In 30 seconds:
- Got vegan ice cream, plantbased ramen, vegan cheese or even vegan chicken to sell? You need to get on vegan TikTok.
- TikTok is Gen Z’s favourite social media platform, and this generation are passionate about sustainability and animal welfare. They are your best vegan customers.
- How can you get started? We’ll talk you through vegan TikTok videos and easy vegan-approved ideas to skyrocket your brand.
Did you get into cooking at home during lockdown in 2020?
If you answered “yes”, you are not alone. As Lockdown 1 kicked in, we saw several viral food trends emerge (who can forget that viral whipped dalgona coffee?) and a record number of us started baking. At the same time, social media platform TikTok‘s popularity soared from 5.4 million in January to 13 million in April (a number that has continued to rise).
it was only a matter of time before Vegan TikTok inspired Gen Z.
70% of TikTok users are Gen Z – and this generation are passionate about sustainability and ethical practices. Over a third want to be meat-free. Veganism speaks to their ethics, and TikTok is where they are finding vegan recipes, vegan meal tutorials and vegan brands.
But how can you make sure these Vegan Tiktokers find you? Here’s what you need to know to unlock Vegan TikTok.
Who's on vegan TikTok?
The first priority to understand is who is finding your brand on vegan TikTok.
Veganism was on the up before the pandemic. The number of vegans in the UK quadrupled between 2014 and 2019, and many celebrities and influencers are proudly vegan, including Gen Z icon Lizzo.
In fact, if you’re looking for the best vegan TikTokers, we’ve listed our favourite influencers here.
But it’s not just full-time vegan foodies who are finding inspiration on vegan TikTok.
A huge portion of Gen Z are trying to incorporate more vegan practices into their daily lives. 65% find plantbased foods appealing, and 75% say they’re cutting their meat and dairy consumption. This explains trends such as plantbased oat milk sales rising 2,000% in two years. Brands like Oatly have experienced astronomic success because they provide a sustainable alternative to animal products.
If you can help Gen Z go vegan, you should make a TikTok account.
TikTok veganism: the best vegan tips
If you’re in the market for creating a viral vegan food trend, or sharing the benefits of your animal-free products, vegan TikTok is your friend. But how can you make sure your message gets across?
Here are some ways you can make the best vegan content on TikTok:
1. Partner with vegan TikTok influencers
TikTok influencers are a powerful way to spread your message.
One of the most popular food influencers (including all non-vegan influencers) is vegan chef Tabitha Brown (@iamtabithabrown). Her 4.5 million followers love her quick tutorials on home vegan recipes, often featuring easy vegan alternatives to popular comfort foods. Her content is also appealing because it’s soothing – something that resonates with younger demographics, who turn to TikTok to “feel happier”.
Another example of an important vegan influencer is award-winning singer Lizzo (@lizzo). Her focus on body-positivity appeals to Gen Z since they care about inclusivity.
The pattern emerging? Vegan TikTok influencers provide deep value to their audiences. It’s not just about vegan recipes and trending hacks: their messages strike close to home.
We’ve listed the 10 best vegan TikTok influencers to watch here.
Vegan food brands can partner with these influencers to create inspiring content. What’s underpinning the success of these TikTok accounts is their ethical message, so don’t be afraid to partner with vegan TikTokers in a slightly different niche.
A vegan beauty TikToker will have plenty of followers who care about avoiding eating meat. It can even make your product stand out a little more to use vegan TikTok influencers in a complementary niche to your product.
For more info on how to work with TikTok influencers, check out our article here.
2. Hop on vegan TikTok trends
Another way to boost your visibility on TikTok is to get involved with viral trends, or even create your own. To do this, a good place to start is using the right hashtags.
Comb vegan and veggie hashtags on TikTok for content inspiration and see what kind of videos are garnering more views and better engagement.
The #vegan hashtag has almost 16 billion views, featuring anything from ‘storytelling’ to recipes and memes. Funny or satisfying content tends to perform the best. #veganrecipes has 1.8 billion views, making it a great opportunity for meat and diary substitute brands to be discovered for their TikTok recipes. The best videos are aesthetically pleasing, well captioned, and simple to follow.
But you can go more niche than this.
TikTokers love meal prep videos for their satisfyingly organised quality. Create a vegan meal prep video with a #veganmealprep hashtag. TikTokers also love to see how they are helping the world. Talk about your vegan products and your brand’s ethics with a #tiktokforgood hashtag – you may even get your content picked up by TikTok account @tiktokforgood and see your views multiply all over again.
Keep an eye on non-vegan trends too. As discussed above, a huge portion of TikTokers care about cutting animal products, so you can unlock growth by participating in more than just vegan-specific trends. For instance, #whippedcoffee went viral in 2020 – presenting a huge opportunity for oat milk brands to create a vegan recipe for the trend.
The key is to react fast, and create content that’s a great fit. You can make sure you’re always up-to-date with TikTok trends with our weekly newsletter.
3. Do a vegan challenge
TikTokers love challenges. And you know what’s also a challenge? New Years’ Resolutions.
Veganuary is big on every vegan brand’s calendar. In 2021, a record 500,000 people pledged to cut out eating animal products for the month of January. A great way to make sure your recipe videos get a wide audience is to capture the attention of these new vegan converts.
They’ll be searching for inspiration to help them keep their resolution. After all, it’s extra tempting to reach for that donut when it’s a bleak January afternoon. Vegan inspiration videos are going to have the most impact at this time, when those new vegans are needing help!
So, challenge your audience to use your vegan products.
You can do this by creating an inspiring video for them to try to replicate at home. A mouth-watering recipe video for a comforting vegan lasagna or colourful vegan smoothie bowl will capture attention. Make sure the steps are clear and easy to copy, then include the call-to-action to challenge people to try it themselves.
Or you could set yourself a challenge: how many different recipes could you create for your vegan bacon alternative product in January? You could even partner with influencers to come up with ideas, or ask your followers to help by submitting ideas. Gen Z loves to participate with brands, so this will boost brand sentiment.
Challenges work well on TikTok throughout the year. The #veganchallenge hashtag performs well for all vegan alternative products who want to demonstrate how well they perform against non-vegan competitors.
How vegan food brands can leverage TikTok
Vegan TikTok is where the plant-based zeitgeist is taking place. Vegan food brands can partner with popular or niche vegan TikTokers who can showcase their products in their own unique style. Videos that work well include body positive, feel-good content, or easy to recreate recipes.
Brands shouldn’t limit themselves though. Users are also interested in seeing non-vegan users attempt the ‘vegan lifestyle’ and attempt a vegan diet. This grants a great opportunity for vegan brands to collaborate and leverage non-vegan creators to showcase authentic, ‘trying vegan products’ content.
Alternatively, vegan food brands can spot trends, or aim to create their own. Creating a vegan alternative for an existing trending recipe is a great place to start. Consistently participating in trending hashtags and providing plant-based versions of well-loved foods appeals to Gen Z. Feel-good or funny content does best on TikTok: Gen Z is there to be entertained, learn and destress.
Want help getting to the top of vegan TikTokers’ fyp? We’ve worked with plantbased brands to unlock huge growth. Check out our case study or learn more via our links below:
