONMENT        5

FAMILY        6

INFLUENCE        7

HEALTH        8

KEEPING FIT AND LOSING WEIGHT        8

VEGAN IS HEALTHIER        9

GOOD SPIRIT AND LONGEVITY        10

DISCIPLINE        10

COST        11

PLACES AND FOOD HABITS        12

REASON FOR TURNING VEGAN/VEGETARIAN        12

EATING OUT        12

BRAND AWARENESS        13

TASTE        14

ADAPTATION        14

SUBSTITUTION FOR MEAT        14

ENJOYING COOKING        15

NUTRITIONAL BALANCE        16

SOCIAL LIFE        16

RESTAURANTS AND TAKE-OUT        16

PEOPLE AROUND        18

EDUCATION        19

MARKETING PERSPECTIVES        19

INTRODUCTION

Vegetarianism is a lifestyle that has been practiced since ancient times, but in the past decade there has been an increasing amount of people turning “green” and giving up on animal products.  The present report has for main objective understanding the behavior of the people who have decided to follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, in regarding of their motivations, beliefs, drivers and experiences, in order to identify marketing opportunities and innovative products or services for this market.

The subjects of the study are vegetarians as well vegans, and although their lifestyle and mindset is closely related, it’s important to state the difference between the two of them.  On one side, vegetarianism is the practice of abstention from consuming meat products, including red meat, poultry, seafood, and the flesh of any other animal.  On the other hand veganism takes it a step further, as they not only don’t eat meat, but also they don’t eat eggs, dairy products or other animal-derived substances, in addition, they don’t use animal products like leather, wool, silk and any product tested on animals.

The sample for the investigation is composed of 20 people, who were interviewed about their lifestyle, eating habits, daily routine and several other topics, in order to get the most possible amount of information.  The demographic of the sample is summarized in the table below, which shows a majority of women, in the age range of 20 to 29 years old, and an almost equal amount of students vs workers.

After analyzing the 20 interviews, we defined the 10 most relevant categories in which their conduct could be classified.  In the next pages we are going to describe each of the categories and subcategories, with verbatim extracts of the actual interviews to try and explain the mental process of the people questioned, and finally give some marketing perspectives about how the behavior of these particular consumers could be translated into commercial opportunities.

CATEGORIES

MORAL RESPONSIBILITY

The decision of becoming vegetarian or vegan is often related to a strong moral component, in which humans, as beings of superior intelligence and developed moral standards, have an obligation to act accordingly and protect animals’ lives.

• (Itw no. 14) “It is too cruel. At that time, you can see that the animals have the same emotion with human beings. It feels like that it is too hard-heated to destroy a life.”

EMPATHY

Empathy is a characteristic innate to humans, not only between them, but also towards all living things.  Vegetarians are especially empathetic to animals, often because they had pets, and they think that animals have feelings and emotions just like us humans, and that is inacceptable to take those innocent lives, only to fulfill our needs, when there are other options that don’t involve killing and cruelty for the animals.

• (Itw no. 1) “I raised a chicken, as a pet for 4 years. But it passed away at that time. I would say that was the fuse. About half a year after that incident, I suddenly felt that eating meat is such a cruel action towards animals and lives. That was the time when I decided to become a veggie.”
• (Itw no. 7) “I realized that each animal is a life...just like human being. Do you know that? They can smile, they can cry...they have the emotion just as that of human being. After that, I began to treat my dog as a human...I began to think that not only about my dog...every dog, any other animal. ”
• (Itw no. 10) “I always wanted to be vegan, in the sense that I didn't want to eat animals anymore. As a child, you have natural empathy for living beings and especially animals. You ask any kid "do you like animals?" they all say, yes right?”

CONDITIONS OF ANIMALS

Another aspect that has a major influence on the vegans are the conditions in which animals are raised and slaughtered.  There industry of large scale production of meat often provides poor conditions for the animals, like cramped spaces and cruel treatment.  Vegetarians are especially concerned about this situation, because they consider this treatment inhumane and a violation of animals’ rights.

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