NBA Legend Scottie Pippen Launches Vegan Superfood Popcorn Brand

Professional basketball star Scottie Pippen just revealed his vegan popcorn Husk Organics, developed in partnership with chef RC Mills. The NBA legend and esteemed chef teamed up to create this superfood snack to highlight the importance of healthy and plant-based eating when snacking. Pippen’s snack is marketed as a healthier option than conventional popcorn and specifically compared to other popular snack foods.

“I think we’ve created something very good and very special and healthy,” Pippen told People magazine. “We have something that we think that every kid should love, and that’s eating his vegetables and eating something that’s healthy. We think we’ve really hit a home run with Husk.”

Pippen’s popcorn will be available in six flavors including Yacon and Tumeric, Kale and Broccoli, Spirulina and Dragon Fruit, Matcha and Coconut Water, Moringa, and Cayenne and Ginger. The snack only uses vegan ingredients, hoping to enhance the nutritional value of the snack for consumers. The snacks are also gluten-free, GMO-free, and completely organic. Husk will hit shelves on July 6th, bringing all six flavors to consumers nationwide.

“The thing we realized is that a lot of the snacks were salt/sweet, so to speak, and we like that,” Mills told People. “We enjoy salty [and] sweet snacks, but we wanted to create something in a totally different dynamic that will be a salty snack, but has some superfood ingredients. At least at the end of the day, when you have your serving of the popcorn, you won’t feel as though, ‘Hey, I just ate a salty [and] sweet snack and I feel like crap.’ When you eat this and you’ve finished, you’ll feel like, ‘Okay, that was good.’ It just gives you energy - the ingredients - at the end of the day.”

The health-forward snack took Mills and Pippen nearly two years of research and development. The two legends claim that while it took years and many trials to perfect the nutritional snack, they believe they created a snack that consumers nationwide will love and enjoy. Before Husk Organics, Mills worked to create the vegan popcorn brand VINPOP - a popcorn snack that uses wine as one of its primary ingredients and comes in flavors such as pinot noir, champagne, and chardonnay.

The six-time NBA champion credits his increased dietary switch to an increased focus on health and wellness in recent years. Even though he claims to have changed his diet he has yet to give a specific dietary label. Pippen, however, wants people everywhere to prioritize healthy snacks and eating, motivating him to develop this new superfood snack.

“This superfood snack is something I’m behind because I believe it,” Pippen said. “And I think it’s something that parents will be able to relate to, especially mothers who want to have their kids eat healthy snacks.

Sir James Paul McCartney is no stranger to a meat-free life as he's been vegetarian for 45 years. He initially went vegetarian in 1975 with his first wife Linda McCartney and began his advocacy for animal rights.

If you find yourself constantly singing along to the song The Greatest, then you're already a Sia fan. Sia tweeted that she is "fully vegan now" back in 2014 and stays true to her word

Way back at the start of Grey's Anatomy, Sandra Oh took the cast out for a plant-based lunch at Truly Vegan in Hollywood. In her effort to inspire contemporaries to eat vegan, the TV star is known to invite her friends for vegan meals that are delicious. She adopted the vegan lifestyle years ago and continues to quietly live a cruelty-free life.

Giselle revealed that when she was at the peak of her modeling career, her diet consisted of "cigarettes, wine, and mocha Frappuccinos," according to an interview in People Magazine. Now 39 and the mother of two children, Gisele eats a "mostly" plant-based diet to nourish her body and stay fueled.

Alec Baldwin has made a bigger commitment to plant-based eating since he was first told by doctors that he was pre-diabetic and needed to change his diet. That was decades ago. But, over the last few years, he's been vocal about the benefits not only to his health but also the impact plant-based eating has on the environment.

We all remember Pamela Anderson as the curvaceous blonde in the hit series Baywatch as she played Casey Jean in the red one-piece swimsuit that brought her world-class fame. She is a life-long active animal rights advocate and teamed up with PETA to join the Animal Protection Organization.

"We shouldn't eat as much meat guys," Kristen Stewart told GQ in an interview in January. The Twilight star has made a full 180 from vampire to vegan. When she appeared on the game show "Hot Ones" she chose to skip the wings and instead compete by eating increasing spicier sauce on vegan cauliflower wings.

This award-winning actor eats a high-protein diet consisting of only plants. Leto, who has been plant-based for 20 years, says it keeps him "shredded" in an interview. Now, 48, Leto looks half his age.

Jaden Smith switched up his diet from vegan to vegetarian, meaning that he doesn't eat meat but does eat dairy from time to time. In a recent article by Plant Based News, Smith admits he skipped meals and was not getting the proper nutrition when he was vegan, but this hasn't stopped him from espousing the plant-based life.

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex has never admitted to being fully vegan, but sources say, she eats a plant-based diet most days during the week. She is teaching Prince Harry vegan cooking and in a Plant-Based News article, Markle explained how she hopes to raise baby Archie on a mostly vegan diet.

As a professional athlete, fueling the body is a key factor to Willaim's successes. In a Bon Appetite article, she explained that she adopted a plant-based diet back in 2012, she was eating a lot "healthier" for her sister, Venus, who eats a strict vegan diet for health reasons.

The popular grocery store, Whole Foods Market sells vegan products and nonvegan products which arises black lash from ethical vegans as CEO John Mackey follows a strict vegan diet. The successful businessman grew up in Houston Texas and told Business Insider that he would traditionally eat processed foods for dinner while watching TV with his family. Now, Mackey steers clear from the processed isle and eats a clean vegan diet and feels amazing at the age of 65.

Jason Mraz, singer of the popular song, I'm Yours, committed to a vegan diet to support his friend diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Mraz says he eats mostly raw food and told magazine sources his favorite vegan dish is "Chocomole, a mixture of avocados, dates, cacao, agave nectar, and coconut oil."

Long time vegan, Leona Lewis grew up in a vegan household and continues to eat a plant-based diet. Lewis first adopted the diet at 12 when she learned about the health risks of eating animal products but told Women's Health Magazine she occasionally eats an omelet. She also mentioned her 2:30 lunch is normally a kale salad topped with dried cranberries and she loves a veggie stir-fry for dinner.

Hannah Teter changed her diet after watching the documentary, Earthlings when she discovered how "horrible" factory farming is. After a strict vegetarian diet, Teter liked the way she performed as an athlete and believes that her diet helped her win gold at the 2006 games.

You may recognize Maggie Q as the star of the Nikita series, but in the plant-based world, she's well-known for her heroic activism. Maggie Q has followed a strict vegan diet for 19 years, making her a true veteran of the lifestyle. She made the plant-based diet transition because she felt sluggish and had low energy, she has said. The famous actress keeps in shape by eating veggies and plant-based protein and working out with a passion.

Winner of the first Masterchef vegan cook-off with Gordon Ramsay, Madelaine Petsch was raised vegetarian and went completely vegan at age 14. She claims that she started this diet before it was "trendy" and shot a campaign for PETA last year wearing a dress made of bok choy. Petsch says her vegan diet allows her to feel "healthier" and not "lethargic."

After doing a little sleuthing on her social media platforms we think Millie Bobbi Brown qualifies as plant-based. Whether or not she is actually skipping all meat and dairy, one thing is for sure: She eats mostly salads, vegetables and grains and lives a predominantly plant-based lifestyle full of healthy foods.

The grammy-nominated sisters went vegan for a week with their mom but liked it so much they decided to stick with it. For one thing, it helps keep their "voices in shape" by eating a vegan diet and they emphasize the fact that dairy helps to limit extra mucus build-up, according to a PETA interview.

Best known for her role as Lizzie Mcguire in the long-running series, Hilary Duff is a recent vegan advocate and entrepreneur. She recently launched the vegan and cruelty-free eyeshadow palette, "Day Dreamer" and changed her diet to plant-based last fall.