MrBeast takes on a burger challenge he can’t finish

On September 4, 2022, a shopping mall in New Jersey is filled with approximately 10,000 individuals enthusiastically chanting “Beast, Beast, Beast.” The reason behind this uproar is the imminent arrival of popular YouTuber MrBeast, who is set to inaugurate his inaugural burger eatery. The crowd’s excitement is palpable and reaching a fever pitch.

MrBeast, real name Jimmy Donaldson, built his global MrBeast Burger business from the ground up as a product made in “ghost kitchens” that was only available on delivery apps.

But he has since had a dramatic change of heart.

Donaldson, 25, recently crowned the world’s most popular YouTuber with more than 170 million subscribers, launched a lawsuit against the burger suppliers in late July to end the deal.

Court filings include choice quotes from customers: “One New York reviewer, echoing the sentiments of thousands, stated that the MrBeast Burger was ‘absolutely the worst burger I’ve ever had in my entire life! It was like eating spoonfuls of garlic powder”. .”

Virtual Dining Concepts, a ghost kitchen company, sued last week for $100 million in damages.

“This lawsuit is a signal to many other influencers,” said Jess Flack, founder of influencer marketing agency Ubiquitous.

He said it marked the withering of relationships between influencers and ghost kitchens born during the pandemic, when restrictions kept millions at home and restaurants closed around the world.

Analysts predicted that ghost kitchens were the next big thing. Market research unit Euromonitor International suggested that the industry could be worth a trillion dollars by 2030.

Predictions like these may have influenced Donaldson, especially since the path from entertainment to catering has been trodden.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and others were pop with the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain, George Clooney whips his own tequila and Emimen Hawks spaghetti from a hole in the wall in Detroit.

But Flack points out that Donaldson’s position is more complicated than other lightsabers.

“For someone like MrBeast, his whole career is based on his brand,” he said.

“He’s not like an actor or a singer or a rapper like Eminem who has a career to fall back on.”

From that perspective, he said it made perfect sense for him to “blast” MrBeast Burger because of the bad reviews.

– “Loyal fan base” –

In any case, Donaldson has another food empire spanning cookies and chocolate bars that gets more positive reviews.

And her social media peers prove that the food industry is still a viable marketplace.

Lifestyle YouTuber Emma Chamberlain has a successful coffee business, and viral gimmick creator Logan Paul’s energy drinks are doing great, just to name a few.

The phenomenon is not limited to the United States.

The food brands of popular French YouTuber Mister V and Spanish internet celebrity Carlos Rios are splashing on supermarket shelves.

“Many YouTubers create quite a loyal fan base because their relationship with their audience seems to be close,” said Vince Miller of the University of Kent in the UK.

But what happens if it all falls apart?

The future remains very bright for Donaldson, often referred to as the Internet’s Willie Wonka for handing out wads of cash or life-changing experiences at random.

He says he pays for his stunts by plowing his winnings — Forbes magazine listed his 2021 earnings at $54 million — back into producing his videos, some of which cost millions.

The gifts and his endlessly upbeat, circus-ring-master shtick have catapulted him to superstardom, with tens of millions of fans hanging on his every word.

“A lot of them are kids and young people who really care about what he’s doing and see him as the nicest, most generous guy on YouTube,” Miller said.

His latest video, “7 Days Stranded at Sea,” in which he and his friends spent a week on a raft, garnered what he said was a record 46 million views in its first day.

“I never want to hear that I get Views just because I give money,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “We broke the world record with me and my friends suffering and cracking jokes.”

Many, mostly older people, find it hard to swallow his juxtaposition of charity stunts — he recently paid for 1,000 people to have eye-saving surgeries — against the thirst for clicks.

But for his fans, that’s a big part of his appeal—they feel like they’re doing good just by watching his videos.

“Beast Philanthropy is literally funded by your eyeball,” he told viewers of his other channel, Beast Philanthropy. “Not even kidding.”