Igniting Your Niche: How Karine Lang Mastered the Art of Plant-Based Business

In the dynamic world of vegan entrepreneurship, true success often hinges on an unwavering commitment to a mission and the mastery of a specific niche. In the latest episode of the Plant Based on Fire podcast, host Bryan sat down with Karine Lang, a 20-year vegan, serial entrepreneur, and the visionary founder of Lang Signature Travel and Fine Veg Love. Her story offers a powerful blueprint for plant-based business owners seeking to maximize profit and impact within the industry.

The Power of the Pivot: From Events to Ethical Travel

For Karine, the path to specialized travel began with event planning. Driven by the need to be self-employed in 2008, she launched a business in the vegan capital of Berkeley, California. She specialized in creating unique vegan events, from film screenings to a vegan Iron Chef competition, quickly establishing herself as a community builder.

This experience, which also included running Find Veg Love for over 10 years, taught Karine the indispensable value of long-term relationships. This foundation of trust was crucial when she made the strategic pivot to Lang Signature Travel.

As Karine shares, it's those relationships that are "so, so crucial," with clients sometimes reaching out years after their first interaction. For vegan entrepreneurs, this emphasizes that consistency and community cultivation are the most effective forms of lead generation.

Niche Mastery: The Blueprint for Safe and Ethical Travel

In the business world, the adage "niches are the riches" holds true, and Karine’s strategy is a perfect illustration. She realized that the biggest pain point for many in the community—including herself—was ensuring allergy-safe and ethical travel.

Specialization as a Competitive Edge

Karine’s focus on Central America, particularly Costa Rica, is deliberate. By traveling there frequently, she personally vets every partner and experience, ensuring they align with her mission.

• Allergy-Friendly Expertise: Having managed deadly food allergies herself, Karine provides unparalleled safety assurance, a massive selling point for mixed groups or families with dietary restrictions.

• Ethical Vetting: Her group trips adhere to strict standards, explicitly avoiding activities like riding elephants or visiting zoos. As she advises, entrepreneurs must "experience things yourself first" to deliver confidently on a mission-driven promise.

• Affordable Luxury: Karine demystifies high-end travel, explaining that amenities like hiring a private vegan chef in Costa Rica are surprisingly cost-effective for groups, often costing no more than eating out for three meals.

Strategic Partnerships for Seamless Service

To deliver 24/7 client advocacy without personal burnout, Karine implemented a smart scaling solution: finding local, trustworthy partners.

• She leverages her agency network (Virtuoso) to offer clients exclusive VIP perks (free breakfast, spa credits) that they couldn't access booking on their own.

• She works with a dedicated in-country support team in Costa Rica who handles any issues while clients are on the ground. This partnership is essential because, as Karine notes, "in any business, like having those partnerships is essential to be able to offer the service."

Actionable Advice for Vegan Business Owners

Karine's successful career provides clear takeaways for entrepreneurs in the plant-based space:

1. Prioritize Trust Over Trends: Build authentic, long-term relationships. Your community will be your primary source of growth.

2. Invest in Mentorship: The key decision Karine would make differently is seeking a mentor sooner. As she states, having a business coach is an invaluable investment in your future.

3. Believe in What You Sell: "You have to believe in what you're selling in order to be able to have the drive to continue doing what you're doing." This passion is what fuels perseverance, especially when the vegan market is small.

🎙️ Listen to the Full Episode!

Karine Lang’s journey—from creating vegan speed dating events to orchestrating ethical, luxury travel—is an inspiring guide for any vegan entrepreneur looking to build a resilient and impactful business.

Listen to the full Plant Based on Fire episode to gain deeper insights into logistics, passion, and profits in the plant-based industry.

➡️ Subscribe and Share: Don't miss out on more inspiring stories. Subscribe to the Plant Based On Fire podcast and share this episode with a fellow plant-based business owner!

Until next time, keep that fire burning!

Subscribe to the Plant-Based On Fire podcast on YouTube or your favorite streaming platform today and stay connected with our ongoing exploration of the complex plant-based business world.

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Episode’s Transcript

Please understand that a transcription service provided the transcript below. It undoubtedly contains errors that invariably take place in voice transcriptions. Bryan (00:01)

Hello everybody and welcome to Plant Based on Fire, where we're talking about plant based businesses and their inspiring stories to thrive in our industry. I'm your host Brian. And today we're talking with a total foodie who has been vegan for I think over 20 years. She took her passion and built a successful travel business, Lang Signature Travel. And she just loves building community and connecting with people, whether it's with her fine veg love.

dating community or just connecting people together in this vegan space that we're all about. So get ready to talk logistics, passion and profits with the expert in plant-based travel, Karine Lang. Welcome to the show, Karine.

Karine Lang (00:43)

Thank you so much for having me.

Bryan (00:45)

It's so cool to hang out with you. We've, we've known each other for quite a few years here, back and forth. I just like, call you my Facebook messenger buddy or something like that. Cause you, you are really good at building community and like connecting people together here, but like take us back in time and give us a little history. Like you have 20 years of experience in this planning and production space. What was that like fire starter moment that

made you pivot the expertise specifically into the vegan niche, dietary needs, sustainable travel planning, all that cool stuff you're doing.

Karine Lang (01:18)

Yeah, well, that's a very loaded question. Hard to know where to start. But basically, you know, for as long as I can remember, I've always been the one in my group of friends and family to organize a special event, special occasions, trips, all that kind of stuff, because I've always been organized. And I've always been, you know, really passionate about that. So

When I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area many, many, years ago, ⁓ it was in 2008, and ⁓ I had to start my own business because I couldn't find a job, right? It was during the big crash, and I just decided, okay, I'm vegan. I'm in the vegan capital in Berkeley, California.

I'm going to start my own business and it's going to be an event planning business. actually went to school for event planning among other things, but I legit went to school for event planning. And yeah, so I started an event planning company with ⁓ doing vegan events. So I did ⁓ film screenings, trade shows, cooking shows. I was like all about creating new.

vegan events that had never been done before. So I did a vegan Iron Chef, Berkeley Vegan Earth Day for many, many years. And then one day I even started doing vegan speed dating events. So I did that for many years and I just love bringing people together. so over the years, I ran Find Vetch La for 10 years. I still do it.

And I decided like a long time ago because of my event planning background and my love for travel that I would love to start hosting group trips for vegans. And so I decided in May to go for it and do it. And so I have my first vegan group trip planned for February in Costa Rica and I'm so so excited.

Bryan (03:32)

Very, very cool. That's quite the story you've got there. ⁓ And you're, you're blending like a couple of different business models together here, right? I mean, it's this custom travel planning, it's ⁓ group trips, and then you've got the, the, little spin to some degree of, of singles, which is always harder to do with some of these travel things. ⁓ which, which of these is the easiest piece of it? How do you compliment each other strategically on this? And how is that?

helping you build this brand that you're doing.

Karine Lang (04:06)

Right, ⁓ so again another loaded question, but ⁓ the trip planning really came naturally to me because of my event planning background and my ability to really be able to put all the pieces together, right? And I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this first group trip of whether or not it was gonna be singles, families, couples or what.

Bryan (04:10)

Not on purpose.

Karine Lang (04:33)

But because I've been in the vegan dating space for so long, a lot of people have been following me and are now coming on this group trip. So it's mostly singles coming on this trip, but the group trips are not designed to be ⁓ trips like just for singles and finding love. So it's completely separate in that respect from my fine veg love and my travel planning services. ⁓

And so everyone is welcome, right? That's kind of the idea. But to me, it was I've been really feeling like avoid in in-person events and planning these group trips is a way for to connect like minded people together and really live in a vegan bubble for a week. OK, because we all know how hard it is living living in a non vegan world.

And to me, there's something really, really powerful about bringing like-minded people together and sharing beautiful experiences that, you know, we'll remember for a lifetime and being surrounded by people who get it, where you don't have to justify your values. You don't have to like ask, answer stupid questions. Like everyone's on the same page. So to me, that's super, super powerful. And I love to travel and I'm a total foodie, like you said, and I refuse to go somewhere.

where the food is going to be mediocre. To me, that's not the idea of a vacation whatsoever. So I'm combining my passions of event planning, of food, of veganism, everything together in creating these trips. So the first one is in Costa Rica, but I am expanding all over Central America because I love Central America for many, many reasons. But Costa Rica especially, I've been going there for the last four years every winter to escape.

cold Canadian winters, because I hate winter. And there's just something really special about Costa Rica, the people, the scenery, the wildlife, everything. And it's very vegan friendly.

Bryan (06:40)

Absolutely. Yeah. I know during COVID I spent a little time in Mexico and just loved a lot of the vegan options I was able to find down there. So I've heard amazing things about Costa Rica. So I will definitely have to join you on one of these trips soon. ⁓ you're, you're this like expert in this very detailed niche. And that's what I tell a lot of the people that I help mentor and guide on these journeys that niches are the riches on that front. The more specialized you can get, the more it is. But this, this, ⁓

Dietary needs travel expert angle is so cool because there's people like me that might live in a split household and I want to find the vegan delicious food on that front. But then there's other people that want a little bit of everything. ⁓ How are you finding and bridging that gap to attract clients who might not be vegan but just need allergy safe travel and or a blended family or those situations?

Karine Lang (07:38)

Right, so I personally have deadly food allergies and so that's where all this allergy friendly travel comes in because it's been, I've lived with this for the majority of my life and it's really, really hard. And I stopped it for a long time. ⁓ The fear stopped me from traveling, from wanting to go out there and explore and finally one day I decided I can't, I can't keep doing this. I want to explore the world. I love to travel.

I just went for it and I found ways to make it work, right? So when I travel, especially specifically to Costa Rica, is I hired a private chef to come and I'm not rich, okay? This is not something that is like super unattainable. A lot of people don't realize. So in Costa Rica, things are a little cheaper there and it's basically the same price as going out to the restaurant for three meals, okay? To hire a private chef for one day. So to me, it is totally, totally worth it.

So we have a private chef and he comes in and he makes, ⁓ you know, I travel, I often travel with a group of friends and not all of them are vegan. So the chef does vegan and non-vegan. So he accommodates everyone. So it's great for, like you said, the people that are not, ⁓ couples that are not both vegan. ⁓ So there's that, there's that option. But yeah, like it's a really fun way to travel with a group of friends. rent a.

big luxury home, any higher private stuff, and then you don't have to do any cooking.

Bryan (09:11)

Or cleaning up, think too. That's half the battle sometimes in those group settings of who's going to, whose turn is it for dishes and stuff? I get it. I love it. That's a, that's amazing. I've done that a few times in, and some of these places I've traveled and it is such a fun experience. So I'm so excited you've tapped into that. I think that the plant-based travel market is growing worldwide. mean, these specialized things, um, are certain, certain resorts and stuff are even getting well renowned for that kind of thing. What.

Karine Lang (09:15)

Yeah.

Yeah.

Bryan (09:41)

But if we look at Lang Signature Travel versus other travel agencies that have a vegan flavor to it, what do you think really sets you and your platform apart?

Karine Lang (09:53)

Yeah, so I really specialize in Costa Rica and Central America and because I have the food allergies, I totally understand and I'm able to help people, guide them and recommend places that are safe for them and then also recommend because a lot of people, like I said, think that they could never rent a house with a group of friends and have a private chef because most people would think that that's only for rich people but really it is an affordable way to do it.

So I totally understand and I think that people really relate to that and they feel safe knowing how seriously I take it. So for the group trip for example, the chef, I'm gonna be presenting him with a list of everyone's allergies, dietary preferences and whatnot and I know because I've worked with him before that he will take really great attention to detail when it comes to that.

It's a space for people to come and feel safe, ⁓ knowing that their dietary needs are really taken care of. And again, because I live with that, I totally understand and I really, really take it serious.

Bryan (11:07)

Awesome. I agree. That's half the battle is, ⁓ some of these travel agencies just span the whole globe. And if you can specialize in, and especially places like that I've been to, was just talking with my kids about this. haven't been to Africa yet or something like that, but there's certain things that I know in Thailand or Mexico or wherever that I've been that are just phenomenal. And I highly recommend us fellow plant basers go to that place when you're in that spot. ⁓

It's this other angle of it too, like around sustainability and ethical tourism. Like all of us that are in the plant-based space, I think have additional costs and time because we want to vet our supply chain partners. We want to other people that we're doing business with to make sure that they're holding to the same sort of standards that we are trying to drive and build a truly like mission-driven supply chain. How do you go about vetting and...

and finding the right people to do business with and what's any advice you have for maybe other entrepreneurs doing the same.

Karine Lang (12:08)

Right and that's why I specialize in Costa Rica because I go there every winter. ⁓ This winter I'm going for six weeks and I'm traveling all over the country. I've already traveled across the whole country several times but now I'm hitting up slightly different spots and to me it's important that I go and personally experience it and also personally experience the activities that we're going to be doing on these group trips right because I want to make sure that they are ethical.

that they are really fun and memorable and worthwhile and so those things are really, really important to me. And I can't do that all over the world, right? I go to Costa Rica every winter so that's why I'm able to do this. And yeah, for all my group tours, like we'll never ride elephants, we'll never go to a zoo, we'll never do any of those things. And in fact, in Costa Rica, I have a vegan tour guide and he's local.

And so he's the one that's going to be coming on these tours. So we're going to the Manuel Antonio National Park, which is the place that has the most, you know, diversity in terms of wildlife. So you get to see all this beautiful wildlife in one place and he'll be there. He'll be explaining everything. And yeah, it's going to be a really beautiful experience. So my, my tips would definitely be to experience things yourself first, because

You're, you know, people are putting their trust in you and you don't, you don't, you know, you want to deliver and being able to speak so confidently about a location of being like being able to say like, I've been there, I've done that is really powerful. And I think that that's why I've been able to be so successful for my first one, because people see my passion. They see that I know what I'm talking about and I'm able to help them like every step of the way throughout the whole process.

Bryan (13:59)

Well, you're clearly coming across as an expert to me on this front. So I think I saw on your website someplace that you're guaranteeing these VIP perks for clients. How are you negotiating with vendors to get some of these cool things or talk to us more about that part of your program.

Karine Lang (14:18)

Yeah, so ⁓ I'm part of a travel agency. So in Canada, it of works a bit differently than in the States. But in order to do these group trips to sell travel anywhere, have to be part of an agency and you have to be registered, right? So that's actually why the big part of why I decided to become a travel planner, because I want to do these group trips. But so being part of that agency gives me access to different suppliers.

and different programs that I can only access by being part of this big agency and they're they've been around ⁓ the longest in Canada they've been around for like over 30 years so I'm part of a network called Virtuoso and it's luxury sustainable travel which like when I found out about this partnership I was so beyond excited because not only is it luxury it's actually sustainable travel and they truly do care

about that, which is something that is very, very important to me as well. ⁓ So being part of that network allows me to pass on these amazing perks to my clients. So a lot of people don't realize this. So they think, I can just plan a trip myself. You how hard can it really be? And when you book with a travel agent, you are able to access all these other things that you wouldn't be able to access on your own.

So I pass that on to my clients and it's an incentive, a bonus for working with me. You stay at select properties and you get free breakfast, you get a spa credit, you get a number of different things. So it's a really nice perk that I love to be able to offer to people.

Bryan (16:00)

That is so cool. mean, and I think like this age of AI that we're rapidly heading into is just going to be creating more and more of these custom, unique experiences like this. And, and I think that puts a demand on us as business owners to some degree. Like, I think the other part that I liked that I was reading is like, you want to be that travel advocate that's like solving problems 24 seven, but how do you.

Like we all got to sleep. We all got to relax ourselves. How do you do that kind of 24 seven kind of style, but still manage like client boundaries and deliver the level of service that you want and hope that you get yourself even while traveling.

Karine Lang (16:44)

Yes, so the secret is that I work with a team that is in Costa Rica and they are the in-country support. So I work very closely with this company. They're local, like I said. So when my clients are on their trip, if anything goes wrong, they call them. They don't call me. Because yeah, I'm not up at all hours of the night. I'm not available seven days a week.

but these people are because they're on the ground and they are the people that can take care of things if anything goes wrong. And they are amazing. And again, I've been able to develop this relationship with this company by physically being there and meeting with them and working with them really closely. So it's really nice to have that partnership and really in any business, like having those partnerships is essential to be able to offer the service because that's huge.

Bryan (17:44)

Absolutely. Yeah, that's amazing. That's what it, that's what it really comes down to is finding the right partners on some of these things. So I think that the hardest thing with any business is lead generation and tools on that front. ⁓ and I know you are a strong social media advocate and I'm sure that drives some stuff with your social campaigns and stuff that you're doing, but what, what do you think has been the most effective tool for your business?

Is it websites, social media stuff or something else? Like give the other entrepreneurs that might be watching this any tips or tricks on how they could generate more leads and talk to us about that.

Karine Lang (18:24)

Another loaded question. I've been self-employed for over 15 years now and I've started various different businesses over the years. The Fine Veg Love One has been the longest running, like I said, for over 10 years now. really what makes people, you know, I still have people just like you that I've been talking to for like over 10 years.

Bryan (18:26)

Hahaha!

Karine Lang (18:54)

And so it's those long-term relationships that are so, so crucial. And I see it time and time again where someone could have signed up for my email list nine years ago and are only reaching out to me now. It's the power of being consistent and showing up. And even when you start a new business, like I said, my group trip, my vegan group trip,

Bryan (19:08)

Yeah.

Karine Lang (19:22)

I have people, the majority of the people who have signed up for that trip are people that were on my find veg love list. So again, this group trip has nothing to do with finding love. But because these people know that I've been around, they know, like, and trust me. Right? And that trust is so, so imperative. So you have to build that trust with people. And the vegan market is so small. It is so small. You know, we're still just...

Bryan (19:35)

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Karine Lang (19:51)

1 % of the population or are we almost at 2 now?

Bryan (19:55)

I was

hoping we were getting closer to three, but you're right. It is small. That's for sure.

Karine Lang (20:00)

Right?

It is freaking small, but you know, I've been so persistent over the years and it's hard. It's hard. I hustle. I work very, very hard. But to me, it's because I'm so passionate about it. I'm so passionate about, you know, bringing vegan singles together and building community and that whole thing. So it's just showing up, being consistent and trying and being able to pivot. That's huge.

Bryan (20:10)

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Karine Lang (20:30)

huge right so

Bryan (20:32)

Absolutely.

No, I mean, you nailed it. I because that I think that's even how we got this podcast scheduled is you sent out a note or I don't know. We just pinged each other on that and, got it going. was speaking with, I had the privilege of getting to interview Gary Yurovsky, ⁓ earlier this week, the big animal activists, in our vegan space and him and I got towards the end of our conversation and got really talking about like, what's the best thing we can do.

And like you said, the, the, the vegan community is so small. And the number one thing we can do is make sure every time we pull out our wallets or our handbags and pull out some money that we're spending it with other vegans in some fashion. You know I mean? Like promote the space, support the space as much as you can. And we will all rise, all rise together as we earn money from others and drive that forward. So I'm so glad.

all these long time partnerships you've been building. You do a really great job curating that. So that's a great tip for everybody out there. I also, I also think you do a really good job, like leveraging your personal story. What do you, is there some tips, tips or tricks on how you've done, use that to try and build that immediate trust?

Karine Lang (21:46)

Yeah, I mean, I'm all about being open and honest and, you know, super authentic about, my own personal journey. And, you know, I've been vegan for the animals since day one. ⁓ So to me, like that's that's always been part of who I am at the core. ⁓ And, you know, doing being self-employed, being an entrepreneur, you have to pivot, you have to be able to try different things. So

I've taken a few steps back sometimes in some businesses and I've told people like, okay, I'm taking a step back because I need to re-evaluate. And you need to be able to communicate that and to just keep trying new things and not giving up. And that's why these group trips I'm doing, they're vegan and they will always be vegan. And that's just like, you have to believe in what you're selling.

in order to be able to have the drive to continue doing what you're doing because trust me if I was doing this for non-vegans I would not be working as hard as I'm working but I don't care that that I don't care that's just that's just me and you know I can be really proud of what I'm building and and know that I'm making a difference and that's that's huge to me right and that's why I Fine Veg Love

Bryan (22:54)

That's right. That's right.

Karine Lang (23:09)

helping bringing singles together. that's, I'm a hopeless romantic and I always will be. And so it's been so, you know, that's I'm so passionate about that whole side of the business.

Bryan (23:24)

I love it. No, you're absolutely right. And, and I think it shines through if, ⁓ I guess all the lessons and stuff that you've learned on your multiple businesses help the people that are just getting started that maybe have been vegan for a handful of years or saying like, want to pour my passion. Like you said, into a business that makes me money and helps the planet, the animals, our health, all that good stuff. You know, what one business decision.

Would you make differently if you could go back in time and start over again that, you know, would have maybe helped set you up for success quicker or any advice for those that are just getting started?

Karine Lang (24:05)

I would say that the thing that helped me out the most ⁓ is having a mentor. Because my mentor really, really helped me in all of these businesses, actually. You may know her. Her name is Stephanie from Vegan Mainstream. She's also been a long-term vegan and is the vegan marketing queen. And she's been so instrumental in my businesses. So having a mentor, having a business coach,

to help you and to guide you is seriously like it's an investment, but it's an investment in time, in your future, in everything. And it's a hundred percent worthwhile in my opinion.

Bryan (24:47)

Hi, I agree as a person, I do a lot of mentoring as I'm getting older in my career and I agree completely. I get so much out of mentoring myself. ⁓ so yes, find a mentor. That's a great piece of advice. This has been an amazing, ⁓ deep dive with you here, ⁓ on all the cool stuff that you've got going on. Like tell everybody, how do they get in touch with you and where do they go to find out more and get on your mailing list and become good friends with you?

Karine Lang (25:17)

Alright, so if you're single and vegan and looking for love, you'll want to head over to findveglove.com. And if you are also single, but if you're into the travel stuff, langsignaturetravel.com is my website. ⁓ I'm also on Instagram and Facebook at langsignaturetravel and definitely, definitely get on my email list if you are interested in my Costa Rica trip or other future trips in Central America.

Email is really the best way to find out about what I have coming up.

Bryan (25:52)

I love it. Well, thank you so much again for joining us, sharing your insights, Kareen and all those experiences with our community. It will definitely resonate. That is all the time we have for this episode of the Plant Based on Fire podcast. Until next time, everybody keep that fire burning.