How Beyond Meat could have avoided the heat of Kim Kardashian tie up

share on

twitter /
facebook /
linkedin /
- email
- telegram
- whatsapp
- wechat
- pinterest
- line
- snapchat
- reddit

Earlier this week, Beyond Meat appointed celebrity Kim Kardashian as its first chief taste consultant. The addition of Kardashian to the team was unveiled through an ad that was shared across Beyond Meat social channels, as well as on Kardashian's Instagram. While some netizens showed their support for the partnership, the overwhelming majority questioned if Kardashian was the best fit for the partnership.

Several users also pointed out that Kardashian is a meat eater, and the brand should have endorsed "true vegans" instead. Additionally, a few netizens pointed out that Kardashian was never shown taking a bite of any of the dishes on screen, questioning if Kardashian really did consume the meat at all.

However, one user on Instagram stood up for the brand saying that, ideal or not, Beyond Meat endorsing Kardashian was a smart move and a win in many capacities. "To have [Kardashian] encouraging her 300 million-plus followers to eat plant-based is simply a win for animals and the environment no matter how you view it. None of us - and I do mean none of us - have that type of influence and access to that many people globally on none of our social media platforms like she does," he explained.

Influencer marketing as an industry is growing swift and fast. The global influencer marketing industry is expected to reach US$16.4 billion this year, according to The Influencer benchmark Report 2022 by Denmark-based media company Influencer Marketing Hub. In Southeast Asia, the number of brands spending more than 30% of their total marketing budget on influencer marketing has increased to 25.4% this year, up from 21.4% in 2021, The Southeast Asia Influencer Marketing Industry report by influencer marketing and commerce platform Partipost and Quest Ventures said.

However, should brands prioritise influencers' following count over alignment of brand values?

Althea Lim, Group CEO at Gushcloud International said that Kardashian sits at a "very interesting crossroad of marketing" because she touches different generations, sectors, cultures and races, while also being a parent - which is an important segment for the F&B industry. "Kardashian is what we at Gushcloud we call, an 'all encompassing’ global celebrity influencer. I can imagine why Beyond Meat would work with her global influence to position themselves as a staple food item, and not just a replacement for meat," Lim explained to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE .

However, Lim shared that the problem behind this partnership may be the lack of media coverage of Kardashian as a strong voice of sustainability in food practices thus far. On the brand’s end, there is also a lack of clear explanation on why Beyond Meat chose to work with her.

Lim who has worked with the Kardashian-Jenner team in the past, says that in her experience, Kardashian is not known to take on a project that she doesn't believe in or aren't passionate about.

From Beyond Meat's end, the brand's campaign could have included the reasons why it chose Kardashian. "It is ultimately the job of the brand to explain to their customers and audiences the choice of their ambassador especially when the world is becoming more decentalised with the move towards Blockchain technology,” said Lim. Nonetheless, Beyond Meat can still take advantage of its spiked awareness - due to this slight controversy - to explain, and work quickly with Kardashian to develop more content to now reach out to an even bigger audience whose interest is now piqued, Lim added.

Meanwhile, Pamela Tor Das, managing director, Singapore at TEAM LEWIS said that even before this partnership, Beyond Meat was already a brand that “was not having a walk in the park", as there continues to be debate and reactions to their products and past decisions including partnerships to supply to certain mass market food chains. However, echoing Lim, Das reckons that the brand is looking at widening its audience through this partnership, in order to gain more mass market demand to bring down costs.

She said, "As a brand, Beyond Meat is moving from being an alternative for those who only consume plant-based diets to being seen as one of the many food options for others who do not have dietary restrictions. Kardashian may not have been a conventional choice in the eyes of consumers, but brings potential for new customer streams for the brand."

As brands would usually opt for influencers who align with their values - in the eyes of consumers - Das added that Beyond Meat may have already considered the risks associated with widening its audience before going into a partnership with Kardashian. "Beyond Meat must stand firm on their purpose– if they continue to set that as the base of their decision making process, they would be able to rationalise with consumers and investors alike," she said.

share on