Do we understand the everyday life of vegetarians well enough? How can we help people choose tasty and healthy plant-based options? And does Paulig’s product portfolio offer sufficiently interesting and healthy alternatives for vegetarians? These are some of the questions for which Paulig Leadership Team looks for answers in its daily work.
A plant-based diet is one of the food industry megatrends that Paulig keeps a close eye on. Curiosity towards different phenomena and worlds of flavours is in Paulig’s DNA and present in its values.
In January, the Group Leadership Team decided to accept the challenge to eat vegetarian food for a month. Everyone participated in their own way: some ate fish or dairy products in addition to veggies, some increased the share of vegetarian foods and some followed a completely vegan diet.
Veganuary inspired and broadened the horizons of Paulig leaders, both personally and from the perspective of business development.
“We want to understand the changing world and new culinary phenomena not only by reading and following the discussion but also by doing and participating. This was a very enlightening experience that encourages us to offer even more plant-based options as part of our growth strategy,” says Rolf Ladau, CEO at Paulig Group.
“In fact, Paulig’s entire selection is almost 100 per cent plant-based, and we think it’s the right direction also going forward. In addition, our Santa Maria spices, Pulled Oats, Tex-Mex and Risenta products enable following a sustainable and healthy diet,” Ladau continues.
Five lessons Paulig Leadership Team learnt during Veganuary:
- A new perspective towards food. The experience broadened their horizons. After Veganuary, the world of food looked different: at shops and restaurants, you paid attention to different alternatives than usually. Many also noticed that making choices and planning took up a lot more time. “My behaviour changed and the range expanded.”
- Discussion openers about food. The members of the Leadership Team told that during their vegetarian month, they had many interesting discussions about sustainable food production, healthy eating and their own motives for eating according to a more plant-based diet. “Why do I want to prefer vegetarian food? Why should I eat more veggies?”
- Vegetarian food is versatile. Nowadays, grocery shops and restaurants offer extremely delicious vegetarian options. Many enjoyed learning new vegetarian recipes and using spices in a new way. “I was surprised at how many different vegetarian options there are!”
- Flexibility pays off! Not everyone has to be vegan or a strict vegetarian. Moving towards a more plant-based diet is already a huge transformation. A flexitarian diet includes more vegetables but also allows eating meat at times. This is a great trend abroad.”
- Vegetarian food doesn’t always equal healthiness. Vegetarian food also can be highly processed and contain high fat and plenty of additives. “Does a vegetarian sausage make sense as a product?”
