How to navigate a changing competitive landscape
You may have a product you believe in, a mission you care about, and a clear sense of who your customer is, but if you don’t understand the market you’re operating in, even the strongest ideas can falter.
For plant-based brands in particular, the landscape is changing rapidly and becoming increasingly crowded. This makes it even more essential to understand not just what you offer, but where you fit within the wider market.
In this fourth installment of our series on the importance of understanding marketing, we’ll explore how plant-based businesses can analyze their competitive environment, identify opportunities, and carve out a distinct and credible position, without relying on gimmicks or fads.
Know your market, not just your industry
One of the most useful distinctions in marketing is between industry and market. Your industry is defined by what you make, but your market is defined by the customer needs you meet. Understanding this difference is essential for finding your true competitive space.
You might manufacture oat milk, for example, but you’re not only competing with other oat milk brands. You’re competing with dairy, other plant-based drinks, and even with habits and routines that don’t include your product at all.
But finding your place in the market isn’t only about competitors, it’s also about understanding how customers perceive what you offer. As Peter Drucker – one of the most influential thinkers in modern business and management – famously put it: “The customer rarely buys what the company thinks it is selling.”1
Customers don’t just buy ingredients or technical benefits, they buy solutions, experiences, identity, and trust. So while you may think you’re selling a sustainable, healthy drink, your customers may be looking for comfort, convenience, or something that simply fits into their day.
Marketing success depends on bridging that gap between internal assumptions and external reality.
Market mapping: where do you sit?
A useful tool in understanding your place in the market is market mapping, plotting yourself against key axes such as price, quality, convenience, or innovation. This simple visual can help you see:
- Where the crowded spaces are
- Where your brand is positioned in the eyes of consumers
- Where unmet needs or ‘white spaces’ might exist
Too many brands cluster in the same position: ‘sustainable, healthy, plant-based, affordable.’ But if everyone is saying the same thing, no one is standing out. A market map can help you clarify how to differentiate credibly and meaningfully.
Your competition might not be who you think
In his influential book How Brands Grow, Byron Sharp – Professor of Marketing Science at the University of South Australia and Director of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute – argues that most brands compete with far more products than they realize.2
Your real competitors aren’t just other plant-based brands with similar values, they’re any products that could substitute yours in a given moment.
For example, a plant-based snack bar may be competing not only with other vegan bars but with bananas, crisps, chocolate, or even the choice to skip a snack altogether.
That’s why broad mental availability, distinctive messaging, and strong brand recall matter just as much as values alignment. Don’t just benchmark against ‘brands like us’, look at what else your customers might choose instead, and why.
Positioning: where you stand in the customer’s mind
Positioning is about defining – and consistently reinforcing – the place your brand occupies in the mind of the customer. It’s the bridge between what your product offers and what your customer truly values. Done well, it clarifies why someone should choose your product over another and helps them remember it when it matters.
Positioning is about perception. It’s not what you say you are, it’s what your customer believes you are.
A strong position is:
- Simple and credible – built on something true and easy to grasp
- Rooted in real customer insight – reflecting what matters most to your audience
- Consistently reinforced – through every interaction, from messaging and design to packaging and tone of voice
This is not just about a tagline or campaign. As Al Ries and Jack Trout, who popularized the concept, put it: “Positioning is not what you do to a product. Positioning is what you do to the mind of the prospect.”3
To find your position, ask:
- What do our customers really want, and how do we deliver it better or differently?
- What space in the market is overcrowded, and what’s underserved?
- What are we already known for, and can we build on that strength?
Effective positioning doesn’t always mean being radically different. Sometimes, it means being distinctively better at something your customers already care about. It means standing for something clear – and delivering on that promise every time.
The power of segmentation and targeting
Knowing who you’re competing against also means knowing who you’re for. That’s where segmentation and targeting come in.
Segment your market based on:
- Customer behaviors (e.g. weekday convenience vs. weekend indulgence)
- Needs and motivations (e.g. health, sustainability, taste)
- Usage occasions (e.g. on-the-go vs. family meal)
Once you’ve identified your most relevant segment, tailor your brand and product to appeal directly, without trying to be all things to all people.
Without segmentation, it’s impossible to position effectively, because you’re not clear who you’re positioning for.
A broader view of competition: Porter’s Five Forces
Understanding your competitors isn’t just about direct brands; it’s about the broader forces shaping your category.
Michael E. Porter, Professor at Harvard Business School, developed the Five Forces model to analyze industry competitiveness and market dynamics:
Porter’s model helps plant-based brands assess not just immediate threats, but the underlying forces that could affect pricing, profitability, and long-term resilience.4
Standing out without gimmicks
In a saturated market, it can be tempting to rely on novelty or trend-chasing to grab attention. But gimmicks rarely create lasting value. Instead, strong brands focus on consistent, customer-led differentiation:
- Do you solve a real problem better than others?
- Do you speak in a way that reflects your audience’s values and tone?
- Are you building trust through clear promises and reliable delivery?
As Seth Godin – entrepreneur, teacher, and author of Permission Marketing – argues: “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make but about the stories you tell.”5
Great marketing isn’t about being loud, it’s about being relevant.
Conclusion
Understanding your market isn’t a one-off task, it’s a continuous discipline. As markets shift and competitors evolve, so too must your positioning, messaging, and offer.
Effective marketing doesn’t begin with what you want to sell, it begins with what the market really needs. And only by seeing the whole competitive landscape can you find the space to grow and thrive.
For more support on your alternative protein strategy, get in touch with our experts at [email protected] and subscribe to our newsletter and podcast.
Simon Middleton
Senior Writer
References
- Drucker, P. (1973). Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices. Harper & Row.
- Sharp, B. (2010). How Brands Grow. Oxford University Press
- Ries, A. & Trout, J. (1981). Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind. McGraw-Hill.
- Porter, M. E. (1980). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors. Free Press.
- Godin, S. (1999). Permission Marketing. Simon & Schuster.
