Purple cow? Meet the pink barn, baby.

I connected with Pink Barn Creative‘s Brieanah Schwartz online when I found out about the podcast she runs with Johanna Koskinen, Plant Powered Business. Johanna is a fellow member of Vegan Business Tribe and since there aren’t very many resources—let alone podcasts—that tackle marketing for the vegan world, I immediately subscribed! They also had me on the show last year.

Brieanah and Johanna are both part of The Copy Posse, a company that caters to copywriters and other marketers, run by Alex Cattoni, who lives in my city (Vancouver, BC). They came to Vancouver for Posse Fest Live, so we met up with another fellow vegan copywriter and ate yummy vegan food at Chickpea. I love meeting vegans from abroad in person!

Let’s have a peek inside Brieanah’s pink barn.

When and how did you go vegan?

Before going vegan, I was a lifelong vegetarian. However, during externships in law school, I was personally exposed to the injustices facing animals and found those experiences to be the tipping point. At the end of 2016, I started to cut out all animal products from my diet and lifestyle.

How did you get into marketing, and what kind of marketing you do now?

Before marketing, I practiced law! I chose to go to law school to learn how a legal education could help animals and the environment. Before transitioning into marketing, I was an attorney for a nonprofit organization that fought to protect the USA’s federally-protected populations of wild horses and burros.

After litigating with this organization for nearly five years, and securing some influential federal court wins, it became clear that our legal system was not the best path to generating the change I wanted to see for wild animals, public lands, and other causes.

So, I decided to learn skills that could help me leverage the power of public support and action. After all, the more people who know about an issue and what is being done to stop it, the closer we get to change.

In 2022, I started my own nonprofit advocacy consultancy, Pink Barn Creative, to help organizations generate lasting change outside the courtroom as well. Since starting my freelance work, I’ve acquired skills in copywriting, marketing strategy, and digital media marketing. Today, I primarily work with nonprofit organizations and vegan entrepreneurs.

What kind of work fires you up right now?

I feel most fired up when I’m collaborating with purpose-driven businesses and nonprofit organizations to bring big visions to life. I really enjoy working at the intersection of animal advocacy and marketing strategy.

Share your best marketing win, and one marketing horror story.

Horror story: When I was a new copywriter, I worked with a client to develop a sales page. As the process developed, it became clear that she wasn’t fully clear on what she wanted to offer. She kept changing her program—what it included, who it was for, and how she wanted to position it—which led to multiple rewrites and a lot of mixed messaging.

I realized the core issue wasn’t the sales page; it was that the program itself hadn’t been fully developed. It was a tough experience because I love guiding clients to clarity, but I also learned that having clear boundaries and a defined discovery process upfront is essential.

Now, I make sure we do the foundational work first—getting crystal clear on the offer, the audience, and the messaging—before we dive into writing. This shift has made all the difference.

Marketing win: For example, a recent client came to me for a website refresh, and she had a clear vision of where she wanted to take her brand. Even though there was still a bit of back and forth, it was productive and collaborative. We were able to build on her ideas, refine her messaging, and create something that really captured her essence.

The process felt energizing and impactful because we laid a solid foundation and stayed aligned throughout. Seeing her excitement when she launched her refreshed website was such a rewarding moment for me and reminded me how powerful it can be when my clients and I are working together with clarity and intention.

Who or what vegan company do you think is crushing in marketing right now?

I’ve always been a fan of MUD\WTR, a vegan-friendly coffee alternative that distinguished itself in the crowded wellness beverage market through innovative and authentic marketing strategies. MUD\WTR has cultivated a dedicated following, exemplifying how a vegan company can excel in marketing by fostering genuine connections and delivering engaging content.