Looking for a career in the vegan industry? Fortunately, with the increasing demand for plant-based foods, plenty of vegan jobs are opening up.
Have you ever thought about transitioning to a career in the vegan industry? According to the Good Food Institute, plant-based food sales grew 43% in the last two years. This growth is 2.5 times faster than overall food sales between 2018 and 2020.
Between the increase of plant-based food sales, new vegan restaurants opening, as well as the number of cruelty-free fashion products and cosmetics being introduced to the world, the number of companies that need good help will continue to grow in the years to come.
With no better time than now to begin this job search, it doesn’t matter if you have experience working for a vegan company before because many of the skills people already have can be carried over to help the growth of the vegan sector.
Become a vegan marketer
Vegan brands need help getting more customers. Whether it’s a plant-based meal delivery service or a vegan jackfruit jerky company, one of the biggest struggles business owners face is getting enough awareness for their brand.
Traditional advertising methods are becoming more expensive by the day. Google Ads are getting more expensive and magazine advertising costs are through the roof. A partner at a plant-based branding firm, Jim O’Quinn, says there is no greater opportunity for brands to get free awareness than on social media.
If you can help bring more customers to a business, being a vegan marketer is the number one way to make yourself indispensable in the years to come. As long as you’re good at your job, the business you’re with will grow and you’ll maintain steady employment. Navigating the world of Instagram, TikTok and YouTube are just a few ways to get started in a social media marketing career.
Restaurants and food trucks
There are more than 6,426 restaurants that cater to vegans in the UK. Outside of the food you buy online or from grocery shelves, as more restaurants begin opening up their doors, this leaves plenty of room for finding a job in a vegan restaurant.
The great part about this profession is that it doesn’t require decades of experience or a university degree. You could search for jobs as a chef, server, host/hostess, or work your way in management, serving delicious vegan foods to happy customers.
Check out the world’s first vegan hospitality consulting course.
If you’re feeling ambitious, you could even look into starting your own vegan restaurant or food truck. Food trucks are a great way to get mobile with your business and you can introduce vegan food to omnivore customers at breweries and other types of festivals.
Work in a non-profit organisation
Non-profit organisations are always looking for help in managing their mission to make the world a better place for animals. PETA currently has hundreds of employees and dozens of job openings in the US, UK, Germany, and throughout the world.
A friend of mine worked in the technology department maintaining the website for Mercy for Animals. Aside from the benefits of working for a great cause, this also puts you in a work environment that is aligned with your values and you’ll most certainly make friends with your team.
While many of the job postings do require a degree and a certain level of experience, there are other smaller organisations that attract people interested in gaining experience in the non-profit sector.
The Brave New Life Project is a non-profit that helps workers transition out of animal agriculture and into more humane, sustainable, and prosperous jobs. As the organisation grows, it will need help building its social media presence, attracting donors, assisting workers with writing resumes, and preparing people for interviews. It can’t hurt to send your resume over to a non-profit you believe in, even if it’s to start off as an internship and gain experience.
If you have a passion for working with animals directly, you could always volunteer or apply for a paid position at an animal sanctuary in your area. Job responsibilities vary from promotion and marketing to feeding and caring for the animals themselves. If you have a background in veterinary medicine, this training and experience can open up the doors to care for animals in an animal hospital or shelter.
Alternative protein careers
There is a whole new industry evolving around cell-based agriculture. This is a process where they produce “real” meat and dairy products from cells in a lab as opposed to animal slaughter. Similar to a beer brewing process, these cells are placed in fermentation chambers, where this so-called ‘clean meat’ is created.
While this doesn’t sound appealing to eat for many vegans, the truth is that many non-vegans will never switch to 100% plant-based, and investors are taking notice. More than a billion dollars have been invested into cellular agriculture companies to prepare for the growth of this market. It would be a great opportunity to help shift the world into a better place.
The Good Food Institute lists a number of job openings in its alternative protein career portal, which includes positions in plant and cell-based protein companies.
Some job openings in alternative protein companies:
- Business analyst
- Global strategic marketing director
- Adipose tissue biologist
- Protein scientist
- Project manager
- Food engineer
- Research associate
- Human resource manager
Freelancing
Even if you don’t have a background in science or food technology, there are many job openings available for you. Or perhaps you’re not ready to make a full-time transition into a vegan career. Outside of traditional employment, there is a whole industry of freelancers that work part-time for some extra cash.
For example, Jeoto Design specialises in graphic design and branding services for plant-based, sustainable, and eco-friendly businesses. It chooses to focus on vegan companies.
Do you have any skills that could help support vegan businesses?
- Video editing
- Graphic design
- Writing
- Social media
- Website development
Some companies hire freelancers directly, or there are platforms such as UpWork, where you can list your services for offer.
Get creative with your vegan job search
The vegan industry is growing. With this growth, there are many jobs that play a role in this larger movement, some of which you would never expect. Agricultural hands work in the fields that procure raw supplies such as soybeans and oats. State and local governments are filling up with politicians that help provide a voice for animals in politics. The Animal Justice Party is a political party based out of Australia that helps pass animal-friendly laws.
As the plant-based milk brand Oatly is planning to go public with a $10 billion valuation, one of its plans is to open the largest plant-based milk production facility in the UK. This one company can start hiring 200 jobs. Of those jobs, there are many food line assembly workers who will be needed to run the company.
You can even play a support role, such as working in a fulfilment or logistics centre that delivers vegan products sold on the internet. Wherever there is a need in the traditional world, there are jobs that you can work in the plant-based sector.
- Accountant
- Physician
- Lawyer (patent or labelling)
- Customer service
- Food engineer
- Nutritionist
If you can think of a vegan product that doesn’t exist yet, you could always take the entrepreneurial route to start a vegan business and one day employ others in vegan jobs yourself.
Read our article on investing in vegan businesses.
Browse vegan job boards to help you with your search
Don’t let all the possibilities overwhelm you.
There are a growing number of vegan job boards that list jobs in the non-profit, vegan, and alternative protein sectors. If you have a company or organisation that you’d love to work for, reach out to their founder and start networking with them to be first on the list when their next vegan job becomes available.
The vegan economy is growing. Like any job search, it takes time and persistence. One day, in the near future, we hope there’s a vegan job that’s waiting for you.
