From Missed Meatless to Market-Maker:

Overview

As plant-based competitors grew their footprint, a leading poultry giant found itself sidelined—holding less than 8% share in the alt-protein aisle. Flexitarian trial was down, and leadership needed a way in.

But not just any way—one that matched their brand trust, scale, and shopper expectations.

Challenge

While the category grew, trial among flexitarian shoppers dropped 12%, and meatless brands gained more shelf space.

The client saw an opportunity—but lacked clarity on where and how to compete.

The mission: decode competitor playbooks and surface whitespace for a product and channel strategy that could scale fast.

Solutions & Insights

Starlight combined social listening, retail audits, ingredient analyses, and pricing strategy to pinpoint gaps in the plant-based landscape. We found that consumers weren’t just looking for “meatless”—they wanted clean-label, trusted sources, and better taste.

We recommended a hybrid 50/50 chicken-plant patty—something 45% of flexitarians said they’d try from a known poultry name. Paired with a clean-ingredient, “under 7” SKU line and a club-store value-pack strategy, the client had a focused, high-impact roadmap.

The results followed fast: the hybrid patty hit ~30% trial conversion, generating $3.2M in eight weeks. The clean-label line drove premium pricing and added $2.1M in Q1 profit. And club-store entry unlocked $1.5M in new channel revenue.

“We didn’t want to chase the plant-based trend—we wanted to lead with intention. Chris and Starlight helped us find the right entry point that felt both credible and commercially sound.”
— VP of Strategy, Confidential Brand