Business and Brand Strategy

Business Development

Objective

• To create a sustainable business by the end of 2024 that achieves our mission of 500 million people eating products made using tempeh by 2030, while driving health-conscious chicken buyers to swap chicken at least once for Better Nature as the supercharged alternative. Achieve profitability with the £1.1 million we’ve raised

Key Insights

• Growing interest in products that are plant-based, all-natural, and nutritious.
• Consumers seeking non-UPF, gut-friendly protein options with added value like fibre

Key Barrier

• Launching a new food to market is expensive and difficult.
• The plant-based category is ultra-competitive, with established players having deep pockets.

Strategy

Establish and own the tempeh category:

• Drive distribution, on-shelf visibility, revenues, and profit.
• Offer an innovative, accessible range of meat-free products and ingredients catered to target customer needs.
• Build strong awareness of tempeh and position Better Nature as the go-to tempeh brand.
• Leverage the Protein Doctor brand ambassador to communicate our supercharged protein positioning

Action Points

• Ensure all business areas are clear on and executing their strategies.
• Maintain strong financial management with clear visibility.
• Secure adequate funding and adhere to a roadmap towards profitability.

KPIs

• Revenues (including comparison to other tempeh brands).
• Valuation.
• Profit.
• Innovation pipeline.
• Number of people eating tempeh.
• Revenue / margin / profitability aligned with mission and culture

Research & Development

Objective

• Use tempeh mycelium fermentation to develop the most nutritious, appealing, and accessible natural tempeh products and ingredients, establishing Better Nature as the leader in non-UPF, gut-friendly protein alternatives to chicken

Key insight

• Tempeh mycelium fermentation can be applied across diverse product categories, from plant-based meat and fish to dairy and confectionery.

Key barrier

• Limited consumer awareness of tempeh.
• Underdeveloped fermentation technology.

Strategy

Test and validate tempeh mycelium fermentation to:

• Create superior natural plant-based ingredients.
• Develop all-natural meat-free products that exceed market benchmarks.

Action points

• Conduct high-level exploration of fermentation potential.
• Create products with verified demand and scalable systems.

KPIs

• Feasible inventions with strong tangibility, patentability, marketability, scalability, and profitability.
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New Product Development

Objective

• Create all-natural, nutritious products that are familiar, convenient, and appealing to target audiences, reducing education barriers and increasing trial.

Key insight

• Consumers want natural, nutritious products that taste great.

Key barrier

• Low awareness of tempeh and difficulty in cooking it correctly.

Strategy

• Develop formats that feel familiar yet deliver our protein and gut-health advantage.

Action points

• Research preferred product formats, ingredients, and nutritionals.
• Conduct sensory panels for consumer appeal.
• Produce scalable prototypes broadening tempeh’s appeal.

KPIs

• Sensory panel results.
• Product sales rates.
• Number of manufacturing-ready prototypes.

Operations

Objective

• Build a reliable, ethical, and scalable supply chain that supports our category leadership and profitability goals

Key insight

• Supermarkets demand price stability despite rising costs.

Key barrier

• Niche status limits negotiating power with suppliers and customers.

Strategy

• Partner with reliable, growth-aligned contractors and suppliers.

Action points

• Strengthen supplier relationships.
• Negotiate for best possible margins.

KPIs

• Supply reliability.
• COGS and margins.
• New product launches.
• Number of manufacturing-ready prototypes.

Sales

Objective

• Expand access to our products, meeting customers where they shop, both retail and foodservice

Key insight

• Meat-free growth is slowing, but demand is strong for natural, nutritious options.

Key barrier

• Retailers are wary of low tempeh awareness.

Strategy

• Position tempeh as the natural, nutritious solution to reinvigorate meat-free sales, with Better Nature leading.

Action points

• Present category data and retailer-specific opportunities.
• Build retailer confidence with case studies.
• Offer honest assessments of awareness challenges and needed support.
• Target relevant foodservice accounts to grow awareness.

KPIs

• Distribution points and quality of retailer partnerships.
• Forecasted revenue opportunity from new listings.
• Brand awareness impressions.

Marketing

Objective

• Educate, inspire trial, and build brand association with tempeh as the supercharged protein alternative to chicken

Key insight

• Once people try tempeh, they tend to like it.

Key barrier

• Low awareness and cooking know-how.

Strategy

• Focus messaging on what tempeh is.
• Leverage the Protein Doctor to drive credibility and education.

Action points

• Build trade profile in plant-based, natural, and FMCG sectors.
• Run awareness and trial campaigns.
• Optimise shelf stand-out and in-store promotions

KPIs

• ROS at our distribution points.
• Awareness of tempeh and Better Nature brand association.