• by Steve Ellwanger , April 4, 2023

Nestlé’s Sweet Earth Foods is doubling down on taste to re-engage with people whose experience with plant-based foods failed to meet their expectations.

A new “Veggie Come Back” campaign is being led by former child actress and beauty and lifestyle brand founder Ashley Tisdale, who is best known for her role as Maddie Fitzpatrick in the Disney Channel teen sitcom “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.”

With a focus on taste, Sweet Earth has updated 15 of its recipes -- ranging from tofu and Pad Thai bowls to breakfast burritos.

Consumer research conducted last month indicated that despite an explosion of plant-based foods over the past decade, for many people “products within the category did not live up to the hype,” according to Sweet Earth.

In a survey of 1,002 Millennial and Gen Z adults, 34% of respondents who had stopped eating plant-based foods more than two years ago “did so due to bad taste.”

More than half (58%) of respondents indicated that better taste “would woo them back.”

“Our hope is to inspire people to reinvent what a plant-based lifestyle means to them,” Jennifer Barnes, vice president and general manager of Sweet Earth Foods, said in a news release.

Sweet Earth is leveraging a feature launched last year called Carts within the Instacart shopping app.

Instacart users can view and purchase products that have been curated by Tisdale.

As explained in this TikTok video, entrants to the “Veggie Come Back” sweepstakes could win seats at an exclusive dining event in Los Angeles co-hosted by Tisdale on April 26.

In 2020, Tisdale founded Frenshe, which markets beauty, lifestyle and wellness products.

Nestlé acquired Sweet Earth in 2017.