Drake-backed vegan chicken brand Daring Foods entered the plant-based arena four years ago, aiming to offer a sustainable alternative to some of the world’s most desired foods. Now, the vegan company is partnering with the Olympic Fencing star Miles Chamley-Watson through its new Daring Moves platform. The Olympic Bronzo Medalist teamed up with Daring to highlight the unsustainable and environmentally dangerous chicken industry, featured as the company’s first changemaker in its upcoming docu-style campaign.

Daring’s mini docu-series will showcase several athletes, activists, and pioneers that share their mission to provide a sustainable and healthy alternative to animal-based chicken products. Founded in 2018, Daring launched to provide a realistic vegan chicken that maintained the taste and texture of traditional chicken without animal involvement. Chamley-Watson will act as the company’s first athlete ambassador, using his platform to further this mission.

"I am honored to partner with Daring on this initiative and to help bring attention to pioneers creating change in their communities,” Chamley-Watson said in a statement. “What inspires me about working with Daring is that we have the exact same mindset and morals. We want to do more than disrupt our respective spaces—we want to change them completely. It’s the absolute perfect match and this is just the beginning.”

Chamley-Watson – the first man of color to win the World Championship title in fencing – works to challenge the status quo across the board, making him the perfect inaugural sponsor for Daring. The professional fencer is not vegan himself but believes that plant-forward diets benefit the planet and his own personal health. Among other plant-based competitors, Daring has become a leading brand within the growing plant-based market.

Alongside Chamley-Watson, the Daring Moves campaign will feature six other ambassadors including Hoop York City founder Alex Taylor, Soar Over Hate founder Michell Tran, and Chilis on Wheels founders Michelle and Ollie Carrera.

The Daring Moves campaign aims to garner the attention of consumers worldwide, bringing attention to the dangers of the animal agriculture industry while highlighting the health benefits of plant-based chicken versus its animal alternatives. Meat farming is currently responsible for 57 percent of greenhouse gases in the food production industry worldwide. But Daring is helping consumers understand the consequence while also developing accessible and delicious alternatives.

“Daring Moves is rooted in our mission to be unapologetically ambitious, unconventional, and daring in realizing the change we want to see in the world,” Daring CEO and Founder Ross Mackay said in a statement. “Miles exemplifies that spirit every move he makes by breaking boundaries and working to create new norms in the world of fencing. We couldn’t have chosen a better person to launch this platform. And we’re excited for the world to meet these daring people.”

The plant-based chicken market is expected to reach $18.52 billion by 2028, according to a report from Grand View Research, and Daring is working to capitalize on this unprecedented growth. The company currently is backed by several key and celebrity investors including Drake, DJ Steve Aoki, the Founder Fund, and tennis champion Naomi Osaka. Most recently, the company secured a $65 million investment round, bringing its total funding to $120 million. The company has since expanded its retail and foodservice distribution, partnering with Groot Hospitality groups and restaurants nationwide.

Daring's New York Times Takeover

Beyond the Daring Moves campaign, the company is ramping up its advertisements and consumer outreach. The vegan chicken brand just debuted a New York Times ad campaign for 2022 that asks readers to take charge in reforming the global food systems, especially within the chicken industry. The company took out several full-page ads that attempt to call attention to the damaging impacts that the chicken industry has on the world. The company positions itself against commercial poultry production, claiming that the Daring vegan chicken is the future of food.

“To drive change in our food system, we need to create phenomenal Daring products that people love, but we also have to educate consumers about the issues putting our health and planet at risk,” Mackay said. “The New York Times is one of the most widely read and trusted newspapers in the United States, and so it’s the perfect outlet to reach chicken-lovers around the country.”

Together with the Daring Moves campaign, the company is working to prove that consumers can enjoy chicken products and dishes without animals. The Daring chicken contains no added hormones, saturated fat, or antibiotics, using a simple plant-based recipe. By taking out the New York Times ads, the company intends to expose the environmental and ethical issues surrounding the entire food industry. With a wider audience and product distribution range, the company is kicking off 2022 by criticizing the poultry industries directly.

“2022 will be another year of tremendous growth and innovation for plant-based meat,” Mackay said. “At Daring, we’re particularly excited to launch at new foodservice locations around the US and to start testing new products that better mimic whole-muscle cuts of animal meat. In everything we do this year, we are working toward our mission to make plant chicken that’s so delicious, nutritious, convenient, and versatile that we’re able to remove animal chicken from our food system entirely.”

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