By Lucia Rivera, VRG Intern

Since Plantega launched, the plant-based program has been partnering with local New York City bodegas to offer their target audience accessible vegan food options.

     “We partner with bodegas in New York City and empower them to sell plant-based foods through our unique grill menu and retail installations. We provide them with all the training, operational and marketing support, and equipment to do it successfully and seamlessly with little to no disruption to ongoing operations,” Plantega lead Nil Zacharias said. “We also work with them to plan and execute special promotions, giveaways, community outreach efforts, and other marketing and promotional activities in and around their location.”

     Plantega expanded to 10 locations over the course of the pandemic, with bodega store owners reaching out to the Plantega team through email ([email protected]) and through Instagram. Zacharias recommended for interested bodega owners to inquire about a partnership through the same methods, with more information also available at the Plantega website. There, entrepreneurs, customers, and activists alike can view the Plantega menu, which features a range of vegan food items.

     Although Plantega does provide stores with items from its standard menu, there is a customized marketing method implemented based on a specific bodega’s community. According to Zacharias, “what we do find we can customize and make unique is the way in which we communicate what our menu items are all about.”

     Additionally, to better connect with Plantega’s various bodegas, the company’s Community Ambassador program allows respective community members to engage bodega owners and customers in relevant ways. “For example in this location [in East Brooklyn] where the majority of the customer base is Spanish-speaking, Community Ambassadors that visit that location speak Spanish. We hand out Spanish language flyers, plus we also find that, depending on the neighborhood, we try to find different sandwich options that we promote outside the store through posters and other signage that we think would resonate more with the neighborhood.”

     For NYC community members interested in promoting the plant-based movement in local stores, one can apply to be a Plantega Community Ambassador on the Plantega website. There, they will find the application searching for “team members that share our passions for health, yummy food, and community wellness.”

     In addition to the help of Community Ambassadors, Zacharias also noted that “in some locations the store owners are sort of the trusted advisors of the customers.” This dynamic leads to an inherently customized marketing strategy for Plantega products. This community-integrated practice model, though, came with specific intentions.

     “We want to be community powered and we want to empower the community. It comes to life in two specific aspects of Plantega. Community powered because we want our team to reflect the community; we want to make sure that the foods and messaging and the branding feels natural and culturally relevant for the communities that we are serving,” Zacharias stated. “We want them to be independent stores and that kind of brings me to my second point. We are here to empower the community because the model we’ve chosen and how we want to distribute our menu and our products is through independent bodegas.

     “We want to empower them to tap into the benefits of the plant based movement and the growth in the plant based food industry. So instead of opening up a restaurant that would compete with independent businesses in these neighborhoods, we intentionally build a model where each of these stores themselves stand to profit and stand to become part of the plant-based movement rather than have it replace them.”

     Plantega works with store owners by recognizing their needs and meeting them with specific plant-based products and meals.

     “We want to make sure that they understand what the value proposition is for them, because we know that they get pitched a lot by a lot of food companies that usually don’t really engage with them, or care about them or get to know them—they’re just looking for another distribution point for one of their products. We want to make sure we do more than that. Frankly, they’re quite confused in the beginning when we talk to them [and] tell them ‘All you have to do is agree to buy products from us, and we will, you know, train your cooks, and then you don’t have to worry about anything. We handle all of it. We will do all the signage; we will do marketing. If the press wants to film the location we will bring them in, we will do social media, we will do free giveaways,’” Zacharias said.

     Local New Yorkers may have encountered one of Plantega’s free giveaways recently, such as their vegan Ben & Jerry’s ice cream distribution that was documented on their Instagram. Efforts like these help Plantega achieve the mission of making plant-based food “accessible to everyone, everyday” through individual bodegas.

     “When we do those special things, the bodegas notice that we are truly invested and committed to their success, and their success will then equal our success. And I find that trust building takes time but once it’s done and we’ve established those relationships, we are really able to get them to cooperate with us, to plan promotions, and do all kinds of things in their stores,” Zacharias explained. “They see the money at the end of the day and that is truly what they value, which I totally understand, and of course they value serving their community, which they are also able to do. […] And of course the customers in those locations are just happy to have some better options on the menu, even if they’re not vegan or vegetarian. They’re just happy that someone’s doing something for their local bodega and that I think in itself is worth all the effort.”

     For NYC customers who want to “get Plantega at a bodega near” them, the company also recommends them to send an email to [email protected]. One can learn more about Plantega at eatplantega.com 

The contents of this posting, our website, and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

For vegan information in Spanish, see vrg.org/nutshell/information_in_Spanish.htm