Plant-based brand Tindle on its plans to become a mainstream global food brand

Jean Madden, the chief marketing officer of Next Gen Foods, the creator of plant-based chicken alternative Tindle, told The Drum the brand was created with a global focus.

"From the brand's inception, we knew Tindle was a global brand. So, the strategy was for us to understand what is global, who are the global consumers and what is the key driver for them to want to try plant-based foods and we figured if the plant-based food tasted as delicious as its counterparts but was made healthier and sustainably, we knew we had the audience,” says Madden.

The plant-based food category is experiencing significant growth as consumers seek out sustainable alternatives to meat and dairy. The global plant-based food market is expected to reach $77.8 billion dollars in 2025 and will have more than doubled by 2030.

Research shows that consumers will give plant-based foods a closer look if such products meet or exceed their expectations for conventional meat, seafood, dairy, and eggs—a standard most believe the sector has not yet achieved.

However, Asian consumers have expressed a strong desire to try products that they perceive to be innovative or deliver added values not previously available to them.

In a bid to take advantage of Asia's more adventurous attitude to new foods and the prevalence of soy and tofu products, the brand has implemented a strategy of influencer and experiential marketing to get consumers to eat its products.

“Given the long history of tofu, and other vegetarian food in the country, people love to try plant-based versions of their local dishes and are curious to try plant-based meat.”

“So, from a marketing perspective, it's like how do you ride on that curiosity? How do you build a brand that is genuinely engaging with consumers? Beyond just selling the nutritional and sustainability aspects of the product. How to get customers to try the product for the first time? So, we figured that talking about taste, working with incredible chefs, making sure customers first try plant-based meat at a restaurant and have an amazing experience was the strategy we adopted and have seen immense success,” says Madden.

Tindle initially launched its products through premium restaurants in Singapore, the strategy was to collaborate with chefs from around the world to create Tindle-based menu items and provide customers with a unique and authentic way to experience the products.

Partnering with a wide selection of restaurants - both meat and plant-based dishes, such as Privé, Four Seasons, Empress, Atmosphere, Three Buns, D&D London, Baia, The Grey Dog, Adda and many other established restaurants, Tindle dishes were presented on menus alongside other dishes.

The approach not only puts Tindle's products into consumers' hands - and mouths - it also enables the brand to be showcased within traditional and local dishes, as well as more westernized dishes. This strategy has seen Singapore’s famous chicken rice offered as Tindle chicken rice at Privé, restaurants. The brand has also been adopted as Kefir-Curry Vegetarian Chicken Satay, Kung Pao Tindle Chicken, Butter Tindle Pot Pie from Adda, Japanese Katsu Curry from Privé, Hot Tindle Chicken Burger from Love Handle Burgers, Thai Curry, Sushi, burgers and nuggets.

“Our product is a completely mouldable, malleable plant-based chicken product, which is used by chefs worldwide. And what makes it interesting for chefs is that they can take our product and infuse it with any spices, cook it with any method and experiment it with various flavors. Tindle is therefore suitable for all markets and can be easily made into a local or western dish which is a big advantage,” says Madden.

The success of the strategy has seen it replicated in other markets such as Germany where the brand debuted in the retail market in Germany. The iconic German schnitzel was adapted as Tindle Schnitzel and is available across Germany.

While Tindle is yet to deploy any traditional marketing tactics, the brand has already established a strong portfolio of strategic collaborations, cross-promotion with brands, word-of-mouth and digital marketing to create buzz and generate curiosity among consumers.

Tindle engages its customers on Instagram and TikTok, using both these channels in different ways to attract customers. On Instagram, the brand showcases chefs' creations and food innovations from around the world. On TikTok, the focus is more on entertainment. “Gen Z’s hate being sold to, but they love entertainment. So, for TikTok it’s more like behind the scenes, creating food porn commercials, sampling videos, reactions of people trying Tindle for the first time,” says Madden

The approach demonstrates the challenge for plant-based brands which have to employ creative tactics and strategies to overcome consumer bias.

“Creativity has been a fundamental pillar to how we build our brand. If you go down to basics, we're producing chicken from plants. That’s unusual, so we need to be creative in our marketing," says Madden.

"We push the boundaries of what is commonly understood as chicken into doing something new and shifting that paradigm. We focus on creating wholesome experiences of plant-based food, educate the consumers about its benefits and showcase the innovation of the product.”

Tindle's brand is on the rise after raising $100 million in Series A funding in April 2022 - it was the largest round ever for any plant-based meat company. The financing has gone towards the company’s international and US expansions as well as boosting its research capabilities in a new facility in Singapore.

Tindle's ultimate ambition remains the same, to make an impact not just as a global brand but as a mainstream name for plant-based chicken.