Vegan Business Tribe Podcast
128 episodes - English - Latest episode: 13 days ago - ★★★ - 2 ratingsIf you have a vegan business, or are thinking of starting one, then Vegan Business Tribe is here to support you, inspire you, connect you with other vegan business owners - AND give you the knowledge you need to build a successful vegan business.
Hosted by Vegan Business Tribe co-founder, David Pannell. Lisa & David have worked with some of the largest high-street brands and food manufacturers to help them understand and connect with the vegan marketplace. David is also the official UK agent for The Vegan Society's Vegan Trademark and Lisa writes the monthly business column in Vegan Food & Living - the biggest vegan print publication in the UK.
Vegan Business Tribe is where they give back with weekly content, seminars, business clinics, networking events, mentoring and online courses to help you create a successful vegan business. If you want to go beyond the podcast and connect with our community of like-minded vegan entrepreneurs or get support from Lisa & David, then head over to www.veganbusinesstribe.com where you will be welcomed with open arms!
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Episodes
119 - How to make decisions
April 17, 2024 06:30 - 38 minutes - 44 MBHow to make decisions in business that move you forward. You could say that doing business is really just making a series of decisions one after another, so if you're the sort of person who over-analyses each decision and agonises about if it's the right one or not, then you're always going to struggle to move your business forward. But if you are worried about making the wrong decision, let me tell you that not making a decision at all is far worse. That's when decisions become barriers -...
118 - How to exit a business
April 03, 2024 06:30 - 34 minutes - 39.7 MBThere are more ways to exit a business than you might think. For some, exiting a business might be a negative experience. Maybe you've reached burnout or the market has changed and you don't have the energy to change with it. But for others, getting acquired by a larger competitor or selling your business for a large amount of money might actually be your long-term business goal. In this episode, David looks at all the different options for exiting your business from selling to succession, ...
BONUS - Want to get into retailers? Announcing Battle of the Brands
March 27, 2024 06:30 - 19 minutes - 18.3 MBSpecial bonus episode of The Vegan Business Tribe Podcast. Are you a vegan-owned food-brand ready to get into retailers? Would you like to pitch your brand to key retail buyers in the UK & Europe? Get ready to battle for your place in our new competition! Register: www.veganbusinesstribe.com/battle-of-the-brands In this special bonus episode, David announces our brand new competition to give one vegan-owned brand a full day of pitch meetings with retail buyers and talks with veg-net found...
117 - What Andy Shovel did next... Interview with the co-founder of This.
March 12, 2024 06:30 - 55 minutes - 63.1 MBAndy Shovel is the co-founder of 'This', who were the fastest-growing food company in the UK last year. And note that didn't read the fastest-growing 'vegan food company', they were the fastest-growing food company full stop. Their signature meat-replacement product 'This is not Bacon' is available in supermarkets across the UK as well as being served in restaurants, hotels and pre-packed sandwiches. And although Andy is something of a hero to many vegan business owners, not everyone in the...
116 - 3 ways to INSTANTLY improve your business
February 27, 2024 06:30 - 31 minutes - 36.2 MBBusiness quick wins. These are the three things that you can implement straight away that will have a huge positive impact on your business. I call them 'universal quick wins' and they are often the first things I look at when I'm coaching a business owner. And they are so incredibly simple that you will be able to implement each one of them instantly and then wonder why you hadn't done them before! Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more: @veganbusinesstribe Prefer to listen? Catch t...
115 - If you’re going to fall, fall forwards. With Joe Hill, One Planet Pizza
February 13, 2024 06:30 - 1 hour - 72.5 MBFacing failure in business. Vegan frozen pizza brand One Planet Pizza has faced failure several times. But co-founder Joe Hill has a mantra: "If you're going to fall, then make sure you fall forwards". In this special-length episode of the podcast, David is joined by Joe to talk about failure in business, a topic few people want to discuss. But for One Planet Pizza, each time they faced failure it turned out to be a pivotal point in their journey, a catalyst that propelled the business forwa...
114 - Should you call your business 'vegan'?
January 30, 2024 06:00 - 36 minutes - 34.9 MBAlthough studies show that non-vegans are more likely to engage with a vegan product or company when you drop the ‘v word’, if a customer loves your product without actually realising it’s vegan are you inadvertently just promoting meat and dairy? In this episode, David returns to the 'to V or not to V?' question, looking at it from an ethical and not just business viewpoint. If you’re not going to be able to compete with the big plant-based brands on price or quality, does it make sense fo...
113 - Using your business as your activism
December 18, 2023 06:00 - 1 hour - 139 MBHow many times have you wished you could bring together your ethics with how you make a living? In this panel discussion recorded live at Vegan Business Tribe Live 2023 at the London Olympia, we bring together four Vegan Business Tribe members who all use their businesses as their platform to move the vegan cause forwards. But won't that put your customers off? How can you promote veganism if you don't sell to vegans? And what if you don't consider your business to be a 'vegan' business, ev...
112 - Why aren't more men vegan? Smashing the vegan masculinity myth
December 11, 2023 06:30 - 55 minutes - 76.5 MBMel & Steve from Vegan Muscle co-host to talk about the barriers stopping more men from turning vegan. A new research paper released by The Vegan Society into masculinity and veganism shows that women are far more likely to go vegan than men. Some studies have even suggested that as high as 80% of all the vegans in the USA were female. This means that if you are selling to a vegan audience then you need to be aware that your audience will be largely female. But why has veganism been an over...
111 - Green Finance: Put your money where your heart is
November 14, 2023 06:30 - 36 minutes - 84.1 MBCan your investments and finance help the green cause? Did you know that your pension could be funding fossil fuels? Did you know your savings could be supporting animal agriculture? In this session, David talks to Vegan Business Tribe member and vegan independent financial advisor, Jai Street, about the whole world of green finance and investing. Financial advice isn't an industry that people might immediately see as something that you would look to veganise, so we also talk about how you ...
110 - So you want to run an animal sanctuary?
November 07, 2023 08:15 - 58 minutes - 135 MBWe talk to three vegan animal sanctuary owners. Many vegans have the dream of one day buying some land and opening an animal sanctuary. But they don't think about the 5am starts, having to work every single day and the huge veterinary and food bills that come with caring for animals. Recorded Live at Vegan Business Tribe Live 2022, in this panel session we bring together three animal sanctuary owners to talk about the realities of running your own animal rescue: Susan Joyce, Founder of Lit...
109 - How Chloe Bullock brought vegan interior design into the spotlight
October 31, 2023 06:30 - 45 minutes - 105 MBInterview with Chloe Bullock, Materialise Interiors. Chloe Bullock was awarded PETA's Compassionate Designer of the Year in their 2023 Vegan Homeware Awards. In this session, we're joined by Chloe to talk about how she has worked tirelessly to bring vegan interior design into the spotlight throughout her career, and is now one of the most highly regarded vegan design experts in the world having recently authored the Royal Institute of British Architects guidebook on sustainable interior desi...
108 - Why is it getting harder to get customers?
October 25, 2023 06:30 - 43 minutes - 40 MBWhy have people stopped buying from you? You're doing everything you did before but people just aren't buying anymore. What's changed? This is a question that our Vegan Business Tribe member Callum brought to one of our business clinics. Why has getting new customers become harder? If you follow the news, then it would be easy to think at the moment that the economy is completely falling apart. Many regions have seen an economic slowdown following the covid lockdowns, the invasion of Ukrain...
107 - How 'Better Nature Tempeh' conquered the major retailers
October 03, 2023 06:30 - 47 minutes - 44.3 MBWe interview Better Nature Tempeh CEO, Chris Kong, about how they broke into the major retailers. Better Nature Tempeh have established themselves as the leading tempeh brand in the UK, but it wasn't easy. First marketing themselves along the hundreds of other 'meat replacement' products, Better Nature struggled to get the attention of major retailers who were already oversaturated in this category. Then they learned to embrace what they were and set about to establish a new product catego...
106 - How to fund your vegan business
September 12, 2023 06:30 - 49 minutes - 46.6 MBThe 5 ways to fund or finance a vegan business. You might think if you just come up with a great idea then an investor will throw money at your business! Well, I'm afraid it doesn't work like that. Investors are out there, even vegan ones who share your ethics, but usually a company will have to either self-fund or borrow money to grow before they get to the level of success needed to attract investment. But don't worry, help is at hand! In this episode, David looks at the five different wa...
105 - Using A.I. to boost your vegan business
August 29, 2023 06:30 - 32 minutes - 30.5 MBThe AI tools you can use right now in your business. Imagine having a tool that can automatically counter anti-vegan comments on your company's posts, predict your next best-selling product from reading your customer reviews, and generate engaging social media content for your niche audience. Artificial Intelligence, or AI, has become more than a buzzword. It's a transformative force that might reshape your business. From ChatGPT's creative writing powers to stunningly lifelike image gener...
104 - How to stay focused with your vegan business.
August 22, 2023 06:30 - 40 minutes - 38.3 MBHow to stay productive in a distracted world. In a hyperconnected world filled with a constant stream of distractions, making the time and focus to tackle the important tasks that will move your vegan business forward can feel like an uphill battle. Especially when customers and suppliers are constantly trying to hijack your inbox with their own agendas. In this episode, David shares practical, hands-on strategies that will help you conquer those crucial business to-do lists. From taking ch...
103 - Self defence for vegan business owners
August 15, 2023 10:00 - 35 minutes - 33.5 MBHow to defend veganism as a business owner. While conflict may not be your cup of tea, there will come moments as a vegan business when you're called upon to defend veganism and its ethical principles. From encountering anti-vegan comments on social media to facing loaded questions during presentations, or even finding yourself in a TV interview alongside someone with opposing views, it's essential to be well-versed in debunking common myths. Join David as he shares practical strategies for...
BONUS - The Vegan Business Tribe Podcast is relaunching!
July 19, 2023 08:00 - 4 minutes - 5.19 MBAfter more than 100 episodes we are relaunching as a video podcast! You might have noticed that we've been off the airwaves for a few weeks. This is because, after 100 episodes, we're getting ready to relaunch The Vegan Business Tribe Podcast as a video podcast! You will still be able to listen to the audio-only version, but at the same time you'll be able to find the video version on YouTube from next month. In this bonus episode (that you can also watch on our YouTube channel!) David expl...
102 - How to go from social to sales
June 06, 2023 06:30 - 32 minutes - 29.6 MBHow to get people off social media and onto your customer list. Social media is a fantastic tool for your business, but there's no point in putting all that work into building up a social media following if none of it results in new customers. In this episode, David shares the strategies you need to use to get your social followers to step out of the virtual world and embark on their customer journey with you! --- With thanks to our amazing vegan sponsors: Vegan Accountants - Use an acc...
101 - Live from Vegfest Brighton: strategies for increasing your visibility
May 10, 2023 06:30 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MBDavid talks to our members at Vegfest Brighton about how they are increasing their visibility at the show. David takes his roving microphone to search out our Vegan Business Tribe members who were exhibiting at Vegfest Brighton in the UK, to find out what strategies they were using to increase their visibility at the show. From vegan companies who were selling products direct to consumers from their stand, to personal services and B2B companies who were using different strategies such as sp...
100 - What it means to have a vegan business
April 27, 2023 06:30 - 52 minutes - 36.3 MBWe celebrate 100 episodes by bringing you a special interview with one of our Vegan Business Tribe members. In this special celebration episode, David is joined by award-winning vegan filmmaker Damian Sciberras who has worked for some of the biggest vegan activists in the world. But jump back just three years ago and Damian was mainly making corporate videos for non-vegan companies, until a health diagnosis turned his world upside down and made him massively reconsider the direction of his l...
099 - Running a vegan business with a hidden disability
April 04, 2023 06:30 - 36 minutes - 28.3 MBWe talk to Daniel Morgan Jones, founder of The Aspie World. A number of our Vegan Business Tribe members successfully run a business with a hidden disability or some form of neurodiversity – including our co-founder Lisa who didn’t receive an autism diagnosis until she was nearly 40. But only 16% of autistic adults are in full-time paid employment in the UK. In this special masterclass, Lisa talks to Daniel Morgan Jones, YouTuber, hugely successful autism / ADHD influencer, vegan entrepren...
098 - You need a better profile photo
March 22, 2023 06:00 - 31 minutes - 25 MBHow to create a better profile picture. Let's admit it - most of us use quite a boring photo of ourselves for our online profile pic. You are never going to convince people that you are an expert in your field if your profile picture is some selfie or out-of-date image that looks like your school yearbook photo. In this episode, David looks at how to get a profile photo that stands out and whether or not you need to use a professional photographer to create one. He also explains why magazin...
097 - Sell more to your current customers
February 15, 2023 06:30 - 32 minutes - 25.9 MBRetaining customers & creating champions. To celebrate the launch of our brand new course 'How to get customers', David explains why someone becoming your customer is not the end of their customer journey. If you can sell to someone once, you can sell to them twice. And even better, if they believe in your mission then your current customers will go out and find more customers for you on your behalf! You can find the full four and a half hour video course on how to get customers in our Vega...
096 - What to do when someone doesn't pay
January 17, 2023 06:30 - 44 minutes - 34.1 MBHow to make sure you get paid and what to do if you don't. Usually the customer/supplier relationship goes pretty smoothly. You do the work or deliver your product and the customer pays you for your hard work. But sometimes, you send off your invoice and then... nothing! In this episode, David looks at what to do if someone doesn't pay your invoice, and how to make sure you have the business basics in place to avoid getting into that situation in the first place. About Vegan Business Trib...
095 - How to make the most of Veganuary 2023
December 14, 2022 06:30 - 31 minutes - 25.1 MBHow your vegan business can partner with the Veganuary campaign. Veganuary is the biggest event in the vegan calendar, where millions of people around the world take on the challenge to eat vegan for the month of January. Supporting and partnering with the campaign is easy, and something every vegan business should do to make the most of this increased interest in veganism. In this episode, David looks at the statistics from the 2022 Veganuary campaign and explains how to use the official ...
094 - She said yes!!
November 25, 2022 06:30 - 15 minutes - 10.4 MBFollowing the hugely successful Vegan Business Tribe Live event, David catches up on what's been going on in the Tribe. Join Lisa and David in celebrating some amazing personal news, and then David takes a look back at the Vegan Business Tribe Live event at London Olympia last week (as well as a look forward to repeating the event in 2023). And did David seriously record this on the eve of his and Lisa's wedding? You bet! About Vegan Business Tribe Hosted by Vegan Business Tribe co-found...
093 - Writing a book as a marketing tool for your vegan business
November 08, 2022 06:30 - 42 minutes - 29.5 MBWhy becoming a published author will create huge visibility for your business. As our final Road to Vegan Business Tribe Live episode, we talk to Mitali Deypurkaystha ahead of her appearance on our Vegan Business Tribe stage. Mitali’s mission is to create an army of vegan thought leaders through her publishing company, The Vegan Publisher. With her support, vegan business owners and professionals can create what might end up being the best marketing tool for their business ever. See Mitali...
092 - How to get the most out of trade shows
October 22, 2022 08:30 - 43 minutes - 29.9 MBAs part of our road to Vegan Business Tribe Live at the London Olympia, we look at how to maximise taking part in a trade show. Tradeshows and larger consumer shows like VegfestUK, are places where you will meet not just new customers, but also great new contacts that might help your business move forwards. But you need to have a strategy to capture the details of people who show an interest in your stand so that you can continue to market to them after the event. In this episode, David sha...
091 - How Clive's Pies became Clive's Purely Plants
October 04, 2022 06:30 - 53 minutes - 37 MBPart of our 'Road to Vegan Business Tribe Live' at the London Olympia! How Clive's scaled-up, went vegan and found investment. Esther Pearson led Clive's Purely Plants through the transformation of becoming a vegan-only food manufacturer. This resulted in them finding investment to scale up their production and Clive's are now listed in supermarkets and independents across the country. In this prelude to her appearance at Vegan Business Tribe Live at the London Olympia in November, Esther sh...
090 - 5 amazing vegan marketing campaigns with Sandra Nomoto
September 13, 2022 06:30 - 36 minutes - 24.9 MBInnovative vegan marketing case studies from around the world. To celebrate the release of her new book 'Vegan Marketing Success Stories', I invite Sandra Nomoto to co-host this episode as we discuss five of our favourite vegan marketing case studies from the book. From Canadian chocolate company Mid Day Squares turning their founders into their own reality TV show, to Doctors Against Animal Experiments partnering with a German haulage company to display their animal-rights adverts on the ...
089 - How LoveSeitan scaled-up and found investment
August 31, 2022 06:30 - 44 minutes - 30.2 MBPart of our 'Road to Vegan Business Tribe Live' at the London Olympia! Steve Swindon founded vegan meat replacement company LoveSeitan in his co-founder's kitchen, but they quickly attracted vegan entrepreneur Heather Mills as an investor and partner. In this episode, David talks to Steve about how they scaled up so quickly using vegan events as a test bed, and how they moved from a home kitchen producer to now supplying supermarkets, manufacturers and wholesalers across the UK. This episod...
088 - Hiring employees
August 17, 2022 06:30 - 34 minutes - 23.9 MBFor many, looking to grow a business means taking on more staff. But employing people can also be a nightmare. If you get it wrong, instead of releasing your time and helping your company grow, you can find yourself micro-managing a team of people and still having your own work to do! In this episode, David brings you his 8 tips for hiring people from his experience of having hired close to 50 people over two decades in business. Including: how to know when is the right time to hire; how t...
087 - How to get better at speaking
August 03, 2022 06:30 - 37 minutes - 26.3 MBHow (and why!) to get better at speaking and presenting. If you view your vegan business as your activism, then you owe it to the vegan cause to become better at speaking and communicating so that you can reach a bigger audience. But for most of us, the idea of standing on a stage in front of people, or even just 'going live' on social media, can be terrifying. In this episode, David shares his secrets for becoming a better speaker after having spoken at hundreds of events and online semi...
086 - SPECIAL: Live from Vegan Camp Out 2022
July 20, 2022 06:30 - 1 hour - 42 MBLisa & David take their roving microphone around Vegan Camp Out. We hear from vegan entrepreneur and investor Heather Mills, activist Joey Carbstrong, podcasting legend Jim Moore, YouTuber David Ramms and Dave & Steve from The Happy Pear. In this special double-length episode, we also catch up with vegan companies Vausages, Motion Hatch, One Planet Pizza, The Vegan Haberdasher, Vegan Founded, Lilk, Clemmie's Vegan Cakes and feature the music of BFriendly - all while David has a Vegan Busine...
085 - The importance of quick wins
July 06, 2022 06:30 - 24 minutes - 17.1 MBHow to keep the momentum going in your business. We often think about our strategy for the next six months, but what can you do that will move your business forward in the next 24 hours? Quick wins aren't just a good way to keep you motivated, they are a good way to jump-start your company if you've hit a slump. We take a look at how you can make something happen that will have a real impact on your vegan business, maybe even before you even go to bed this evening! About Vegan Business Tri...
084 - How to build your network and expand your contacts.
June 29, 2022 06:30 - 34 minutes - 24.3 MBHow to connect with more people who can help your business. Listen to any successful entrepreneur's story and often you will hear about a chance meeting with someone who went on to play a big part in their business journey. But these kind of connections don't just happen by accident. You need to have a strategy in place to increase the number of connections you are making. In the vegan sector, collaboration is natural because we are all on the same mission. So how do you find and connect wi...
083 - How to handle complaints
June 22, 2022 06:30 - 32 minutes - 22.9 MBWhat to do when someone complains and how to turn it into a positive. As a vegan you probably hate conflict - but just because your company is on a mission to create a better world, don't think that you are going to be immune to customer complaints! When you receive a complaint, you need to first find out exactly what the customer needs (which in many cases is nothing more than an apology and knowing they have been heard) and then make a change in your procedures to stop the same thing from...
082 - LIVE from Vegan Life Live in London
June 15, 2022 06:30 - 49 minutes - 34.4 MBWe bring you the best of Vegan Life Live from the Alexandra Palace. In this special live episode, Lisa and David take their roving microphone around the two-day Vegan Life Live event in London. Join us as we talk to some of the trail-blazers in the vegan sector about their tips for vegan businesses and bump into a lot of Vegan Business Tribe members and podcast listeners along the way! This episode was recorded at Vegan Life Live London 2022, UK. Some of the people featured on this podcas...
081 - Is it time to quit?
June 08, 2022 06:30 - 34 minutes - 24.5 MBHow do you know if it's time to give up on your business and move on to something new? Failing is an important part of succeeding. Listen to any successful entrepreneur's story and it will be a list of the missteps, failures and lessons that eventually led to that success. But at some point, you need to decide whether the thing you're doing now is going to ever be successful or if it's time to give up and go do something else instead. In this episode, David shares how to judge if your busi...
080 - 6 big takeaways from the Podcast Show 2022
June 01, 2022 06:30 - 33 minutes - 23.8 MBPodcasting trends and tips from the UK's biggest podcasting expo. Many vegan businesses will have considered launching a podcast, or you may be thinking about using other people's podcasts to promote your product or service. David shares his notes from the two-day Podcast Show London 2022 to bring you 6 big takeaways about where the industry is heading and what trends you need to be aware of: from the rise in video podcasts to how podcasters really make money. About Vegan Business Tribe H...
079 - How to survive a recession
May 24, 2022 06:30 - 36 minutes - 25.3 MBHow your vegan business can not just survive, but also thrive in a financial downturn. The idea of a recession can be scary, but no matter how good the economic outlook is you will still see companies fail - and no matter how bad the economy is, some people will be making more money than they ever have before. In this episode, David looks at the practical steps you can take to get your business ready for an economic downturn but also explains why a change in consumer behaviour may also pres...
078 - Will your company going vegan put customers off?
May 18, 2022 06:30 - 35 minutes - 24.8 MBWhat really happens when you make your company vegan? Many people want to align their personal ethics with how they make a living but the fear of what their customers might think stops them from making their company publicly vegan. The truth is, however, that most of your non-vegan customers probably won't care. And those that do - well, they are probably not the type of people you want as customers! In this episode, David takes a look at several companies that transitioned their existing b...
077 - Why VFC are giving their products away for free
May 10, 2022 06:30 - 32 minutes - 22.6 MBWhy Vegan Fried Chicken brand VFC decided to just give their products away. VFC made the headlines when they announced that they were giving their products away for free. Simply head to the supermarket, buy one of their products, upload a photo of your receipt and get your money refunded in full. From the outside, this campaign seems like a fast track route to going bust with the consumer getting all the benefit and the company getting none. But dig a little deeper and you will find a clev...
076 - How to convert customers
May 04, 2022 06:30 - 35 minutes - 24.9 MBHow to get people to take that final step and become a customer. Every company has a marketing funnel, and in this episode David goes right to the bottom of it: the place where people already know about your business, are on your mailing list, seem interested, but still haven't bought your product. So where's the blockage? The truth is, the people who are right at the end of your funnel are probably a lot closer to becoming customers than you think. If you can identify who they are and wha...
075 - How to do a press release for your vegan business
April 27, 2022 06:30 - 37 minutes - 26.1 MBHow do you get your business in the news? If you see a vegan business or product in the news, then it's most likely there because the company sent the story out as a press release. Newspapers, magazines and news websites all need a constant stream of interesting things to share with their readers but don't expect them to just give you a free advert for your business. In this episode, David walks through how to prepare a press release and explains why you need to come up with a news story t...
074 - How to claim back for your R&D
April 19, 2022 06:30 - 38 minutes - 26.8 MBCan your vegan company claim for the research or product development your company may have done? And before you say your company doesn’t do R&D, don’t be too quick to jump to that conclusion! Veganising a recipe for your food product, developing a new app or computer system, researching a new material or creating more environmentally-conscious packaging for your product - all these are all examples of R&D and there’s a good chance that you can claim back on those costs. Lots of countries ...
073 - The 5 top things we've learnt from 2 years of Vegan Business Tribe
April 13, 2022 06:30 - 32 minutes - 22.8 MBThe five main lessons that we've learnt from running Vegan Business Tribe. As Vegan Business Tribe celebrates its second birthday, David shares the top five things we've learnt about running a vegan business over that time - from why you need to remain flexible about what business you are building through to why the biggest thing holding your business back might just be yourself. And just a warning that someone has given David a bell in this episode - and it doesn't get annoying at all... ...
072 - Why the vegan children's market is set to explode.
April 06, 2022 06:30 - 29 minutes - 20.9 MBWhy products for vegan children will be the next big growth sector. Last year, Quorn launched their vegan Roarsomes Dinosaur Nuggets, making them one of the first high-profile food companies to bring out a vegan product aimed specifically at children. But new research from The Vegan Society suggests that children are 50% more likely to be vegan than adults, so with demand so high why is this new sector currently so under-served? David takes a detailed look at the Vegan Society's new report...