In a May 24th announcement Beyond Meat Inc. announced that Kim Kardashian will be featured in a campaign as a "professional tastemaker" to promote the claimed sustainability of the Beyond Meat brand. Despite her statements regarding support of plant-based meat substitutes, she has little creditability as an environmentalist, health advocate or commentator on food.
The value of the Kardashian endorsement was tarnished by a flood of critical comments following airing of her commercial. A review of the spot clearly shows that she failed to actually taste the Beyond Meat burger she was holding.
Given the abysmal financial performance of Beyond Meat, the Company needs to define their market and adopt appropriate promotional activities. Vulnerabilities that need to be countered include a product that is inferior in nutritional quality to real ground beef, a label indicating numerous additives and above all an uncompetitive price compared to the real product.
The choice of "ambassadors" including Snoop Dogg and Ms. Kardashian suggests a lack of focus and inappropriate selection of spokespersons relative to the potential market comprising affluent, health and environmentally conscious consumers. The expense involved in enlisting the assistance of Ms. Kardashian will obviously reflect in the ever-declining operating margin of the company coupled with a less than stellar growth rate in the U.S. market.