Innovation

The innovation in Belse comes with the exquisite types of dishes that are being made. Sure, most individuals love animals and would love to protect them, but for people to consider a more plant-based diet, they want to ensure they are getting both the taste and health benefits they seek. Oftentimes, traditional vegan foods can tick one of those boxes without hitting the other. Whether it's tofu that tastes like fancy rubber or a faux burger with 1000 mg of sodium, it takes an innovative product offering multiple selling points to get consumers to switch from their current trends. For that reason, the chefs and recipes of Little Pine are vitally important. When interviewing Steve, he said, “I’ve tried to turn my kids vegan my whole life, and there hadn’t been enough tasty options to get them to make the switch. When creating all of our restaurants, we started with the: How do we make the best-tasting vegan food in the world, while continuing to offer plant-based food's health benefits? The answer to that we found was creativity."

Every restaurant targets customers differently, but when hearing Steve’s plan, our team was surprised at how tactical their marketing truly was. “Let’s be clear: no matter what chef you have cooking, faux meat will not taste like the utmost quality steak. However, we figured it doesn’t have to. If we could replicate 80% of the excellent taste while maintaining our position as extremely animal-friendly, extremely healthy for all types of people, and a place that always had great people inside, we knew we could get people to return, which is exactly what we did. What we lacked in any possible taste, and I assure you our food is damn good, we made up that and more so in other factors.” There are so many layers to making an item attractive to an individual, but Belse has been able to masterly manage all of these aspects, from the people around you to how the food is presented to the health benefits. All of these aspects matter, and despite some variables mattering more for specific individuals, Steve and Andrew have ensured Belse has a loyal customer base by covering all of their bases.

Inspiration

Both Steve and Andrew, the founders of Belse, absolutely loved Vegan food and were annoyed by the lack of options that existed for plant-based eaters. Covid-19 forced many Vegan restaurants under, and there was a severe lack of vegan options around the nation. When asked about it, Steve said, “I have been a vegan for 40 years, and there are simply not that many options available for us to enjoy. I wanted to make being vegan much easier for your average Joe.” This first led to Steve and Andrew looking to purchase a struggling vegan restaurant in Los Angeles, Little Pine. Little Pine became the first vegan restaurant under the chain, as it was already fully built and operational, and the current owners could not pay their lease during the Covid shutdown. Weirdly enough, Little Pine was the true start of Belse.

After a few months of running Little Pine, as Steve and Andrew’s confidence in the situation and the belief that tangible market opportunity rose, they decided to create an umbrella brand Belse, combining their last names. Little Pine had already built up a brand name and loyal followers, and they didn’t want to take away from that by renaming the store. Instead, the umbrella name they chose allowed them to open up a new chain of vegan restaurants nationwide, some named Belse, and some under other brand names. The first two restaurants made from scratch opened last year in Dallas and New York. In the next few years, a few more restaurants will be opened, and Steve openly said that he wants to target not just large cities like Los Angeles, Dallas, or New York. Instead, the founders would love to target locations where he feels there is a substantial vegan community but simply not enough options for them to enjoy in the area.

Lastly, Steve and Andrew view the vegan industry as booming in the next few decades. When asked about the opportunity, Steve said he views the world as going more and more towards a plant-based diet. They felt that if they could get ahead of the curve, they could do something they cared about, make a difference in the world, and do this all while still making profits. Currently, a lot of the vegan industry is doing it because they care about the animals, but Steve feels that the health benefits of a plant-based diet will drive the next wave of consumers to switch over. “I first became a Vegan because of my love for animals, but after years of research, the health benefits are clear. In the years to come, we will see a large shift in the vegan diet, not just from people who love animals but from those looking for health benefits. Even in recent years, we’ve seen athletes like Novak Djokovic, Tom Brady, and Lebron James switch to a more plant-based diet.” Overall, it looked like the founders truly wanted to do good in the world and stumbled upon an idea that could follow the Triple Bottom Line of profit, people, and planet.

Overall impact

The overall impact of the innovation is that more people around the United States will have access to a plant-based diet. This may not have many short-term effects, but in the long term, a plethora of health benefits come from this innovation. As people shift to a plant-based diet, risks for scares such as Heart Disease, the leading killer of people in the United States, drop dramatically. The company's founders see people moving more and more towards a vegan diet to address health concerns in the years to come, but they hope to expedite this shift, giving people more vegan options today and starting the trend early.

Business benefit

The innovation of vegan-based food and sustainability allows the restaurants Little Pine and Belse to attract a new market of consumers. Focusing on larger cities with a dense consumer base, many vegan and vegetarian consumers want to satisfy their beliefs with high-quality food that many restaurants don’t offer. Aiding the needs of many vegan customers allows the restaurants to create revenue in a smaller market and build relationships with their customers. This also connects with the business's ethical practices as Little Pine and Belse focus on the quality of food they source and the commitment to ethical policies regarding their staff.

Social and environmental benefit

Building a vegan restaurant such as Little Pine and Belse has many societal and environmental benefits. The first main benefit that the restaurants look to tackle would be sustainability. By having a fully vegan menu and using pure ingredients, the company helps the environment by limiting the effect of meat consumption. The production of meat for the world plays a massive role in damaging the planet. Millions of animals are slaughtered and killed every year for meat consumption. Because of this, natural resources are depleted to care for and feed the animals, along with the huge production of waste and pollution that also occurs. Quality and focus on the community are big priorities for the restaurants as they look to source their ingredients for their plethora of options regarding the menu. As a smaller vegan restaurant, there is a connection to the community; while consumers support the business, the community also benefits as money is returned. Vegan food also helps eliminate greenhouse gasses and can help in the future by reducing climate change. Offering vegan plates and allowing ordinary meat consumers to try and potentially shift into a more plant-based diet can help the world, as vegan lifestyles are better for the environment.

Interviews

Steven Bellamy, Founder

Steven Bellamy, Founder