The marketing agency FasterForward wants to put women-owned vegan businesses in the spotlight. The brand and consultancy firm works with many companies but recently shifted its focus to sustainable brands.
According to the company’s LinkedIn profile, the founders have a clear vision for the future.
“We focus on companies whose success will inherently make the world a better, more livable, and happier place. And then we help make them more successful. After almost three decades of building brands, I am fully committed to use whatever talents I have, to build a better world,” one post on the page said.
About FasterForward
FasterForward launched in August 2022, striving to uplift women-owned companies, especially those in the environmental and plant-based industries. Shane Ginsberg and Florian Radke created the firm to help companies grow in a turbulent world. They noticed female entrepreneurs struggled more than their male counterparts, so they hoped to level the playing field.
Radke, “an award-winning marketing and brand communications expert,” uses his industry knowledge to help mainly food and direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands. Many Fortune 500 companies and startups have asked for his assistance to expand their customer bases. Radke works as the CMO for larger companies and as a freelancer for brands such as Miyoko’s Creamery and Alpha Foods.
Ginsberg, a groundbreaking digital marketing entrepreneur, has worked on brand development for notable companies like Pepsi and Microsoft. He also co-founded the marketing agency Razorfish to help companies connect better with their customers. For the last decade, he’s worked tirelessly to create FasterForward’s winning strategy: BrandSpeed.
The FasterForward website states: “We work with startups and established companies running fast into the future. We use a proprietary approach called BrandSpeed
to help our clients figure out who they are and what to do next.”
The revolutionary process helps companies differentiate themselves from the competition from the get-go. BrandSpeed packs three months of strategic business moves into just two weeks. During that time, FasterForward helps clients develop a brand narrative, build their fanbase and retail presence, and launch an effective social marketing strategy.
Marketing Firm Helps Women-Owned Vegan Businesses Thrive
Ginsberg has tested the BrandSpeed strategy on 85 retail, tech, cannabis, and food businesses. Now, he and Radke want to ensure women-owned vegan businesses have their time to shine.
Many plant-based, women-owned companies have become more successful due to the BrandSpeed approach. Brands such as Rebellyous Foods, Vegan Women Summit (VWS), and Miyoko’s Creamery experienced record growth recently.
However, Miyoko Schinner, the founder of Miyoko’s Creamery, encountered many obstacles along the path to success. In an interview with Plant Based News, she talked about the rampant discrimination and bias that women-owned businesses face.
She said that gender inequality still exists in business and activism, despite advancements in women’s rights. Schinner noted that the media tends to focus primarily on men in business and overlook the achievements of women. She added that since men usually feel more comfortable bragging about their accomplishments, they often get more attention.
She told Plant Based News:
“Women tend to downplay their own accomplishments. We need the media to start highlighting more women in business as well as activism. Let’s start crowning queens, not just kings.”
Schinner believes that women are essential in creating a more ethical food system. As natural-born nurturers and healers, she said it only makes sense for women to lead the plant-based food movement.
Unfortunately, according to a report by the Vegan Women Summit (VWS), women-owned businesses continue to lag behind companies led by men. For example, even though plant-based food and technology investments reached $3 billion in 2020, women founders raised less than 3% of those investments.
Radke said many studies prove that women-owned companies in all sectors create more value for investors and the market. However, after working with female entrepreneurs, he noticed they found it harder to secure essential resources to grow their businesses. He said that FasterForward aimed to help women-led companies achieve results quickly and ensure fair competition.
Jim Allsopp, the Chief Brand Officer of Miyoko’s Creamery, confirmed that BrandSpeed helped them immensely.
He said: “Florian and Shane understand the changing needs and realities of a fast-growing business because they’ve been there. These fellas helped us move faster forward by cutting through the typical agency ordeal and big agency approach by making it super easy to engage and jumping in headfirst at the whiteboard.”
Women-Led Vegan Companies Enjoy Record Growth
Many entrepreneurs and investors have taken advantage of the booming plant-based industry. Entrepreneur Jennifer Stojkovic created VWS to help women-owned vegan businesses network and access funding for their companies.
Stojkovic told Plant Based News that the summit attracts women from countries around the world. She watched in amazement as the conference grew from 250 women to 40,000 entrepreneurs in just two years.
Additionally, she noted that the summit’s explosive growth proves the need for a community that empowers women-owned businesses. She emphasized that women of color need the support, as they have a more challenging time accessing funding. In 2021, they reported discrimination from investors 1.5 times more often than white founders.
However, many investors have jumped at any opportunity to profit from the new vegan food industry. Experts estimate the plant-based food market will reach $162 billion within the next ten years.
In an interview with The Guardian, Malte Clausen of Boston Consulting Group said: “If you really care about impact as an investor, this is an area that you definitely need to understand.”
Final Thoughts on Marketing Agency Promoting Women-Owned Businesses
The marketing firm FasterForward wants to help women-owned businesses become more successful. Women have more chances than ever before but face bias and discrimination frequently. The founders of FasterForward want to elevate sustainable women-led companies so they finally have a chance to shine.
So far, they have helped businesses like Miyoko’s Creamery, Alpha Foods, and the Vegan Women Summit. They hope to uplift many other environmentally-friendly companies in the future as well.
The post New Marketing Agency to Promote Women-Owned Vegan Businesses appeared first on Power of Positivity: Positive Thinking & Attitude.