Ever since the age-old veggie burgers have been revolutionized with the launch of meatless patties with meat-like texture, there has been an upswing of consumers in every possible sector. The two largest producers of these new-age plant-based patties are leaving no stone unturned in marketing their vegan products.
Of course, celebrity endorsement is one proven method spreading the word, but the great thing about this process in this market is that the celebrities endorsing the products are happy to do it, whether it is because they love the taste or just want to back the vegan revolution. Here are a few ways different celebrities are letting the world know about meatless patties being the in thing.
Celebrities Turned Investors
Around mid-2019, when one of the two pioneers of meatless burgers, Impossible Foods™, began ramping up their production, investments started to pour in from all directions. Celebrities did not shy away from making their presence felt there. Serena Williams, Katy Perry, Trevor Noah, Jay-Z, Kirk Cousins, Ruby Rose, Kal Penn, and many others were all involved in a total of $300 million investment during one particular funding round.
Rivals Beyond Meat™ were not far behind, either. Bill Gates and Leonardo DiCaprio, and others such as Jessica Chastain, Nicole Williams, Chris Paul, Shaun White, David Wright, Liza Koshy, Harrison Barnes, and many more are among its key investors.
Backing the Meatless Movement
When Burger King™ included the Impossible Burger™ in its menu, it was a signal for rivals McDonald’s to step up. This is when a change.org petition was started to induce the large chain to have a vegan option on their burger menu. This petition was backed by several celebrities, including Ellen DeGeneres, Kathy Freston, and more.
This was one of the first meatless patty movements that garnered momentum when White Castle™ decided to debut the Impossible Foods™ burger. To raise awareness, they partnered with the Wu-Tang Clan, a hip-hop group that created a web series revolving around the Impossible Sliders.™
When They Simply Love the Taste
Contrary to other manufacturers, where celebrities are simply paid for endorsing a product, the revolution of plant-based patties has come to the forefront as something that the famous people truly love. Chrissy Teigen, for instance, pronounced Impossible burgers as more flavorful than her favorite beef burgers.
Beyond Burger has had its share of taste-lovers, too. Jessica Chastain, who is already a vegan, and also an investor in Beyond, approves the taste of their meatless patties to such as extent that she prefers cooking them at home. They seem to be popular among her meat-loving family as well.
In Fashion
Celebrities, when they love a product, often choose wild and unheard ways of bringing them in front of the public. Something of this sort was going on in the mind of Katy Perry when she decided to dress up as the Impossible Burger at a Met Gala fashion party. Her love for the burger and all things vegan prompted her to take this step without any kind of influence from the company. When celebrities start endorsing food through their clothes out of their fascination, you know there must be something in it.
Going Vegan Throughout
Leonardo DiCaprio, who considers the Impossible Burger™ to be a tasty meatless option, has been urging consumers to switch to these patties not just for their look and taste, but most importantly because these burgers are friends of the environment. The meatless burger movement is just one slice of the general vegan movement, which several celebrities have been endorsing in recent years.
Joaquin Phoenix, Forest Whitaker, Pamela Anderson, Alicia Silverstone, Erykah Badu, Paul McCartney, Peter Dinklage, James Cameron, Lewis Hamilton, Kyrie Irving, Will.I.Am, Beyonce, and Miley Cyrus are only some of the hundreds of famous names, who have declared themselves to be meat-free for years. All of these people claim to love their vegan lifestyle and by making their dietary preferences public, many urge their fans and followers to adopt a plant-based palate.
Leading the Way
The proliferation of new-age meatless patties is still slowly gathering pace and there is a large section of meat-lovers that would take longer to be convinced of the taste and health benefits of these burgers. That is where celebrity endorsements come in handy. When world-renowned people from different sectors such as films, music, sports, business, etc. come together in support of one movement, it is but inevitable that a lot of their fans would soon follow suit. A consumer sitting at home watching a YouTube video of her favorite actor cooking with a Beyond Burger™ patty (as an example) hardly can fail to be mesmerized by the charm of these new-age meat lookalikes.