When it comes to restaurants, there’s more to them beyond setting up a few tables and preparing a few food dishes. Today’s eaters are more in tune with their tastes and preferences than ever before, which is why more restaurants are catering to these unique needs. If you’ve ever wanted to expand your competitive advantage, think about niching down and catering to the vegan consumer.
Why Niche?
Buying a niche franchise might seem risky. After all, you’re actively weeding out potential buyers by not giving a certain demographic what they want. Still, in doing so, you’re expanding your appeal to a specific subset of people who are eager to consume what you serve up. But niche franchising isn’t all about narrowing the demographic you serve. There are more advantages to it too.
With a niche, you’re better able to form strong customer relationships because you’re serving a smaller amount of people. The better these relationships are, the easier it is to personalize your marketing efforts, and the more likely it is that you’ll get repeat business.
You’ll also reduce the amount of competition in the market. Instead of owning a burger joint in a sea of fast food restaurants, you’ll be able to easily differentiate yourself and thus increase your competitive advantage. That differentiation will make your customers more inclined to help spread the word about your business, and help you get the coveted word-of-mouth marketing that so many businesses strive to receive.
Why Vegan?
In 2004, milk consumption per capita in Canada was 85.6 liters. In 2017, that number fell to 66.68 liters. That’s a substantial decrease and one that signals a bigger trend—a lack of animal derived products altogether, otherwise known as veganism.
Veganism goes beyond the meat-free diets of vegetarians. This diet eliminates all animal-derived products, including dairy, eggs, and honey. Specifically, Millennials in Canada have started to lean toward calling themselves vegan. In December 2015, trailing Millennials (ages 18 to 24) represented an above average share of vegans in the country. With more vegans entering the market, now is as good of a time as any to consider opening up a niche restaurant that caters to this preferred diet.
Catering to This Diet
Operating a plant-based restaurant doesn’t mean that you need to be vegan yourself. It also doesn’t mean that you need to limit how you deliver your food to your customers. What it means is that you need to cater to your customer’s wants, no matter what kind of restaurant franchise you decide to open.
There aren’t many vegan-specific franchises out there, but that doesn’t mean that your restaurant franchise can’t do the job of catering to this specific diet preference. By cutting meat and animal-derived products from certain dishes, you can feed the growing population of vegans in Canada while also growing your profits.
Will You Niche?
Niche franchises are a great way to compete in today’s crowded marketplace. By following the trend toward veganism, you can set your business apart and attract a bigger following in your community.
Susan Guillory is the President of Egg Marketing & Communications, a marketing firm specializing in content writing and social media management. She’s written three business books, including How to Get More Customers With Press Releases, and frequently blogs about small business and marketing on sites including Forbes, AllBusiness, The Marketing Eggspert Blog, and Tweak Your Biz. Follow her on Twitter @eggmarketing.