Ella Mills injected a much-needed dose of optimism into the ailing plant-based category last week as she picked up Allplants from administrators
The Deliciously Ella founder hopes the combination of the brand with her own Plants offering can provide a reset for a sector in decline and signal the end of the dominant role of fake meats in the space.
“When we look at plant-based, we believe it should be synonymous with healthier options and not ultra-processed food,” Mills says.
But what exactly has Mills purchased and what does it mean for a wider category in flux?
The meat-free sector slipped another 7.3% to £483.7m last year [NIQ 52 w/e 7 September 2024], representing a more than 20% drop from the £600m-plus peak of 2021. There was also a resurgence in fresh meat in 2024 (growing by £481.3m to £6.7bn, with a surprise jump in beef sales, as revealed by The Grocer’s Top Products survey).
However, there is no doubt meat reduction remains firmly in the mainstream, thanks in part to the work done by brands like Allplants in building a community and raising awareness.
Flexitarianism
“Most adults continue to eat meat, but nearly four in 10 had limited/reduced the amount they eat, when surveyed in 2024,” says Alice Pilkington, principal food and drink analyst at Mintel.
She adds the trend will only continue in the long term, given the perception of plant-based being healthier and better for the environment.
While the high price of meat substitutes compared with traditional protein has been an undoubted barrier for growth during a cost of living crisis, Mills blames plant-based’s decline on a loss of appetite for fake meat products as consumers grow increasingly worried about UPFs.
“The category is losing consumers all the time and we just believe so strongly there is space for a really trusted brand, and Plants – combined with Allplants – has that credibility thanks to everything we have done over the years with recipes, cookbooks and apps,” she says.
“There are these pockets of growth, and the pockets are all natural.
“It feels like there’s a real opportunity to be one of those players that helps collectively support this turnaround in the category and get people back to fixture. It’s not to say there’s no role for meat mimics, but I think it probably should be a minority, not the majority.”
Research from Mintel seems to back up this theory, showing 68% of UK consumers find highly processed meat substitutes off-putting. Pilkington adds consumers also view meat substitutes made from vegetables/pulses, such as bean burgers, as more nutritious than those that mimic meat.
Plants is positioned to capitalise on this shift, with a range spanning ambient (high-protein pasta, pestos and sauces), chilled (veggie burgers, veggie bites and filled pastas) and frozen.
No return for ready meals
But consumers hoping for a return of the Allplants line of frozen ready meals will be left disappointed.
The deal is not about rescuing Allplants. Its purpose is to boost brand awareness of Plants by piggybacking on the large and loyal community built by Allplants since 2016.
While Mills is already one of the biggest names in plant-based thanks to her cookbooks, a recipe app and regular media exposure, most consumers know her through the Deliciously Ella brand – which has more than three million social media followers.
The problem is she no longer owns Deliciously Ella, having sold it to Hero Group last year. It means she is having to build Plants, which is only 18 months old, from the ground up.
And buying the Allplants brand – for what was likely a bargain-basement price – gives her a ready-made social media platform into which Plants can be plugged.
“Allplants built such amazing awareness for healthy plant-based meals,” says Plants MD Kerry Atack, who will lead the new business for Mills.
“Together we can stand out as a truly exciting and credible brand to work with retailers to really help rebuild the category, offering something to increase the natural products in the space.”
The Allplants Instagram account, with its 117,000 followers, has now been completely erased of all previous posts following the deal, with the logo replaced by one for Plants.
However, the comments on the first new post on the page announcing the deal highlight the risks of the strategy as well as the potential rewards, with many followers asking when the Allplants meals will be available again and others wondering what is happening to the staff at the collapsed business.
There is clearly a big education job to do here.
In the meantime, the deal enables Plants – which is readying its own brand refresh with labelling to highlight 100% natural ingredients made with ‘real food’ and ‘real flavour’ – to play with the Allplants trademark.
Anyone searching for the Allplants.com website will be taken to a new landing page for Cookplants.com and greeted with a slogan of “We’re all plants”.
Next stop will be to significantly expand distribution for Plants in retail from Waitrose, Ocado and Whole Foods Market to the mainstream grocers.
“We know that for all grocery retailers the category is in decline and the buying teams are reviewing their offering from the space,” Atack adds.
While the plant-based category may not be on its knees, there has certainly been some wobbly legs in the past couple of years. But can Mills put it back on firmer footing and reinvigorate growth in the long term?
“We’re really ambitious with Plants,” Mills says. “We sold 100 million products over the years at Deliciously Ella. We’ve had an amazing experience, and we very much aim to do the same thing at Plants. And Allplants is an amazing way of turbocharging growth and awareness.”
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