Meatless brand Alpha Foods launches marketing and hires its first CMO

Alpha Foods is out with TV commercials and seed kits as it aims to stand out with a sense of humor in the increasingly crowded category of meat alternatives. The company also just hired Kierstin De West as its first chief marketing officer. De West was most recently VP of global brand management and strategy at Lululemon. Now, she’ll oversee marketing, brand, communications and e-commerce at Alpha Foods, which sells products such as meatless burgers, burritos, nuggets and pot pies at grocery stores and direct to consumers. TV spots suggest that if plants can be meat, people can do anything, such as a parent avoiding telling his kids which one is his favorite. Another spot shows a passenger in a car heading past a farm who sees horses and doesn’t shout “horses!” A third spot shows a woman actually saying hi to a woman she knew in high school. The campaign and seed kits are the first work for the brand from its agency of record, Mischief @ No Fixed Address. The use of humor is a way to try to help Alpha Foods stand out in a crowded category that includes brands such as Kellogg’s Morningstar Farms, Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods, Tyson’s Raised & Rooted line, Nature’s Fynd and others seeking to win over vegetarians, vegans and so-called flexitarians, those who still eat meat but want to reduce their consumption. “We thought, if Alpha Foods can taste so much like real meat it almost seems impossible, let’s have fun highlighting this through the small meaningful moments to show that anything really is possible. Like admitting you were the only one who didn't like Hamilton," Kevin Mulroy, partner and executive creative director at Mischief, said in a statement. The brand’s grow-your-own meat kits don’t truly give someone at home the ability to replicate the company’s food. Alpha Foods is, however, offering to send the seeds for some of the main ingredients in its products. The burrito kit, for example, comes with non-GMO sunflower, corn, onion, soy, wheat, green pepper and cayenne pepper seeds and detailed planting instructions. “The next step is showcasing that small changes such as eating a plant-based meal a day or a week can actually lead to much bigger impacts,” says De West. The broader meatless category continues to grab attention. Earlier this week, plant-based chicken brand Daring announced a $40 million funding round that includes singer Drake as an investor. And there’s buzz about cultured meat, which is made from animal cells. Eat Just's Good Meat division raised $170 million and announced that the JW Marriott Singapore South Beach’s restaurant Madame Fan would serve its products in certain dishes, including steamed chicken dumplings and chicken vegetable stir-fry, at certain times, for delivery and soon at the restaurant itself.

Meatless brand Alpha Foods launches marketing and hires its first CMO

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