Regular Kind: A nuanced challenge
Alex Berke and her team at MIT conducted a groundbreaking study that showed labeling a food item as vegetarian decreased the number of people who ordered it. It turns out, in similar circumstances, that people are more likely to choose the exact same item without that label.
This study may have led people to conclude that the term “vegan” is a loaded one. People like to eat food that is free of meat but avoid it when it is labeled with a specific subcategory.
Researchers have found that people are more likely to choose meat-free food when it is the default choice. By simply changing the default choice to “on request”, you can dramatically increase the number of people who choose the regular food.
But the truth is, if you want to reach a large audience, regular will be worth learning.
Marketers had to make commercials to convince people to eat spaghetti on Wednesdays, when Italian food was still considered novel. It was sold in the ethnic aisle. It didn’t matter what kind of spaghetti was served, just that it was accepted.
A better alternative would be to focus on the smallest possible audience, and create communities of connected people that can change the status-quo. Most people ignore the tiny symbols that are on packaged foods that indicate their kosher status, but a small group of people will closely inspect them and use them as a way to verify what they buy. If you can get a small group of people to pay attention to something the rest of the population doesn’t see, then it can change the way large producers treat everyone.
While organising a few can be helpful for those who are seeking to make a change, it creates a danger for a brand which is confident in its dominant position on the market. Leaders are those who make things happen, and seize opportunities. A brand that views itself as the “regular” kind will be relentless in its efforts to please everyone, and not offend anyone. They will, inevitably, fail to achieve this.
So, the creative destruction that results in a shift occurs. There’s been a shift in what is only available upon request, what’s on display, and what can be served at the large gathering.
