Life: Everything is good without the pig!
Founded by Nicolas Schweitzer and Vincent Poulichet, the La Vie brand is gradually making its way into supermarkets and restaurants. Launched exclusively at Carrefour in October 2021 and in other brands from January 2022, the latter has already found its identity. To stand out from other plant-based brands, La Vie relies on two important elements: pleasure and humour. “I really like meat, I’m not yet ready to become totally vegetarian, but I know that today, animal meat production represents 80% of agricultural land, 15% of CO2 emissions produced by humans and the death of 80 billion animals a year. It is therefore important to change our behavior“, says Romain Jolivet, Chief Marketing Officer of La Vie.
And to take the plunge, it is essential that the pleasure of taste remains intact. “Love and pleasure are at the heart of our brand. She is joyful, fat, greedy, funny. It is important for us to convey good humor. We try, with a smile, to invite people to go green“, explains the marketing director. When she declares her love for meat on Valentine’s Day or when she tries to bring together a Jew, a meat-eater, a Muslim and a vegan at the same table, the brand bets on humor to promote its innovative products.
In addition, La Vie has the particularity of having specialized exclusively in imitation pork: vegetable bacon, vegetable bacon (which received the title of flavors of the year 2022) and soon… ham vegetable! The release of this latest recipe is scheduled for the end of 2023. Only 6 ingredients will make up the innovative product: soy, peas, water, sunflower oil, salt and natural coloring. The prototype of this ham was also presented, at the end of 2022, at an international competition organized by Carrefour, of which it won… first prize!
Despite its recent appearance, the brand manages to obtain rather positive results: “Last December, we had an invoicing rate equivalent to an annual turnover of 12 million euros. Present in 4,500 points of sale, we sell a La Vie product every 20 minutes. This is impressive for a brand like ours“, welcomes Romain Jolivet. La Vie has also become internationalized. It is already present in six European countries (France, United Kingdom, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany).
