Strategic Framework

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The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic re-shaped everything from global economies to product categories, pricing, stock availability, and consumer behavior (Mehta et al, 2022). This crisis caused people from all backgrounds to re-evaluate their diets because it highlighted the link between food, health, and immune responses. And although 2020 manifested the shutting down of many businesses due to the strains of COVID-19, particularly small businesses, the loss was not the only experience. Due to the proper ingredients of conditions, devotion, and ingenuity, many new brands, products, trends, interests, and demands in the world of consumer food choices have occurred (Kateman, 2020). No one can deny that 2020 was a crucial, significant year in ways many cannot comprehend yet, especially within the plant-based food space.

Investments in plant-based product manufacturing companies have risen and even after the pandemic hit, some plant-based meat manufacturing companies announced new investments. In 2019, according to the Good Food Institute (GFI), plant-based meat, egg, and dairy companies in the United States received more than $747 million in investments, which caused 2019 to be a record-breaking year (Szejda et al., 2020). However, in the first quarter of 2020, a staggering $741 million was invested in the U.S. plant-based meat, egg, and dairy companies, almost as much as the entirety of 2019 (Szieda et al., 2020). These investments occurred while COVID-19 disrupted global markets. The pandemic exposed the vulnerability of industrial meat, shown with a number of outbreaks in meat-processing plants and empty beef and pork supplies in supermarkets. In addition, with the public health dangers of industrial meat farming, consumers are more concerned about food safety than ever before and are now more in favor of plant-based proteins (Imathiu, 2020). These concerns establish the need to build an innovative growth strategy model that will enhance a broader and more diverse customer base, resulting in increased revenue for plant-based businesses.

According to the Plant-Based Foods Association (Benzaquen, 2021), more than one-third of U.S. adults identify as flexitarians, combining flexible and vegetarian diets. Flexitarians also characterize a vast market opportunity for natural products brands, and with more plant alternatives, healthier effects, which is their goal. To encourage consumers to be open to plant-based foods, numerous organizations take the typical products that are loved and imitate their non-plant-based equivalents (Sirvinskas, 2021). Due to recent technological improvements in ingredients and processing, the end is better tasting and textured products.

Changes occur every year; however, 2020 motivated people to re-evaluate and alter many facets of food systems and their eating habits (Miller, et.al 2021). A meaningful difference can be made with various innovations in plant-based food manufacturing businesses. An opportunity exists for those businesses to have various products to present to their consumer, thus increasing sustainability in the industry. Food manufacturers that endure and grow will be those competent of change. Plant-based manufacturing is a process that leads to the ongoing meeting of consumer needs, thus producing growth (Boukid, 2021).

This project aligns with strategy and innovation because for plant-based organizations to successfully address the demands of diverse consumers who are exploring healthier eating options, and they must develop business models and strategies that embrace those on this exploratory journey. Organizations must do it better than their competitors with deep consideration for diverse stakeholders to achieve positive results to their bottom line, which is strongly tied to their sustainability, ethics, and environmental effects.

The general business problem is that product innovation challenges are an issue for plant-based food manufacturing industry companies who miss out on increasing their market share from the unfulfilled demands of customers with diverse backgrounds (Aschemann-Witzel et al., 2020). Acceleration of increasing the market share of plant-based manufacturers can contribute to fulfilling these demands as the food industry has a speed problem. Recent findings advise that the policy and market framework is promising however, to be successful in satisfying consumer beliefs, perception and knowledge, an increase in innovations is necessary, in the direction of meat-replacements that are healthy as well as clean label (Aschemann-Witzel et al., 2020). Therefore, manufacturers are already behind schedule to address critical challenges regarding present-day plant-based foods’ taste, texture, and nutrition. Consumers and retailers are presently looking for new and better options (Minchin, 2021). The food companies across the industry will make an intensive push to quicken innovation timelines. Undoubtedly, more partnerships with specialists such as academic research institutions to responsive and experimental start-ups will be needed to develop plant-based food breakthroughs and demonstrate that innovation in the industry can be both revolutionary and fast (Minchin). Disruptive innovation at the grassroots level will play a vital role in the escalating plant-based foods movement as emerging brands redefine dietary staples for the mainstream palate (Watrous, 2021). Manufacturers will need to focus on innovation and strategy to meet the diverse audiences of consumers inquiring about plant-based diets.

The specific business problem is plant-based food manufacturers experience competitive disadvantages because of their inability to innovate food products that attract demand from diverse populations for ethically derived meals resulting in loss of market share and resultant lower revenues (Palumbo et al. 2020). Additionally, plant-based proteins are more expensive than their meat equivalents; as volumes increase, plant-based brands will be open to driving costs down. As a result of such measures, the prices will lower, thus more doors open for plant-based foods to new people. The first clean burger cost more than $300,000 to manufacture in 2013 however, by 2017 were predicted to cost $3.60 per pound (Kateman, 2017). In 2020, Poinski (2020) highlighted that Mainstream Plant-Based Patties, which are made for the freezer section and available in 2-pound packages, have a suggested price of $10.99 per package which translates to about $5.50 per pound. In addition, when it comes to the environment, encouraging more of a decrease in meat-eating will stimulate the planet’s health. Plant-based meats promote changes in the global food system resulting in environmental benefits. There are large benefits from transitioning towards a more plant-based agricultural sector and underscores the need for national policies incentivizing this transition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions agriculturally (Prag, 2020).

Concerns with greenhouse gases because of meat production is causing a dynamic shift in the desires of consumers increasingly wanting plant-based alternatives (Tso et al., 2021). Challenges exist in pleasing sensory properties akin to animal-based meat to promote their acceptance by consumers. Restaurants are creating an impact on consumer behavior by offering a responsible and sustainable nutrition model (Seretny et al., 2021). Taste is a critical feature of the pleasure resulting from food and pleasure is an important influence on food choice. When varieties of tastes are restricted due to restricted eating patterns it serves as a barrier to healthy eating. Additionally, food marketers may support this barrier (Tonya & Grier, 2019).

The purpose of this qualitative inquiry project is to explore the perspectives of managers within plant-based food manufacturing companies in the southern United States on how to innovate food products that attract demand from diverse populations for ethically derived meals. These diverse populations are those from the African American and Latinx communities (Sterling & Bowen, 2019). Williams et al. (2016) initiated a study to evaluate taste responsiveness in different ethnic groups. These results showed that African Americans and Latinx rated taste sensations higher than non-Hispanic Whites and that these differences were more pronounced in males (Williams et al., 2016).

As a result of COVID-19, plant-based manufacturing will play an essential in the consumer’s new normal. Gray and Jackson (2020) of The Institut de Publique Sondage d’Opinion Secteur (IPSOS), a global research and market firm, interviewed 28,000 people internationally: 79% of those consumers stated they would search for healthier and better products for the environment. In countries, such as Brazil and Mexico, up to 91% of respondents agreed with that statement and in China, the plant-based meat alternative market is expected to grow to $12 billion by 2023, up from $10 billion in 2018 (Gray & Jackson, 2020).

Operating plant-based food manufacturing facilities promotes an opportunity to address the inequality of healthy food options yet contributes to climate change mitigation strategies that positively impact our environment. When a company demonstrates environmental sustainability, it encourages consumers to support them, thus resulting in revenue increase (Jarmul et al., 2019). Specifically, the second-biggest contributor to climate change after fossil fuel raises livestock. Embracing a plant-based diet lessens one carbon footprint and decreases greenhouse gas emissions (Sánchez et al., 2019).

Regardless of one’s background, food is a vital part of our daily lives, and at the same time, it is a significant contributor to environmental issues. A need exists for this proposed project as noted by Pieroni et al. (2021) that as the world population and changing diets are expected to impair the negative impact of food production and consumption thus, clever business strategies centered on regulating intake levels must be implemented in the food manufacturing industry to limit need and, therefore, overall resource consumption (Pieroni et al.). As a result, business leaders and manager in plant-based food manufacturing organizations will be able to create innovative strategies that would attract minority populations. (Pieroni et al.).

The plant-based food revolution offers its triple bottom line of addressing the environment, healthcare, and world hunger (Vlissengin, 2018). This aligns with strategy and innovation because business models for growth strategy must focus on the triple bottom line, which is typically defined as profit, people, and the planet. If 2020 showed anything, COVID-19 put more companies under scrutiny for decisions that impact employees, customers, and society. Environmental, social, and governance factors will carry even greater weight in the future than pre-COVID-19 (James, 2020). When plant-based manufacturers focus on the environment, healthcare, and world hunger, they put themselves in a position to enhance their customer base, which would directly affect their triple bottom line of increasing revenue, focusing on people, and positively contributing to the environment (Vlissengin, 2018).

Milton Friedman, an American economist, and statistician was one of the most influential thinkers of the last century; however, his thinking was considered too narrow (Friedman et. Al, 2017). As framed by Friedman, the social responsibility of a business is only to increase its profit within the rules of the game (Ramanna, 2020). To continually increase profit, organizations must not just look at the rules of the game but examine how they are evolving thus their strategies must keep evolving and, in this case, become capable to develop products that attract the taste of diverse populations. Presently, business accountability and efficacy are expressed in stakeholders, not just shareholders, capitalism (James, 2020).

The perspectives of leading plant-based manufacturing companies on the innovation strategies necessary to develop food products that attract diverse populations, will affect the triple bottom line. The plant-based manufacturing companies will need to conduct a feasibility analysis in the product development process and sizing the potential market. On average, there are five factors in determining feasibility; they are for technical, economic, legal, operational, and scheduling known by the acronym TELOS (Leathers, 2020). Traditionally marketing and finance managers will decide whether it is feasible to “go” or “not-go” using consumer insights (Leathers, 2020). These manufacturers producing meat substitutes create sustainability as their consumers are the driving force behind them. Strengthening perceptive and prescriptive validity can lead to growing markets for sustainable products.

PQ1:

What are the perspectives of managers within plant-based food manufacturing companies in the southern United States on how to innovate food products that attract demand from diverse populations for ethically derived meals?

The gap in practice is lack of knowledge when it comes to gathering information regarding at the community and organizational levels of minorities (Crimarco, 2019). This qualitative inquiry project will explore managers’ perspectives within plant-based food manufacturing companies and potential innovation strategies necessary to develop food products that attract diverse populations and increase revenue. This is an opportunity to enhance their customer base by addressing the inequality of healthy food options, making them more palatable to diverse populations, which in parallel would contribute to climate change mitigation strategies, thus positively impacting our environment. When a company demonstrates environmental sustainability, it encourages consumers to support them, thus resulting in a significant revenue increase (Jarmul et al., 2019).

The anticipated results of this project are to push the needle forward to help mid-level managers identify opportunities for CPG companies to explore areas where a widened audience of tastes is a primary focus when it comes to producing plant-based foods. Rao (2021) stated that in the United States, 3% of Americans are vegans; however, 8% of Black Americans are strictly vegan or vegetarian. The number of Black Americans that have dabbled in vegan or vegetarian is much higher (Rao, 2021). With that said, CPG organizations could consider tapping into this opportunity as this is over a $74B industry (Rao, 2021). Producing plant-based foods, as mentioned previously, contributes to the sustainability of manufacturers, which is a crucial focus for the future of businesses as millennials and Gen Zers consider sustainability non-negotiable when supporting organizations (Su et al., 2019). The impending climate crisis in their future is causing them to make decisions today based on how production impacts the environment or whether their production is curing or preventing further damage (Su et al., 2019). This is a direct effect on the bottom line. Plant-based manufacturing companies must identify potential opportunities of where they may be able to attract more diverse consumers by focusing on broader tastes, developing the next generation of plant-based proteins to contend with typical animal products throughout their supply chain, and categorizing the most impactful business activities that will grow the bottom line as it focuses on products for the consumer's choice when it comes to taste, price, and convenience.

There was an increased demand for plant-based alternatives during the pandemic due to problems in the North American meat supply chain (Campisi, 2021). During such times, companies saw a four-fold increase in sales for plant-based alternatives and items that they felt boosted their system (Galanakis et al., 2021). This highlighted the need for managers within plant-based food manufacturing companies to focus on developing the innovation strategies necessary to create food products that attract diverse populations, which will result in increased revenue (Galanakis et al., 2021). Gaps that exist are cultural barriers, objections from incumbent meat companies, and the risk of an incident that affects consumer confidence. Cultural barriers are related to meat's taste and texture, which may be limited to specific groups. Incumbencies exist with cattle farmers who potentially can stand in the way of the alternative protein avenue, especially in the U.S. (Newton & Blaustein-Rejto, 2021). Risk gaps include if a plant-based has some incident that would warrant a recall, that could cause customers to be cautious of these alternatives.

The project will explore managers' perspectives within plant-based food manufacturing companies within the southern region of the United States as to innovation strategies that could be used to develop food products that attract minority populations. This is an opportunity to address the inequality of healthy food options. The plant-based food manufacturers pose opportunities for triple bottom line, solving problems with the environment, healthcare, and world hunger (Vlissengin, 2018). When a company demonstrates environmental sustainability, it encourages consumers to support them, improving financial performance, thus resulting in revenue increase (Xie et al., 2019).

Circumstances are changing as there is an increase in consumer demand for sustainable and plant-based products, thus pressuring prominent food manufacturers to be increasingly alert to acclimate their portfolios and bring to market innovative new products (Scully, 2018). According to research from Innova Market Insights (2022), there was an increase of 62% Compound Annual Growth Rate globally between 2013 and 2017 regarding new food and beverage products featuring plant-based claims. As consumer interests continue to grow in health, sustainability, and ethics, this urges plant-derived ingredients and products into high esteem (Scully, 2018). The results of heightened esteem behooves managers in plant-based food manufacturing companies to address the rising popularity of soy and plant-based products. There is an increasing focus of market participants in R&D, which will impact the market growth, resulting in new products and improvements in the existing product lines (Song et al., 2020). The high demand encourages manufacturers to develop various forms of for high-protein products that can attract consumers' attention (Malecki et al., 2021).

Millennials and Gen Z are the driving force behind the plant-based movement (Ditlevsen et al, 2020). Although taste and texture are essential, sustainability is a crucial motivator behind their choice (Ditlevsen et al., 2020). A revenue management survey regarding plant-based meat alternatives confirms that 48% of participants said their primary motivation for consuming plant-based meats was to help preserve the environment (Ditlevsen et al., 2020). Many of those participants were millennials and Gen Z 55%, to be exact (“The Impact of Plant-based Foods on Restaurant Recovery ”, 2021).

To cater to the sudden growth in demand, many plant-based companies are starting to change their strategies. Various plant-based alternative product manufacturers are increasing their production, discounting plant-based alternative products to appeal to more consumers, expanding into more stores and neighborhoods while partnering with additional stakeholders (“The Impact of Plant-based Foods on Restaurant Recovery ”, 2021). Legacy companies are also riding this proverbial train as they have joint venture partnerships offering plant-based manufacturers (Best, 2018). Their products are plant-based made to address a variety of dietary needs. Legacy companies are also working with organizations internationally to provide additional plant-based products (Best, 2018).

Ethnic. Ethnic is a group of people who differ in race or color or in national, religious, or cultural origin from the dominant group — often the majority population — of the country in which they live (Hamer et al., 2018).

Flexitarian. Flexitarian can be defined as a combination of the words "flexible" and "vegetarian." It's a cross between full vegan and vegetarian with the ability to

enjoy animal products every so often (Dagevos, 2021)

Plant-based Food. A plant-based diet consists of all minimally processed fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, herbs, and spices and excludes all animal products, including red meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy products (Ostfeld, 2017).

This Doctor of Business project specifications includes the importance of the product innovation challenges within the plant-based food manufacturing industry and the approach needed to address them. The project's significance identifies the problems, issues, and adversity faced in minority communities. The approach for the project is to research and identify creative, innovative ways that improve the taste and affordability to embrace minority communities.

Their innovation strategy must include an appropriate project technique, using constructive interviews as it is the most flexible of the various experimental techniques, encompassing a variety of accepted methods and structures. Continually ensuring the interviews conducted are bias-free, open-ended approach and staying alert to potential sources of error. This usually involves awareness of bias and deep sensitivity to the experience in question.

This project is significant and important to plant-based manufacturing companies as they could benefit from adding diverse populations to their customer base thus directly impacting revenue. As millennials and Gen Zers of diverse backgrounds are such a large portion of consumers of plant-based foods, it should be noted that they are not willing to support organizations whose business strategy models are not sustainable (Su et al., 2019). Sustainability and plant-based manufacturing go hand in hand (OECD, 2020). Plant-based food manufacturing facilities promotes an opportunity to address sustainability issues as well as help correct the issue of inequality of healthy food options and develop food products that attract the tastes of diverse populations which trickles down to increased revenue (OECD). Motivating factors are changing rapidly. From recent surveys such as IPSOS, consumers are now making choices that are good for them and sustainable for the planet and are willing to pay for it (Mortimer, 2020). This makes plant-based alternatives a viable solution to their wishes.

Another driver in the plant-based arena is sustainability. Consumers now more than ever have a high interest in where their food comes from and its ethical and environmental impact. Sustainability is a critical component of branding strategies the world over. When it comes to branding, many companies somehow tie in the better for people and the planet's idea (Kelly, 2020).

Millennials and Gen Z are the driving force behind the plant-based movement (Su et al., 2019). To attract diverse populations for ethnically derived meals, taste and texture are essential. An examination is necessary of the need for an urban food economy that addresses food access disparities, reduces pressure on the urban infrastructure, and improves the sustainability and resilience of food systems in high-population areas. A solution would be to come up with innovative food strategies from plant-based food manufacturers and becoming able to develop food products that attract the taste of diverse populations. Inarguably, this need was intensified universally during the COVID-19 pandemic (Kateman, 2020). As food supply chains collapsed and migrant workers suffered excessive infection rates and mobility restrictions, the vulnerability of the highly centralized, highly global food system became plainly evident (Stuiver & O’hara, 2021).

Plant-based launches in bakeries & patisseries are on a consistent increase. In the past ten years, the number of product launches in bakeries & patisseries has consistently grown 33% year on year, with patisserie products at 21% (GFI , 2021). The plant-based food market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.9% from 2020 to 2027 to reach $74.2 billion by 2027 (GFI , 2021). This is yet another factor for plant-based organizations to focus on innovations in their growth strategy to enhance their customer base, thus increasing revenue.

Practitioners must understand that the best strategy for accelerating consumer acceptance which would be first to understand their consumers' foundational and ever-changing motivations for food choice, as well as the different forces of these influences by consumer segment (Szejda et al., 2020). After the identifying of the target consumer segments, a unified strategy will include developing a product to meet these segments' unique needs and wants; structuring consumer purchasing environments to nudge toward specific, desired selection; and designing and disseminating messages to influence consumer behavior (Szejda et al., 2020). When it comes to barriers to plant-based manufacturing reducing meat consumption are social norms and general enjoyment of eating conventional meat, health concerns (mainly about protein and other nutrients), lack of familiarity with alternative ways of eating, fear of new foods, and unwillingness to change dietary habits.

Qualitative research can assist a researcher in getting into the thoughts and feelings of their participants, which can facilitate the enhancement of an understanding of why people credit their experiences (Bowers, 2019). This approach will require reflection on the researcher's part, both before and during the research process, to provide background and insight for readers.

The project will use interview questions for this process. Interviews will be conducted with individuals to obtain detailed data. The questions may be structured, semi structured, or in-depth. During structured interviews, questions are scripted, and answers are limited. Semi-structured interviews have an interview guide with open-ended questions, but a reduced list of focuses limits solutions; thus, free examination of an issue may be limited (Ahlin, 2019). The goal is to have in-depth interviews. The unique factor between approaches is open- or close-ended questions. The researcher can ask very general questions during in-depth interviews to stimulate boundless exploration of an issue. Follow-up questions are impulsively created based on the responses of each participant. This indicates that in-depth interviews are the best approach in qualitative research as the data is detailed, comprehensive, more representative of the trend, and less biased. The interviews will be conducted over Zoom, thus recorded and transcribed. Every effort will be taken to ensure reliability, validity, and relevance. Thorough notetaking will assist in presenting an accurate description of the circumstances and capture the complexity of the interrelationships. Legitimacy involves guesstimating actual trends, and richer data increases this probability.

The participants will include mid-level managers in plant-based organizations and organizations with a plant-based segment. One-on-one interviews will be conducted, one of the most usual qualitative data-collection methods and an excellent approach to gathering more definitive information.

Clarke and Braun (2017) described the phases of thematic analysis as a systematic way of seeing and processing qualitative information using “coding”. There are six phases. Phase one is data familiarization which involves transcribing the data, reading it multiple times, and jotting down the initial thoughts. Phase two is generating initial code by coding interesting characters of the data in which can be a small phrase or keyword denoting a specific idea. Phase three searches for themes across the data which can be done by collating codes into possible themes, assembling relevant data to each potential theme. Phase four is reviewing themes where one checks if the themes work in relation to the coded. The fifth phase is defining and naming the themes which is a written detail of each theme. During the final phase a report is produced where there is an intertwine of the analytic narrative and data extracts to tell a story.

Various barriers may exist when it comes to conducting qualitative inquiry research. Some may lack knowledge, lack of education, attitudes and beliefs, behaviors, taste preferences, and perhaps even peer influence. Developing a contingency plan will be necessary. A risk evaluation to grasp which potential risk has a maximum likelihood of happening can significantly impact the project.

As a result of COVID-19, people are focusing on their eating habits. This is an opportunity for manufacturers to take advantage and evaluate how they can capitalize from it. The CPG industry has faced unprecedented demand from manufacturers and consumers, particularly for some products such as meat substitutions and plant-based milk (Bombe, 2020).

This capstone project will focus on innovation strategy models linked to plant-based organizations' growth strategies. The general business problem is product innovation challenges continue to be an issue for plant-based food manufacturing industry companies. Perhaps, if said companies can convert their innovativeness into by adapting and expanding their consumer base to a more diverse one, the result could be a better financial performance (Wang & Dass, 2017). The specific business problem is plant-based food manufacturers experience competitive disadvantages because of their inability to innovate food products that attract diverse populations resulting in lower revenue (Palumbo et al., 2020).

Additionally, plant-based proteins are more expensive than their meat equivalents; as volumes increase, plant-based brands will be open to driving costs down, causing a tipping point that the lower the prices, the more doors open for plant-based foods to new people (Curtain & Grafenauer, 2019). As of mid-2020, new buyers of plant-based products, customers who did not purchase plant-based products in the 52 weeks preceding the start of COVID-19 and who came back to make another plant-based purchase in May 2020, are the shoppers they have the most significant opportunity to convert. One of those demographics was African Americans (Greifenberg, 2021).

Studies have shown that sustainability is vital for strategy and innovation (Ahmad & Wong, 2018). It is still essential to focus more on plant and process level assessments to achieve the triple bottom line objectives. As the environment is a priority focus for many consumers, organizations must focus on how their manufacturing plants are affecting the environment to continue to attract consumers who look at the general practices of organizations today, thus resulting in an effect on their bottom line.

Circumstances are changing as therein is an increase in consumer demand for sustainable and plant-based products, thus pressuring prominent food manufacturers to be increasingly alert to acclimate their portfolios and bring to market innovative new products (Scully, 2019).

The remaining sections of this project detail the literature review and project plan in section two and the results, discussion, and implications in section three. Following the introduction, two include the method for discovering the literature, a review of scholarly and practitioner literature, a summary of the literature, recruitment, project study protocol, an overview of the project study plan, and the summary and conclusion.

Section three includes the introduction, the data collection results, data analysis, a review of the contribution to theory, the literature, the practitioner knowledge base, and the project application and recommendations. The project completes with references and appendices.

[ Note to learners: the project’s sections 1 to 1.5 will be revised into past tense after you conduct the study and write Section 3. Delete these instructions.].

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2.6.1.1 Preliminary Sources of Data Expected.

2.6.1.2 Instrumentation and Data Collection Tools.

[ Note to learners: The project’s sections 1 to 2.13 will be revised into past tense after you conduct the study and write Section 3.].

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