My husband, daughter and I are vegan, but thankfully we look forward to this day, Thanksgiving, just like every other red-blooded American. How can vegans and vegetarians be as thankful as omnivores on this festive day? In addition to a plethora of vegan recipes for staples such as pumpkin pie, stuffing and gravy, there is also a product called Tofurkey. Marinated in a special blend of seasoned olive oil and cooked surrounded by carrots and potatoes, Tofurky is something my family looks forward to every year during this holiday season.
Last year there were over 300,000 Tofurky loaves purchased. That’s great, but I ask myself every year when we make our annual trek to the supermarket, “What does the name mean?” Is it a play on faux turkey? Is it simply tofu and turkey combined? If so, why did they remove the “e” before the “y”? I didn’t find answers to these important questions, but I did learn a little more about the name.
In addition to the texture and flavor of Tofurky, the company credits the quirky name for its amazing success. It’s the age-old adage that there’s no such thing as bad press. Tofurky’s CEO, Seth Tibbott says it this way, “The funny name worked to our advantage. Humor worked instantly with this product.” For Tofurky this all began in 1999 when people like Ellen, Conan, and Leno began using Tofurky as the brunt of their jokes. With over 7 million vegetarians in the United States and nearly 400 million vegetarians worldwide, there really needed to be some way the omnivores could poke fun at us. Tofurky seemed to provide that perfect opportunity.
Then in 2001 something amazing happened. Tofurky was featured as an answer to a Jeopardy! gameshow question. You know you’ve made it when your product appears on Jeopardy! The company estimates that by 2007 the Tofurky brand received millions of dollars in free publicity because of its name. Not a bad strategy!
How can a tofu-based turkey alternative be so successful? Seth Tibbott says, “I think it comes down to a combination of a great product and a funny, catchy name!”
Whatever the name, I’m thankful for Tofurky today. I’m also thankful for time with my family. And I’m thankful for each of you and hoping that you’re having a wonderful Thanksgiving Day as well!
Happy Thanksgiving to you! I should try some tofurky sometime. I’m not a vegetarian, but I never cook meat and seldom eat it. My daughter and her boyfriend are vegetarians, so I learned a lot from them. For lunch today I combined a baked sweet potato with half a cup of cooked quinoa and added some curry sauce and garlic salt! Yum! We’re heading off to relatives where there will be lots of real turkey. They would not even entertain the thought for one second of not eating meat.
November 26, 2009
1:18 pm
I love tofurky but I think my taste buds have adjusted after being vegetarian for so many years. I wish they would sell individual size portions of tofurky so you could try it without the expense of buying the whole loaf. Have you ever eaten at Eden Alley? They have great vegetarian food!
November 28, 2009
9:40 am
You know, I think people who would otherwise be disinclined to try tofu, do so just because of the “Tofurky” name. Interesting marketing strategy. Great post! =)
Mindy
http://www.thesuburbanlife.com
November 30, 2009
12:13 pm
The thing is, you can’t try tofurky expecting it to taste like turkey. It is a good attempt, but it is different. I’ve been vegetarian now for a long time so to me tofurky tastes incredible. I love it. However, I much prefer the taste of a serious chunk of tofu that has been appropriately seasoned and grilled. Yummy!! Oh great, now no one will ever respect any of my future recipes!
Marly
November 30, 2009
10:47 pm