After three years of pitching plant-butter across Europe, I’ve learned a simple truth: every objection sounds different, but they all boil down to the same few things: time, product, process, customer, price, decision-making. So if you want to become more effective in sales, prepare how to solve them.
I also learned it’s smarter to focus on solving pains, not selling opportunities. Opportunities usually mean new projects, new complexity, new headaches. But if you can make their life more simple, affordable or more convenient, people more easily say yes. Make sure your product or service solves pains. And reputation matters. In food especially, aside a few exceptions, nobody wants to be the first to change. That’s why startups are hard. Proof, endorsements, tools, validation, they’re not “nice to have.” They are the bridge that turns doubt into trust.
This is the context behind the Be Better plant-butter objections listed below. They’re not random resistance. They’re common sense business survival instincts. The trick is not to fight them but to answer them clearly, with evidence.
Price: ‘It will cost me margin.’
Fair concern. Dairy butter has been bouncing between €7–10 per kilo. Be Better sits stable around 30-40% cheaper than butter. Margarine is cheaper still, but at what cost? It’s palm-heavy, additive-packed, and offers zero story value. If you look closely, chefs and brands hide margarine on labels and never speak about it. Also lots of bakers ‘secretly’ blend butter with margarine to reduce costs while proudly claim their butter use. All makes sense. With Be Better you can go 100% pure and save costs and the planet. No Frankenstein creation, but a pastry you can sell with pride. What is it you want: do you want to save cents today, or margins and reputation tomorrow?
Product: ‘It won’t match butter in quality.’
This one is personal. Pastry chefs don’t forgive compromise. That’s why we co-developed Be Better with chefs and validated it in artisan and industrial lines. Cookies, cakes, creams, puff and croissants, you name it, they work. And we have 3,5 years and hundreds of chefs, both artisans and industrials of proof that they work.
And yes of course there’s a slight difference. Be Better is made from plants, not cows. It is a butter, without the baggage of harm towards animals, people and rainforest.
It took us one and a half years to create a plant-butter that works like cow-butter across a wide variety of applications, ingredients and processes. Just imagine the complexity it is to mimic butter while being pure, clean, stable and affordable. But quality? Workability? Flavour neutrality? It performs. And we have 3,5 years, hundreds of chefs, both artisans and industrials in over a dozen markets of proof that Be Better works.
Process: ‘We don’t have time or staff to adapt recipes.’
Understandable. Staff shortages and long nights are real. But here’s the point: you don’t have to adapt recipes. Be Better is a 1:1 replacement. No re-engineering, no retraining, no downtime. Your bakers keep rolling, your lines keep running. Be Better loves pastry. Both Marike and myself have over 40 years of experience working closely with pastry chefs. We understand your challenges and pains. We respect the traditions of pastry. The process of making your croissant or brownie remains the same. 100 gram of butter is 100 gram of Be Better.
And if you want extra security, we give you free recipes, technical sheets, and even on-site support. The switch is frictionless.
Time: ‘We don’t have bandwith to test right now.’
The irony: staying with butter costs you more time in the long run. Time chasing fluctuating prices or quality. Time explaining to buyers why your CO₂ targets aren’t met. Time firefighting supply shortages. Testing Be Better is 30 minutes on a call and one test batch. For 10+ ton bakers we also offer a free plant-butter audit that gives you a transition plan including costs and carbon savings and a communication strategy to keeps and grow your customer base. That’s not a time sink. That’s time saved.
Decision: ‘What if I make the wrong call?’
This is the fear behind all the others. But let’s compare: Wrong call sticking with butter: rising cost, ESG compliance headaches, customer pressure. Wrong call switching to margarine: cheap, but kills brand reputation and limits you to supermarket quality. Your future as a baker will be in danger. Wrong call testing Be Better: you tried it, it worked like butter, you saved money. Worst case? You go back.
Where’s the bigger risk?
Customer: ‘They notice or leave.’
Truth: most don’t notice at all. And when they do, you gain credibility. You’re not hiding margarine; you’re sharing a progress story: 81% less CO₂, 70% less water, no allergens, no palm, no cholesterol, 50% less saturated fats and no deforestation and animal harm. Younger customers want that and older ones rarely object. And let us share you some facts: 68% of Gen Z consumers actively seek out sustainable food options (foodindustryexecutive.com),
Nearly 3 in 4 are willing to pay more for products with real environmental benefits (foodindustryexecutive.com).
They’re reading labels, asking about ingredients, and making values-based choices. And it’s not just vegans or vegetarians. Most of your meat-eating customers also want lighter, planet-friendly choices when given the option (wellbeingmagazine.com).
Simply put, people are waking up to the climate impact of food, and they expect our industry to keep up
Tradtition: ‘Butter is who we are.’
Yes, butter is tradition. But tradition without evolution becomes stagnation. Leading chefs use butter where it matters most, but reach for Be Better where it makes sense. Why would you keep using butter if there is no noticeable difference. You do unnecessary damage to your margin and to the planet. Customers don’t define you by butter. They define you by excellence. They come and buy your pastry because they trust your reputation and quality and thus the choices you make.
The only objection that matters: Doing nothing.
Every concern is valid until you weigh the alternative. Doing nothing feels safe, but it means rising costs, tighter rules, and lost relevance.
Leaders test. Followers wait.
If you find this blog useful, please do share and let me know your experiences.
BETTER BRAND 
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