New Zealand pizza chain stirs controversy with vegan prank

A New Zealand pizza chain pranked its patrons by serving plant-based, meatless patties on its so-called Burger Pizza — a stunt intended to “start conversation” about veganism, according to new reports.

Hell Pizza last week launched the meat pie, which purported to have a “medium rare burger patty” as its topping, the BBC reported.

But on Thursday, the chain revealed that the patty was actually a vegan alternative by Beyond Meat.

They posted a video to Facebook showing patrons munching on the pizza — and reacting in disbelief when they’re told the “meat” is actually plant-based.

The big reveal angered countless commenters on the video, who accused the chain of deceiving and even endangering its customers.

“Totally lost trust and any thin crust credibility,” Christopher Brougham posted. “You have said one thing, done another and I hope your sales suffer. What were you thinking? Shocker. Avoid Hell.”

“A stunt like this is to be expected from people who don’t take food seriously and have no concern about consumers of their product,” Robert Eagle chimed in. “What would Hell Pizza’s reaction have been if a person had died as a result of an allergic reaction to something they ate unknowingly? Hell Pizza, you need to do better. No need to push your ideals onto others by hiding behind BS marketing.”

But others took the prank in stride, and praised the company for drawing attention to plant-based diets.

“Hells you guys are amazing!” Lilly Evans wrote. “Thank you for bringing awareness to this movement and the issues regarding our planet. Big ups to you guys.”

“Well played,” Ben Allan added. “Hope this sticks around the menu for a while — keen to give it a go.”

Marketing lawyer Rae Nield told New Zealand outlet Stuff that the establishment is in high risk of having violated the Fair Trading Act, which protects customers from being misled.

“What does a reasonable consumer expect if it says ‘burger’ and there’s no qualifier — it doesn’t say ‘veggie’ or ‘meat-free,’” Nield said. “A reasonable consumer is going to think that means meat.”

The fact that the company updated the pizza’s ingredients list on its website to say “medium-rare Beyond Meat burger patty” may not make much of a difference, she added.

“What does Beyond Meat mean to consumers?” Nield said. “Unless you’re familiar with the particular product, it’s still not clear, particularly when all the other burgers are meat-based.”

Ben Cumming, Hell Pizza’s general manager, told the outlet that customers were told the patties were plant-based, only if they asked. But the company wasn’t misleading anyone, he claimed, and their lawyer assured them Friday that they did not breach the Act.

“The law is interpretable and we maintain that we haven’t misled anyone,” Cumming said. “There was no specific mention of meat, and burgers come in all shapes with all sorts of ingredients.”

“We care about the planet and want to start a conversation and raise awareness about sustainable food choices,” he added. “A lot of people are instantly put off by the idea of fake meats, so we made the call to not reveal its meat-free origins to [people] eating it because we were so confident they’d enjoy these patties.”

“We’ve copped some flak on our Facebook page today but those people don’t tend to be our customers so we take that criticism with a grain of salt,” he said.

Source: Nypost.com

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