Catapulting a new food category with a surround-sound approach
In the past there was no substitute for the delicious taste of traditional pork bacon—but in 2020, American food technology company MyForest Foods turned sustainable, eco- and animal-friendly food on its head. The company’s proprietary AirMycelium™ technology leverages a natural super ingredient, mycelium, to grow nutrient-rich fibers that replicate the texture and taste of real animal meat. MyForest Foods ramped up the production and distribution of its flagship product, MyBacon, and hired Inkhouse to increase brand awareness, educate the market about its key points of differentiation, attract investor attention and, most importantly, drive consumer demand.
We faced major challenges: Going up against well-established players in the plant-based space with far more substantial budgets and funding; and facing a tumultuous macroeconomic environment. Venture funding into the category was slowing and the media headlines were entirely doom-and-gloom. Our solution: get scrappy.
Our underlying objective for the campaign was to develop a compelling narrative to fuel our sustained communications program. MyBacon is in a category of its own — mycelium (the root structure of mushrooms), its star ingredient is more sustainable, uses fewer resources to create than other plant-based offerings, and can be transformed into virtually indistinguishable plant-based bacon using just six simple ingredients, and we set forth to execute a campaign that was rooted (no pun intended!) in this messaging.
We devised a highly targeted strategy, focusing at the onset on capturing the attention of, and ultimately winning over, the first followers — vegan and vegetarian trade media, industry organizations, and hyper-relevant micro- and macro-influencers. Our strategy was to get existing plant-based and fungi fanatics in our corner to then build credibility and momentum that would allow us to break through with more mainstream media and everyday consumers.
Inkhouse has secured more than 100 pieces of organic press coverage, generating more than half a billion impressions in key business, local, consumer & trade media outlets. Through our always-on media program, paired with thoughtful award nominations, MyForest Foods was recognized as a TIME Best Invention of 2022, named a World Food Innovation Award winner, and will be honored on Fast Company’s 2023 World-Changing Ideas list. Almost thirty reporters attended events in Oakland, New York City, and upstate NY; as a result of the events, we landed coverage in target outlets such as Forbes, Delish, Fast Company and Axios.
