There’s no shortage of great vegan products! Brands like Beyond Meat, Daiya, Gardein, Silk, So Delicious, and Tofurky make delicious vegan meats, cheeses, and more. And you can often find them at your local grocery store. But sometimes the closest supermarket doesn’t carry your favorite vegan brand, and you’re getting tired of driving to Whole Foods every time you need a “fix.” Fear not! You can get your local store to carry these awesome vegan brands in just four easy steps:
1. Decide Which Products You Want
Make a list of the vegan treats that you desperately wish you could find at your local store. Here are some of OUR favorites:
- Beyond Meat Beast Burger
- Boca Spicy Chik’n Patties
- Daiya Cheeze Lover’s Pizza
- Field Roast Lentil Sage Quarter Loaf
- Follow Your Heart High Omega Vegan Bleu Cheese Dressing
- Gardein Golden Fishless Filet
- Just Mayo
- Silk Almondmilk and Cashewmilk
- So Delicious Minis Coconut Almond Bars
- Tofurky Deli Slices
2. Contact Your Local Store
There are a few ways that you can contact a store. You can do one, two, or all three:
Call
Call the store! Ask to be connected to someone who can help you request products not currently offered by the store. This could be a ” buyer” or “inventory manager.” Let this person know which products you would like the store to carry. If the store already offers the brand but not the specific product you’re looking for, mention that, too!
E-mail is a great option because you can include links to the new products you want. Let the store know that you’re a regular shopper!
Social Media
Find the store’s Facebook page, Twitter feed, Instagram account, or any other social-media sites that the store updates. Send a message requesting that it carry the product you want. Make sure that you also tag the account of the brand that makes the product. Encourage your friends and family to do the same. The more comments the store gets on social media about these products, the more likely it will be to carry them!
Hi! I was hoping to get Follow Your Heart cheese at my local Ralphs in Studio City (http://www.yelp.com/biz/ralphs-studio-city). Thank you for any help you can give me!
Posted by Hannah Healy on Wednesday, April 8, 2015
https://twitter.com/VeganJenny/status/585919886901309440
3. Follow Up
Once you make contact with the store, it may take some time before a shipment can be delivered, or the store may need to hear from more interested people before it will place an order for new products. If you talk to an employee, take down his or her name and employee ID number and call back (or send an e-mail or a letter) asking for an update. Ask your friends and family to make similar requests—the more feedback the store gets, the quicker staff will respond.
4. Enjoy Your New Vegan Goodies!
One-third of meat-eaters in America are eating plant-based meals more often—that’s more than 100 million people (in addition to all the vegetarians and vegans out there), which means that offering more vegan options is a surefire way for any business to maximize profits!
Companies across the country have been responsive to the ever-growing demand for cruelty-free products. IKEA now carries vegan meatballs, Dunkin’ Donuts recently started offering almond milk at its locations, and Starbucks has several nondairy milks to choose from. All this was made possible because caring people spoke up and asked for more options.
Looking for something to do with all your new vegan products? Check out our peta2 recipes!