Bad aftertaste… Warning: this news may cause indigestion. You’ve probably heard of Daily Harvest, the plant-based meal-delivery service that seems to sponsor every other YouTuber and podcaster. Now some influencers are losing their appetites: Daily Harvest is embroiled in a scandal after several customers said they’d gotten sick after eating its lentils.
- Violently ill: On Reddit, TikTok, and Insta, customers said they got sick after eating DH’s Lentil + Leek Crumbles. Many reported liver damage and fevers, and some said they had their gallbladders removed.
- #LentilGate: According to Reddit users, DH first responded to customer concerns by asking if they’d cooked the lentils correctly. The company later issued a recall and said it was investigating the mysterious issue, along with the FDA. It’s also offering customers a $10 credit (womp).
Hungry for influence… Before this brand-crushing debacle, DH was thriving. It had sold $250M of meal subscriptions in 2020 and hit a $1.1B valuation thanks to its army of influencers and celeb investors (like: Serena Williams, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Bobby Flay). It’s not the only one relying on influencers:
- #SponsoredContent: Brands are expected to spend $16.4B on influencer marketing this year as consumers increasingly discover products on TikTok and Insta.
- #ZaraHaul: Last year, Insta influencers mentioned Zara 300K times, reaching 2M+ people. Smaller brands like Glossier and MVMT have also relied on influencers to boost awareness.
Viral marketing can be a double-edged sword… Social media can help startups blow up quickly and cause them to blow up (in a bad way) just as fast. Some Daily Harvest influencers who said they got sick from free meal kits are bashing the biz on social (see: this Tok with 100K+ likes). Daily Harvest’s crisis is a reminder that the influencer strategy can backfire.