Did you even know there was a difference? Perhaps you were aware of a difference but you’re confused as to what it is, hence reading this blog post? Well, we are here to break down the differences between a plant-based vs vegan diet, so you can have a good understanding of these two separate audiences.
The difference is subtle, but it does exist!
When put simply, the difference between the two diet choices is quite simple, but there is also more to it. It is important to consider that labels mean different things to different people.
You can get ‘plant-based vegans’, ‘cheagans’ (Yes it’s a thing – a cheating vegan), ‘raw vegans’, ‘gluten-free vegans’, ‘Just vegans’ and even ‘keto vegans’ (but let’s not get into that) – this list could honestly go on for a long time, but it gets a bit overwhelming and we begin to miss the point of this discussion. Essentially what we are trying to say is – there is a lot of cross over between a ‘plant-based’ vs ‘vegan’ diet.
Key Points Summarised
- A Vegan could eat a diet full of processed foods whereas a plant-based vegan would not.
- The term ‘Veganism’ was introduced in 1944 – to describe someone who fully refrained from indulging in animal products for purely ethical reasons.
- The label ‘Vegan’ has evolved to generally cover the three pillars of Veganism: Health, Environment and Ethics. Someone may choose to go vegan for any or all of these reasons.
- As the plant-based diet gains popularity – the labels become more blurred. A vegan may also be plant-based, and a plant-based person may also be vegan. In reverse, a vegan may not be plant-based, and a plant-based person may not be vegan.
- A plant-based diet emphasizes eating whole foods. Whilst not necessarily eliminating animal products from one’s diet entirely, but focuses on eating mostly plants such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.
How to use the cross-over to your advantage
As you may have gathered, there is a lot of cross over between a Vegan vs Plant-based diet. It is important to know the difference between the two so that you can understand how you can group these two audiences together and create menu options that can cater to both.
The most strategic way to do this is to focus on ‘plant-based’ options that exclude any meat, dairy or eggs! Through doing this you can appeal to both vegans and plant-based diets in the same menu options.
TIP: The word ‘plant-based’ tends to be far better received than the word ‘Vegan’.
Why is this?
- The word plant-based can appeal to a much wider audience than just vegans.
- You can appeal to just about anyone with this word and people don’t appear to shy away from it as much as the word vegan.
- Vegans also recognize this ‘plant-based’ category as something that they can eat so you don’t have to miss out on one of the key audiences you are specifically trying to target.
To conclude, although people and the reasons behind their diets can be complex, you can create menu options that will cater to and satisfy a wide group – including those who eat plant-based or vegan. By focusing on whole foods and avoiding the use of meat, dairy and eggs in these meal options – everyone will be satisfied with a delicious meal that ticks all the boxes. At Wild Chef, we like to keep this in the mind in the creation of all our products. Without it being the focus of our products – our products do include options for dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian.