As vegan business owners or entrepreneurs, we might think our target audience is clear: vegans. After all, the global vegan community is already a niche. But trying to reach all vegans is like trying to get everyone.
As vegans, we are a diverse group with varying interests, lifestyles, and motivations. Some are health-focused, others are passionate about animal rights, and others are primarily concerned with environmental impact. There are budget-conscious vegans, luxury-seeking vegans, athletic vegans, vegan parents… the list goes on.
This seems obvious but very easy and common to ignore completely.
By trying to appeal to all vegans, we risk diluting our message and blending in with every other vegan brand out there.
Here’s where the power of “ignoring everybody else” comes in – even within the vegan community. What if, instead of trying to reach every vegan, we focused on a specific small tribe?
For example:
- Vegan endurance athletes looking for high-performance, plant-based nutrition
- Eco-conscious vegans seeking zero-waste, everyday lifestyle products
- Vegan parents navigating plant-based nutrition for their children
- Newly transitioned vegans looking for familiar comfort foods
By narrowing our focus, we open up opportunities to:
- Speak directly to our chosen group’s unique needs and challenges
- Become the go-to expert for our specific vegan tribe
- Create products or services tailored to their very specific requirements, demographics, and, most importantly, psychographics
- Build deeper connections and loyalty within our chosen community
This approach isn’t about limiting our potential customer base. It’s about maximizing our impact and resonance within a specific group. We become not just another vegan brand, but THE solution for our chosen tribe. The one and only.
Yes, it might feel scary to “ignore” a large portion of the vegan market. But by trying to appeal to everyone, we risk appealing to no one. The most successful vegan brands aren’t those that try to cater to every vegan – they’re the ones that deeply understand and serve a specific segment of the community.
So here’s our challenge: dare to ignore most vegans. Find our small, specific tribe within the vegan community. Understand them deeply, and build ongoing empathy by interacting with them. Speak to them directly, then listen carefully, then repeat, and repeat, and repeat. Be the solution they’ve been searching for but haven’t found yet.
In a world where many vegan businesses are competing for the attention of all vegans, the real power lies in being something special to a chosen few. When we focus on what truly matters to our core audience, we don’t just make sales – we make a real difference in their lives.