How I Make Vegan Food Sexy | Pinky Cole | TED

Manoush Zomorodi: Pinky, I want to start with you as a teenager. I mean, you've built this 100-million-dollar valued restaurant situation. But before we get there, veganism and entrepreneurialism were in your blood from an early age. Can you tell us about that? Pinky Cole: Oh, how early. Can we have story time? MZ: Yes, let's do it. PC: I love this setting, it feels like group therapy. (Laughter) So I have been an entrepreneur for a very long time. So yesterday on my Instagram, I posted how my mother was and still is, a lead singer of a reggae band. So as a kid, she used to work five jobs literally. And she also used to rehearse in a basement and do her shows in a basement. And my father was spending 22 years in prison for something illegal, right. But he was behind bars but teaching me about entrepreneurship at the same time. MZ: This was in Baltimore. PC: This was in Baltimore. So I saw my mother work hard and be loyal to somebody else, but I also saw her be an entrepreneur. And then I also saw my father being a risk taker, right? (Laughter) I promise you, I'm not being funny. When you put that in a pot and you stir, I have been able to create something for myself where I want to create opportunity for other people. And that's literally how entrepreneurship began for me. I would be selling candy, frozen cup, donuts, McChickens in high school, just because I love the art of creating something and giving a product to somebody for something. MZ: OK, but you also like making money. I heard that you would go and buy fast food, and then as part of your delivery service to your fellow high school students, would have a nice markup on there. Like, you -- hustle, hustle. PC: I'm hustle, man, yes. MZ: OK, but what about the veganism part? Because your dad was from Jamaica, right? So there was Ital food. Tell people about that. PC: So my mother and my father, guys, are Rastafarian. So that's Ethiopian Christianity. So I grew up eating, like, all Ital food. Beans, food from the ground, like, getting candy was a treat, right? Like, eating fast food once a month was a treat. So I already had a different level of consciousness when I was growing up. So when I got to college -- shout out to Clark Atlanta University -- I got to college and I said, you know what? I'm tired of eating anything that's connected to an animal. Minus fish. So in 2007, I decided to stop eating everything, I was only eating fish. And then fast forward to 2014, I decided to go completely vegan. Don't ask me why. Like, I'm a master faster, I'm the person that I want to drink cucumber juice challenge, water challenge, one meal a day, all of those things, right? So what I realized is that this was the time in my life where it was time to make an elevation, and that elevation was veganism. And who would have thought that it would turn into this 100-million-dollar company called Slutty Vegan? MZ: Yeah, that's kind of crazy. Give it up for her. (Applause) Can we go back to the origin story of you being a restaurateur? Because my understanding is you were living in Harlem and you had never run a restaurant, much less actually worked in a restaurant. Is that true? PC: That is correct. MZ: So where are you at the moment where you're like, "You know, I think I'm going to open a restaurant and turn it into a big thing." PC: This was so random. I was a producer at the "Maury Show." "You are not the father of that," yes. (Laughter) I ain't never chased so many people in my life. But I was a producer at the show, and what I realized is that we all got problems. That's what I learned working at "Maury." I'm like, you know what? It is cool because I get to meet people where they are. So at the same time, one of my friends, he had a Jamaican restaurant down the street called Rusty's, and he said, "Pinky, there is a restaurant that I want you to get. You can sublease it." And I said, OK. I like to eat. But I'm not a chef, right? And he was like, "Just take the restaurant, see how you like it." So I got in that restaurant and let me tell you something about favor. I'm a spiritual person, so I'm going to be honest with you, whether you like it or not. There is something about favor that, even if you don't know the answers, things will happen for you. So when I opened up that restaurant, I didn't know the first thing about operating a business, but I had a line down the block. I didn't know the first thing about cogs and numbers and sales and use tax. They got me afterwards. However, I had a thriving business. MZ: But why? People don't just show up, right? You can't just start a restaurant and have a line down the block. What did you do? Why did people line up? Was it friends, was it the name, what was it? PC: Now that I look back over my life, some people just got it. You ever met a friend and there's something about them? They just got it. MZ: Yeah, but what were you doing? PC: Just being myself. MZ: But you painted it a particular color, did you not? PC: I painted it pink. MZ: It's just that simple, folks. PC: I painted it pink, my name is Pinky.

But, you know, there's something about authenticity and originality that people like, and you don't even have to put in full effort as long as you're authentic. And I think that that's what I've done before, and that's what I do right now, And it worked. MZ: But was it vegan food then? PC: Absolutely not, it wasn't vegan food. MZ: So what were you serving? PC: Oxtails. (Laughter) Oxtail and jerk chicken. And I'm like, "Eat that jerk chicken, it's good." But I wasn't in alignment. MZ: Oh. PC: And I was serving something to people that I wouldn't even eat, so it wasn't real. MZ: Interesting. PC: And that’s why it didn’t last. MZ: What happened? PC: I had a grease fire. And that restaurant caught on fire, and I lost everything. I went flat broke, my car got repo'd, I lost my mind and my relationship. Thank God I lost that. (Laughter) I lost everything. And, you know, that was a turning point in my life. Where now that I look back at it, I needed those things to happen because it was for those things that gave me like a reset of the mindset so that I can propel forward to create something new. MZ: OK, so take us through what happened next. PC: I got a call from a show called "Iyanla, Fix My Life" to work as a casting director. And I'm like, hell yeah, I'm coming. Like, where do I go? And I walked away from everything. And when I walked away, I was drowning in debt. I was unhappy, I'm the girl, I'm the college queen. I was Miss Clark Atlanta head, Delta head, everything. So everything that I've always touched turned to gold except for that. So I had to start over. MZ: So you literally went to work on a show called "How to Fix Your Life"? PC: Exactly. The irony of it all, like. MZ: It's like a little on the nose here. PC: And I'm helping people come up for air. That's what I mean when I say the story is already written. Like, it's so divine that, like, I was positioned in a space where I'm helping people get the healing, but in the same breath, I'm getting the healing that I need. And I ain't even got to pay for it. MZ: You're getting a paycheck. PC: And I'm getting a paycheck. And it was such a beautiful feeling because it allowed me the opportunity to get clear. There is nothing more special in the world than clarity. And because I got clear, that's when I created Slutty Vegan. MZ: So the moment when you're like, "I've got to get back to my sort of roots, the vegan food that I love, and I want to bring it to more people." Talk me through the genesis, the origin story, then, of Slutty Vegan. PC: So, I can remember when I was living in my two-bedroom apartment, I had recently moved to Atlanta to work on a show on the ground. And in a space that I was in, I was running five miles a day, and I was reading a book a day. I came up with this crazy idea called Slutty Vegan. And when I thought about it, I'm like, oh, this is different. When you think about veganism like, it's supposed to be green and healthy for you, I'm like, I want this to be racy and provocative. And if I name vegan slutty, I know that people are going to pay attention, right? I'm thinking about my TV background. So I called up my friends, "What do you think about this idea?" They was like, "Pinky, that's a damn good idea." And I ran with it. And when I tell you, every step of the way felt so easy, I knew that I was on the right path. And here I am, six years later, over a dozen restaurants, a company, multi-million dollar company, growing, helping community and most importantly, helping people to reimagine food. MZ: How many of you have eaten at a Slutty Vegan? (Cheers) OK, so can I just say that's been my question, every single Uber I've gotten into, I've been like, "Have you ever eaten at Slutty Vegan?" And they're like, "What? Of course, I'm from Atlanta. What are you playing at?" For people who haven't been, what is the experience and why did people show up to begin with? Was it the food or was it like, the vibe that you were going for? PC: OK, so Slutty Vegan is a plant-based restaurant located in the heart of Atlanta. No, it's a plant-based joint that helps people to reimagine food in a way that you've never seen it before. So when you come into the doors of Slutty Vegan, the first thing that you're going to hear is, "We got a slut in the building!" (Laughter) And if you're above 55 years old, you're going to clutch your pearls. (Laughter) But at the end of the day, it is such a beautiful experience because you don't typically walk into a restaurant where you're received in a way where it's agape love every step of the way. And I wanted to really debunk the myth that when you go into a restaurant, it's just got to be transactional, where you order food. I wanted people to have a safe space, no matter who you are. I don't care if you're white, Black, blue, yellow, short, tall. You come in this space, this is a safe space. And even though you come in to buy food, you're going to leave out and you're going to feel like that was one of the best experiences of my life. That is what I created. And because of that creation, people wanted to start talking about it and telling their friends. And they told five people and here we are

we've got lines down the block and people get excited about it. MZ: I think it's really interesting that you just said, "This is going to be the best experience." Not meal, burger, you know, dinner. Experience. So, tell me, about the color scheme that you chose, how you name the items on the menu, really paint a picture for us. I mean, one of the dishes is called "the menage a trois." And, which, at first, you’re like, oh, French! Oh, French. (Laughter) Tell us about, you know, because you are the person who writes all the copy. You do it all. PC: I'm laughing about your comment about "mad slutty" yesterday. But, yeah, so the colors, right? So, like, we know this. There's psychology in colors. I knew that red and yellow would make you want to eat, right? It'll make you pay attention. I knew that if I made big, bold letters, it would translate to being something in your face, right? Bold and beautiful. I knew that the word "slutty" was going to sell sex. And if I can sell sex, sex and food are the two most important things in our lives. (Laughter) We love food and we need -- Or we love sex -- I don't know, whatever. Whatever you decide. But anyway, sex and food. If I could play on those things by calling the names of the burgers provocative names, then I can get people to pay attention. I may make you feel uncomfortable, but the minute that I have you tuned in, now I can teach you about how vegan food is better for you. Now I can teach you about how there's an opportunity to basically diversify your palate. And you don't have to eat the flesh of a dead animal every five minutes. You know what I mean? And it worked. And it worked so well that people just got so enamored with the idea that it was so in your face. I just want to take a picture with it. I just want to be connected to it. So when you create something so special that people want to be connected to, that's when you create gold. MZ: Do you know how many of your customers are hardcore vegans versus like, don't even really know what that means? PC: So we did an equity brand study on the brand. And what we found out was that 70 percent of people who come to Slutty Vegan are not even vegan. MZ: Oh, interesting. PC: So y'all. MZ: Interesting. PC: Not even vegan. And let me tell you why that's so interesting. To create a brand that is 100 percent plant-based and the core of the audience are people who want to see what the hype is about, or people who want to try vegan food for the first time, tells me that I can stand amongst the McDonald's, the Burger Kings, the Chick-fil-As because it's a brand that's inclusive for everybody, which is really, really important, especially in the hospitality space. MZ: I think that there are a lot of people who don't realize just how... tough on the environment the industrial farming of meat is. Do you feel like, "OK, now that I've got you in the door, I've got to educate you?" Or where do you see your role in terms of helping people connect to climate, or do you feel like, no, people don't want to hear it? Like, just let them eat it and then the next time they come across it. How do you -- Because there is an education element to this, which is not maybe as sexy, but how do you do it then? PC: Yeah, so can I be honest with y'all? OK, so when I created Slutty Vegan, my thought process wasn't climate change and saving the planet. It just wasn't it. What it was is, I want people to know that vegan food could taste good. It was only after I evolved as a vegan in this space and joined the honorary board of PETA and started rubbing shoulders with all of my tree hugger friends. You know what I mean? I started to realize like, oh, this is deeper than rap. Like, it's not just about not eating animals. It's about the climate. It's about changing the world. It's about the carbon footprint. Like, all of these things matter now. So what I realized with my brand, because I don't push the agenda, any agenda on people, I just want you to come and have good food. It's like you're coming to the hospital and it's like triage first before you go to the back, right? I'm meeting people where they are. And oftentimes what I realize is my audience, especially most of them, don't really want to hear about climate change. But if I can reverse psychology, the notion that, OK, we need to talk about this, but I'm going to give you this first, and I'm going to get you drawn in. And once I have your attention, then we can have the hard conversations. But if I throw it at you right now, you may turn away, and then I lose you, and then I may never get an opportunity to get you back. So what we do is we hold out the hand, we grab your hand, and we bring you into this community. And then you look up and you don't even realize, like, oh, I'm vegan. And oh, I love this movement. And then we can begin to start having those conversations. And I feel like it is my responsibility as a vegan restaurateur in this hospitality space and a space where it still is, you know, people are still trying to figure it out. It is my responsibility to be that change agent in this space.

You know what I mean? And is it easy? I told you this yesterday, absolutely not. It is hard. I'm on the front lines, sometimes I'm by myself. MZ: Let's talk more about that, because, I mean, you started this business not even that long ago, what, five, six years ago now? We had a pandemic, which is bananas. What is it like to be a business entrepreneur now? Do you want to keep scaling? You have what, 12-and-growing locations? Or do you just say, you know what, I'm doing this, I'm doing it well, let's hold on to the status quo. Or what do you see, what you want to do next? PC: Scaling, I have one word for scaling. MZ: Let's hear it. PC: Ghetto. (Laughter) PC: I'm joking. MZ: I don't even know what that means, you have to tell me. PC: I'm going to be honest. Let me sit properly. Scaling a business is the hardest thing that I've ever had to do, right? I know how to be a mom, I know how to be a wife, I know how to tell people what to do. But when you talk about scaling a business and recreating something here and doing it here and duplicating it and making it make sense? It is not easy. And people can sit up here and say, oh well, it's easy. No, no, because there's some sleepless nights that comes with scaling a company, right? There's some times -- what am I doing? MZ: She said yesterday that she throws out the towel and then she says the towel gets thrown back at her, and that's my role. Are you ready? PC: Throw it back. Thank you. So sometimes I want to throw in a towel because of scaling. Sometimes I'm like, I'm ready to descale. Like, let me descale, let me close some of these stores. Because scaling is not what -- it's a beautiful place to be an entrepreneur. But there is also a dark side that I want more people to talk about so that you can brace and prepare yourself, but I would not have it any other way. Let me be clear. Which is why I said sometimes I'm on a frontline by myself because I see so many other vegan restaurants that are amazing having to close their doors. Raise your hand, how many businesses you seeing closing their doors every week? There's tons. So the reality of it is, is sustaining is one thing, right? Being popular is another thing. You've got to keep those doors open. So I'm working it, I'm like a duck, my legs are like, waddling. And I'm working super hard because I'm making sure that this business continues to grow while still, you know, spreading the message that vegan food can be cool, it can be honest, it can be something that you can add to your diet. MZ: OK, so you are going after growth. PC: Yes, yes. MZ: Can you give us a hint... PC: OK, so there's a lot of growth happening with Slutty Vegan. I'm going to the airport, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. (Applause) It will be the first ever vegan restaurant in the busiest airport in the world. (Applause) And then, I've got another big announcement. I'm going on a national TV show next week. So just turn on the TV next week, you're going to hear about it, OK? You're going to say, "I was sitting in there and she said that." But tons of great things that are happening in the business, and what I'm more proud about is people see themselves in my business. And that feels good. MZ: Big applause for Pinky Cole. (Applause and cheers)