Podcaster Ryan Invests in, Promotes Laird Superfood
Former U.S. Navy SEAL, CIA contractor and top-rated podcast host Shawn Ryan is partnering with Laird Superfood, Inc., as a shareholder and brand ambassador. This partnership kicks off Laird Superfood’s mission to amplify its voice through powerful ambassadors with passions for real, functional food.
The team-up is a strong connection for both Laird Superfood, leader in functional food, and Ryan, host of a #1 social and cultural podcast on Spotify and Apple, aligning their shared dedication to helping consumers optimize their daily performance with the natural, functional benefits of plants.
“I have incorporated mushrooms into my diet for some time now and seen the difference they can make in my personal wellness,” said Ryan. “I have also been growing my platform to tell the stories of people searching for the truth and challenging the norm. The chance to combine those passions by working with Laird Superfood and telling the story of its founder Laird Hamilton is an opportunity I am extremely excited to pursue.”
This partnership seamlessly integrates with Ryan’s personal lifestyle focusing on a combination of physical and mental wellness, as well as The Shawn Ryan Show’s new scope hosting guests in the fields of health and wellness, society and culture, philosophy and more. The podcast currently has 1.78 million followers on YouTube, with 5 million downloads on Spotify and Apple Podcast in July alone. The show also hit the top five globally on Spotify in July.
Laird Superfood has some of the highest ingredient quality standards in the consumer packaged goods industry to ensure they provide consumers with clean and functional foods that support energy, focus and balance.
The flavors in Laird Superfoods are derived from real foods found in nature; the products do not contain any artificial ingredients. All products are inspired by the lives of founders Laird Hamilton and Gabby Reece, including their active lifestyle, their quest to consume only the best foods on the planet, and their passion for making clean, plant-based foods accessible to all.
“Shawn embodies the lifestyle and mission of the Laird Superfood brand, and we are excited to welcome him to the team,” said Jason Vieth, CEO. “We look forward to creating a sustainable, long-term partnership with Shawn that will reinforce our shared values and goals.”
Ryan’s favorite Laird Superfood products include the Sweet & Creamy with Adaptogens Superfood Creamer and Organic Performance Mushrooms.
This news comes on the heels of Laird Superfood’s new packaging rebrand, which debuted at the Natural Products Expo West in March.
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Impossible Foods Adds Veteran Execs to Team
Impossible Foods has added two seasoned executives to its leadership team to oversee several critical business functions.
Veteran industrial biotechnology leader Sunil Chandran is joining Impossible Foods as its chief science officer to oversee the company’s R&D and innovation departments, with a focus on improving Impossible’s existing products and introducing new innovations to its product portfolio. Chandran joins Impossible from Amyris Inc., where he spent more than 17 years bringing new fermentation-derived ingredients to market, most recently as its chief science officer and head of R&D.
Accomplished supply chain leader Rob Haas is joining Impossible Foods as its chief supply chain officer, where he’ll oversee all parts of Impossible’s supply chain, from ingredient sourcing to dynamic forecasting. A 30+ year industry veteran with experience in the United States, APAC and Western Europe, Haas brings nearly 20 years of leadership experience from Anheuser Busch InBev, where he served as the global VP of ingredients, supply chain as well as the CEO and president of Metal Container Corporation, an AB InBev subsidiary. Most recently, Haas was the chief supply officer at EverGrain Ingredients, a sustainable ingredient company created and backed by AB InBev to upcycle its barley grains into high quality, nutritious ingredients and plant proteins.
“Sunil and Rob are exceptional leaders who know how to run critical business functions at scale,” said Peter McGuinness, president and CEO of Impossible Foods. “In addition to the depth and breadth of their expertise, they’re also both genuinely motivated by our mission and want to help us succeed in service of that. I’m excited to usher in this next phase of growth under their leadership.”
The hires follow several key executive appointments for Impossible Foods in the past six months as it continues to invest in its leadership team and growth strategy. In January, the company welcomed its first chief demand officer, Sherene Jagla, as well as its first chief marketing and creative officer, Leslie Sims. Earlier this month, Sims launched a major summer marketing effort with the introduction of two new national ad campaigns designed to welcome consumers into the plant-based category and introduce them to Impossible products.
Impossible Foods is on a mission to positively impact people and the planet by making delicious, nutritious meat from plants with a fraction of the environmental footprint of meat from animals. The privately-held food company was founded in 2011 to combat climate change by taking a scientific approach to making the world’s best meat — from plants. Every nugget, burger, and patty we sell uses less land and water and generates less greenhouse gas emissions compared to the animal version. We make plant-based chicken, beef, and pork products for every meal — breakfast, lunch and dinner — with a goal of replicating the flavors, textures, and cooking characteristics that meat eaters crave.
Impossible Foods products are designed in California, produced in California and the Midwest, and are available in the United States, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Macau, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.
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Impossible Launches ‘Making Meat History’ Ads
Impossible Foods is gearing up for summer with the launch of two new national advertising campaigns designed to introduce consumers across the country to the plant-based meat category as well as Impossible’s brand and products.
Premiering June 11 during the 76th Annual Tony Awards broadcast, Impossible’s “Making Meat History” campaign is a rollicking 90-second musical advertisement. It explores the history of meat through the ages and up to the present day, when the musical’s “historian” narrator introduces meat from a new animal called “the plant.” Impossible created the ad to familiarize consumers with the concept of plant-based meat and its benefits in a lighthearted, entertaining and memorable way.
The second campaign, “The Summer of Impossible,” serves to stake the company’s claim as a maker of meat for meat-lovers that just happens to be made from plants. It highlights the many benefits of Impossible products through a series of shorter, product-focused vignettes featuring quippy dialogues between an Impossible™ Burger and a burger made with animal meat. Impossible will continue to introduce new vignettes throughout the summer to keep the campaign fresh and entice consumers to put Impossible on their shopping list all season long.
“We need to welcome consumers into the plant-based space and give them a reason to choose Impossible,” said Leslie Sims, Chief Marketing & Creative Officer of Impossible Foods. “These campaigns are lighthearted and approachable by design to make the choice between our products and animal meat feel less intimidating. We want consumers to know they don’t have to give up the meat they love. Impossible products are meat – just made from plants – so they’re still delicious and have a ton of other benefits.”
Both campaigns were developed in partnership with SUPER SERIOUS, the newly established creative studio led by celebrated actor and television host Terry Crews and his co-founders Matthew O’Rourke and Paul Sutton. The studio, which embodies the mantra “everything is entertainment,” has adopted an agile and iterative approach to creative development and plans to produce work for television, feature films, commercials and everything in between. SUPER SERIOUS immediately saw Impossible Foods as the right client to launch its business, as the founding trio shares a genuine affinity for Impossible’s purpose and products.
And to direct the musical spot, SUPER SERIOUS signed on the acclaimed Emmy-winning film and music video director, Jake Scott.
The summer marketing effort adopts a more inclusive and accessible tone for the brand, seeking to transcend vegan and vegetarian audiences to reach as many flexitarian and meat-eating consumers as possible. Impossible Foods has not historically invested in sustained traditional advertising, instead leaning on high-profile partnerships, earned media and word-of-mouth to increase brand awareness. Now, under the new leadership of Sims, the company is ramping up its marketing engine to drive trial and invite new consumers to make this summer “The Summer of Impossible.”
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