Winning contests to blow away non-vegan audiences

US-based Atlas Monroe isn’t an official contributor, but when looking for examples of vegan companies who won awards for my Public Relations chapter, I stumbled upon this story on VegNews. I’m so glad I got the permission to share it!

Award-winning fried “chicken”

I wrote: “Vegan catering company Atlas Monroe was the first and only vegan vendor at the 2018 National Fried Chicken Festival in New Orleans, Louisiana. One of the festival judges, Extra Crispy editor-in-chief Ryan Grim, tasted and evaluated fried chicken from thirty-five festival vendors and ultimately chose Atlas Monroe’s Cajun Fried Chicken and Waffles as the ‘most enjoyable’ fried chicken he had eaten. Grim said in his article:

Some of the chicken that weekend, unfortunately, was not in tip-top shape because it had been fried earlier in the morning and had to wait to be judged. No fault of its own; simply the nature of the sport. There was one dish that wasn’t affected by these conditions, and it was the most enjoyable fried chicken I ate in two days of judging. It was chicken and waffles, and the thigh and drumstick were super-crunchy and super-tender, even after sitting for a while. The skin was thick, nubby, and crunchier than any fried chicken skin I’d ever encountered. And—you can probably see where this is going based on the headline—it wasn’t even chicken. It was vegan.

Photo: atlasmonroe.com

Also remember: the more vegan businesses apply for business awards—and not only awards for vegan products or services—the more wins the vegan industry will have as a whole!”

I’ve never seen the episode, but if you’re at Atlas Monroe fan, you’ll have seen their pitch on Shark Tank (USA) and tried their vegan chicken at Copper Branch locations. (See the result of their pitch here.)

Source: sharktankblog.com

What I love most about this story is that not only did Atlas Monroe crush the National Fried Chicken Festival but that the judge recognized the quality of the product, which shows (and you’ll read about this many times in the book) that vegan or plant-based products can compete against animal counterparts. And win!

The Vegan Marketing Success Stories ebook is now available to purchase on Lulu.com and other sites here. The paperback and audio book launch November 1 on Lulu’s bookstore and Audible.

Header photo source: atlasmonroe.com