Paul Shapiro is the author of the national bestseller Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World, the CEO of The Better Meat Co., a four-time TEDx speaker, and the host of the Business for Good Podcast. In this interview, we talk with Paul about the origin of the brand name, how owning the domain name Bettermeat.co affected his business, and what are some future plans for the company.

What is the story behind The Better Meat Co.?

While the planet isn’t getting any bigger, humanity’s footprint on the planet continues to get bigger every day. One of the primary ways we leave that footprint is through our food-print, really in how much meat we eat. It just takes a lot more land, water, and other resources to produce animal protein compared to plant protein. The problem is though that demand for animal protein continues rising, both in the US and globally. One way to make a difference is to make the meat products most people buy better for the planet and for public health by blending them with eco-friendlier and healthier plant proteins. That idea to pragmatically help reduce the meat industry’s footprint on the planet is how The Better Meat Co. was born.

When did you start thinking about your brand name and how did you settle on The Better Meat?

We conceived of the name, The Better Meat Co., in mid-2018 as a way to convey to meat industry customers of ours that we can help them make even better meat by enabling them to use less animal protein and more plant protein.

How did you get the domain name Bettermeat.co for your brand? Why did you select that one exactly?

Since our name is The Better Meat Co., getting BetterMeat.co was convenient and a lot cheaper than trying to get a .com domain name.

How has owning Bettermeat.co affected your business? Do you own any other domain names?

We do have problems with people emailing us at bettermeat.com instead of .co sometimes. We really have to make sure people know we’re .co rather than .com.

Who is your target customer and how is your brand name helping in reaching them?

Our target customers are any major meat users, whether they be meat snack companies, restaurant chains, and more. If they’re looking for better meat, just googling for it will find us.

How do you keep your brand consistent across different channels online and offline?

We could do a better job of this, but we try to make all of our content appealing to those who might actually use our products, as opposed to just those who might be fans of our company.

What would your advice be to entrepreneurs who are just starting out, in general, and when it comes to branding and naming?

Strive to be kind to everyone, even those who aren’t kind to you. I take seriously the Paradoxical Commandments and try to live by them. It’s hard and I don’t always succeed, but I aspire to adhere to them and think the world would be better if more people did.

There’s an instructive Quaker prayer on this. Its origin is disputed, but its meaning is profound enough that I put it on my door so I read it each time I leave as a reminder: “I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again.”

Where do you see your business in the future and how does your brand name fit into that vision?

We strive to reduce humanity’s footprint on the planet to such an extent that the earth looks different from space. We aim to help reforest the earth by reducing the need for cropland and pasture currently used to produce animals for food. The name of our company helps offer a vision of a better meat future in which humans can enjoy meat without having so many downsides associated with it. If you’d like to join us, we welcome hearing from you at BetterMeat.co.

We hope the above information will help you in making informed decisions about your brand. How much does it cost you not having a strong brand? Get in touch, we are always happy to chat.

Find out more about BetterMeat.