A Swedish Company Has Developed A Burger That Allegedly Tastes Just Like Human Flesh
“No humans were harmed in the making of this burger,” the company said.
Oumph! The plant-based burger won the Silver Brand Experience and Activation Lion at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.
If your curiosity about the taste of human flesh has ever gnawed at you, but you’ve wisely avoided making dinner plans with Hannibal Lecter, rejoice! The Swedish masterminds at Oumph! have concocted a plant-based burger that promises the taste of human flesh without the pesky ethical dilemmas.
The New York Post reports that this spooky-themed burger first debuted in Halloween 2021, along with a delightfully gory YouTube advertisement. Fast forward to 2022, and this unique creation snagged a prestigious Silver Brand Experience and Activation Lion at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. Talk about making waves in the culinary sea of sameness!
Now, you might be wondering, why on Earth would anyone want to imitate the taste of human flesh? Henrik Åkerman, the global brand leader at Oumph!, sheds some light on their daring decision: “As a small brand, we need to be bold and push boundaries to break through. This campaign is a testament to that.”
Åkerman further explains that the campaign isn’t just a gimmick. It’s also a direct challenge to the skeptical taste buds of those who claim plant-based meats just can’t measure up to the real deal. In essence, they’re saying if they can mimic human meat, other meats should be a cinch.
Oumph!/YouTubeThe burger was available for one night only on October 30 at Nytorget, Södermalm, Stockholm.
Tomás Ostiglia, executive creative director at LOLA MullenLowe (the agency behind this macabre ad campaign), acknowledges the weariness people feel with the old “tastes like meat” claim. He believes that showcasing a convincing plant-based human meat burger was a brave, on-brand move, sure to capture attention. And let’s not kid ourselves—it absolutely did.
The burger’s ingredients list is more wholesome than you might expect: soy, mushrooms, wheat protein, plant-based fats, and a mysterious spice mix. Åkerman assures us their mission is clear: to transform eating habits through creativity, offering viable and tasty alternatives to meat.
The fantastical human meat stunt also fits into Oumph!’s broader goals. They’ve made waves since launching their plant-based pulled pork in Sweden, following with expansions across Europe into countries like the Netherlands, Germany, and the U.K. By 2020, their U.K. sales soared by 400%, and they’ve since even expanded to Australia. Their dedication caught the eye of LIVEKINDLY co., who acquired them in June 2020.
Since the acquisition, Oumph! has expanded their product line to include smokehouse-style ribs, bacon bits, buffalo bites, kebabs, and burgers—all plant-based and ready to hit dinner tables around the globe.
Oumph!/YouTubeThe advertisement for the burger warns viewers to “Be Scared” as horror-themed burger imagery flashes on-screen before the word “Relax” appears.
Oumph!’s ultimate aim? To make the impossible possible by convincing the hardcore meat-eaters and skeptics that their products can faithfully replicate not just the taste, but the texture of the meats they’re fashioned after.
Anna-Kajsa Lidell, the company’s co-founder and head of progress strategy, emphasizes that Oumph! wants to push the envelope in creating plant-based alternatives so convincing, even the most entrenched meat lovers might second-guess their choices. Lidell cites environmental sustainability, health benefits, and the horrors of industrial farming as key motivators in their relentless quest.
“As consumers become more aware of the widespread use of antibiotics within industrial animal farming, I believe that they will make more selective choices in what they eat,” Lidell says. She envisions a future where people prioritize smarter eating habits for their health and that of the planet, rather than adhering strictly to dietary labels.
Ultimately, Oumph!’s “human meat” burger is a quirky-yet-significant milestone on their journey. Co-founder, corporate chef, and head of innovation, Anders Linden, described working on this flesh-tasting burger as both “exciting” and “a little bit scary”.
“This is our ultimate and weird way of showing that it’s possible to create any type of food by using just plants,” Linden said.
So, what does human flesh even taste like? Though we’ll leave that one to the experts (or, better yet, let’s just stick with Oumph!’s version!), it’s clear that Oumph! is shaking up the plant-based market in some delightfully eerie ways.
