An interview with Hassan Oberkrom, CMO at Plantmello

Today I sat with Hassan Oberkrom, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Plantmello, to talk about vegan products and their ability to replace animal-based alternatives.

Tim Aaron Gashiz (TAG): Hi Hassan, it’s great to get to speak to you about this project.

Hassan Oberkrom (HO): Hey Tim! Yes, it’s crazy that we never got to have a formal conversation about it, although we literally know each other forever.

TAG: So let’s dive right into it: what is the driving idea behind Plantmello?

HO: Well, it’s simple. Do you drink plant-based beverages?

TAG: Yes, I have to admit I’m an Oatly fanatic…

HO: And have you ever wondered why Oatly is so expensive, while it’s a mix of oats and water, two very very inexpensive products?

TAG: Yes! Definitely.

HO: Well the answer to that is basically that Oatly, along with many other oat drink companies, have insane margins that fuel their fast-growing expansion. We’re trying to reduce pricing and make high-quality plant-based products available to everyone.

TAG: And you can do so and remain profitable?

HO: Yes. This is possible by going direct-to-customer. The interesting thing with plant-based milk is that there is a huge demand through coffee shops. These B2B sales can be generated without the need for huge marketing expenses. And once you manage to acquire new customers, they bring a steady stream of income.

TAG: Where are your customers located?

HO: Today they’re mostly British and French, but we’re expanding across Europe.

TAG: Isn’t there something problematic with running a business that’s basically competing against an established company but with lower margins?

HO: That’s a great question. I think there are two sides to the answer.

First: the business side. In any market, there is a lot of money to be made on both sides of the customer positioning: you can be the luxury provider, or the commodity provider. Anything in-between is awkward and can easily be squeezed out. Oatly is on the higher-end of the market, and we’re proudly on the lower-end in terms of price.

The second point is the ethical one. At the end of the day, the goal of Plantmello is to make vegan products available to the greatest numbers. If it means making less money, we’re okay with it. We are a self-funded, private company, and don’t have any investors to answer to.

TAG: Isn’t there a risk that competitors might copy your model?

HO: There’s always this risk. But a well-oiled supply chain and customer database is a much more defensible asset than you’d expect.

TAG: So, what’s next for Plantmello?

HO: First, commercial expansion. We expect to invest $20 million USD to develop our sales channels in the next decade. Second, expansion of our product line. Our initial idea was to get started with plant-based beverages and then to other animal product alternatives such as butter, cream, etc.

TAG: Will there ever be a Plantmello beef patty?

HO: To be honest, I don’t think so. The reason behind that is that some of the large meat alternatives companies such as Impossible Foods are already on a trend to reduce their price to be competitive with traditional meat. There won’t be such a high price premium as for Oat Milk on the long run. So for now, we’ll stay focused on dairy-related products.

TAG: Thanks so much Hassan, that was amazing. Is there anywhere people can find you or reach you?

HO: Haha, not really. I’m very concerned about privacy, so they’ll have to figure out a way to get my WhatsApp number, Signal number, or another E2E encrypted messaging service!

TAG: Fair enough. Thanks for your time, it was a great pleasure to finally have this chat.

HO: The pleasure was literally all mine Tim. Thank you.