Introduction

Leadership is the skill to influence people to do something for some type of greater good. In this case, the greater good is veganism, the concept of which is very stigmatized today. A lot of people don’t understand the choice to go vegan, and so they might make fun of it. As an aspiring vegan myself, my friends and family generally believe that I’m just being difficult for no reason; they’ll complain that we can’t all go out to eat or eat regular food at home because of my “self-inflicted” “limitations.” This stigma against veganism needs to end. If people understand the reasoning behind it and have easy access to plant-based foods, hopefully more people will go vegan. However, it is true that many restaurants, especially those of the fast food variety, don’t carry vegan food. Fast food is one thing that vegans tend to avoid and non-vegans tend to indulge in, and this does in fact make it difficult for people to go out to eat with their vegan friends. Vegan food needs to be more accessible to everyone in the realm of fast food.

 

Recommendation

This is why there should be a fast food restaurant that is completely vegan friendly, but delicious and affordable enough for regular fast food consumers to frequent it, too. Friends and family, vegans and non-vegans alike can drive through and, for a reasonable price, enjoy a typical American fast food meal together, while at the same time not supporting factory farms. Some vegan fast food restaurants exist in the US already, such as Veggie Grill, Amy’s Drive Thru, and Plant Power Fast Food. However, most of their locations are on the west coast, so I recommend opening an Amy’s Drive Thru on the east coast, starting in Charleston, SC. Unfortunately Amy’s is not entirely vegan, but this is what makes it the most realistic option. They carry animal products in addition to the vegan versions of their meals, so non-vegans won’t be scared away by fake cheese if they don’t want it. Amy’s has extremely reasonable prices, locally sourced ingredients, gluten free options and entirely compostable takeout materials, including paper straws. According to Business Insider, Amy’s aims to compete with McDonald’s and KFC across America; however, it currently only has one location. With what I learned in Spain and MGMT 250 about cross-cultural communication, in addition to the concept of leading by example to incite change from my first key insight, I will make an Amy’s Drive Thru a reality in Charleston, South Carolina, so that our vegan future can begin.

 

Detailed Plan

To do this, I will first need to be hired by Amy’s to open a store on the opposite coast as their flagship in Rohnert Park, CA. My cover letter is as follows:

 

Being an oppressed vegan myself, my dream has always been to open a vegan friendly fast food restaurant. Then I researched and found that Amy's had already done it, and with locally sourced food and compostable takeout materials, too. I am passionate about veganism, determined to encourage more people to choose this healthier and less harmful to the environment lifestyle, and I will take the necessary steps to open a location in Charleston, South Carolina.

I believe my academic and co-curricular experiences have provided me the relevant experience necessary to pursue playing a key role in establishing an Amy’s Drive Thru in my hometown. I've been part of the EcoReps program, a group of peer leaders who help students live more sustainably, at the University of South Carolina for four years. We are responsible for individually planning events in the residence halls to spread green awareness, so I have experience in event planning, organization, and also Management due to that being my second major. My final year as an EcoRep, I served as the organization's Social Media Manager, so I also have experience with website building and interacting with followers for different campaigns. I know that Amy's wants to eventually go national and compete with McDonald's; with my international business degree, part of which I earned by studying in Spain, I believe I can help Amy's achieve this. It is my personal goal, as well as Amy's goal, to bring vegan fast food abroad.

I hope that my previous experience and enthusiasm appeals to Amy’s management, as I hope to make a location in Charleston a reality. First the east coast, then the world!

 

Once an arrangement with Amy’s Drive Thru is worked out, I will choose the perfect location in Charleston for the restaurant based on the amount of vegans in the area. This will be a location that is lacking in vegan knowledge because the people there are the ones who need Amy’s the most. Vegan food is known for being very expensive in restaurants; I worked at a vegan juice bar and could have never afforded their casual food. Amy’s will be different from other vegan restaurants because it will be priced as fast food, so even non-vegans can venture in and be willing to try the food due to its low price.

 

Opening this restaurant will educate customers as well as the community about vegan diets because Amy’s marketing plan for Charleston will address vegan education along with promotion for the opening.

1. Customers will see from the menu that veganism is completely feasible, and even omnivorous customers will be given the clear opportunity to switch from an available animal product to the vegan alternative, so at least the seed of veganism will be planted in their minds.

2. There will be information in the store, as well as online for the community to see, about where Amy’s sources its food. People will learn why it’s terrible to ship food across the country twice before it makes it to your plate, and that they should buy local even when at home. People will see why plastic is terrible for the environment and why composting takeout materials is important, and they can receive information on in-home composting if they would like it. And most importantly, people will see information as to why veganism is important, including health reasons, environmental reasons, and reasons pertaining to animal welfare.

Amy’s will lead by example in Charleston to incite change in others, just as I learned from EcoReps and IBUS 310.

 

Evaluation

The goal is to change people’s mindset towards veganism, so to measure the success of this venture customers will be polled on their outlook on vegan diets. As part of their checkout process, first time customers will be asked these few questions:

1. “Which describes your current diet? (Omnivore, pescatarian, vegetarian, vegan)”

2. “What is the likelihood that you would become something further to the right on the list above? (1-2-3-4, 1 being low likelihood and 4 being high)”

Each customer’s receipt will be emailed as part of the zero waste initiative. After a customer has been emailed five different receipts (so it can be assumed that they have visited the restaurant five times), another poll will be administered during checkout with the same questions. The results will be compared and analyzed to see how people’s mindsets or even actions may have changed due to being an Amy’s customer. People in the community who are not Amy’s customers will also be polled to see if they have heard about Amy’s or any of the things the restaurant stands for and will be advertising- like composting, buying local, and vegetarianism- to see how well Amy’s has penetrated the Charleston community and spread vegan ideals.