How I make vegan food sexy | Pinky Cole

0:00It's always inspiring to hear from an entrepreneur who has kept their eyes on the prize with a clear vision of their purpose and their plan from day one. But it's just as moving and even more eye-opening to see someone stumble upon their path, taking a non-linear journey to get there, following their instincts and taking risks along the way. Today, we're going to hear one of those stories, how Pinky Cole became a successful restaurateur after a career as a television producer. Not only that, but she went from cooking oxtails to being an emissary for delicious, exciting, and slutty, yep, slutty, plant-based foods.

0:42I'm Madhu Bakanola. This is TED Business, a podcast from TED. Ever since she was little, Pinky Cole always had an entrepreneurial spirit. She still remembers selling snacks to her classmates in high school. But she never could have guessed she'd end up running a multi-million dollar vegan food empire called Slutty Vegan. Here, she sits down with TED Radio Hour's Manoush Zamarodi to discuss how she returned to her roots to create something new. Then after the talk, I'll reflect on what a good experience truly looks like. But first, a quick break.

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3:44And now Pinky Cole and Manoush Zamorodi take the TED stage. Pinky, I want to start with you as a teenager. I mean, you've built this$100 million 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? Oh, how early? 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 the basement and do her shows in the basement. And my father was spending 22 years in prison for something illegal.

4:37Right. But he was behind bars, but teaching me about entrepreneurship at the same time. This was in Baltimore. This was in Baltimore. Right. 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. So 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.

5:18Okay, 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. Yeah. Like you were you hustle, hustle, hustle, man. Yes. OK, but what about the veganism part? Because your dad was from Jamaica, right? So there was Ital food was part of your tell people about that. So my mother and my father, guys, are Rastafarian. So that's Ethiopian Christianity. Kennedy. So I grew up eating like all I tell food, beans, food from the ground, like getting candy was a treat, right?

5:55Like eating fast food once a month was a treat. So I already had a different level of consciousness when I was growing up, right? 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. I'm 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.

6:28Right. 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 hundred million dollar company called slutty vegan. Yeah, that's kind of crazy. Give it up for her. 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? That is correct. So where are you at the moment where you're like, you know, I think I'm going and open a restaurant and turn it into a big thing.

7:07Okay. This was so random. I was a producer at the Maury show. You are not the father of that. Yes. I ain't never chased so many people in my life. Okay. Um, but I was a producer at the show. And, um, what I realized is that we all got problems. That's what I learned working at Maury. And 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, okay, cool. I don't know the first thing about, I like to eat, but I'm not a chef.

7:42Right. 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, right? 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 tech. I mean, they got me afterwards, right? However, I had a thriving business.

8:10But 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? Now that I look back over my life, some people just got it. you haven't met a friend that they just like something about them they just got it yeah but what were you doing I want to understand myself but you painted it a particular color did you not I painted it pink right okay it's just that simple I painted it pink my name is pinky um but you know there's something about authenticity and originality that people like and 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.

8:52And that's what I do right now. And it worked. But was it vegan food then, or were you serving? Absolutely not. It wasn't vegan food. Okay. So what were you serving? Oxtails. Oxtails and jerk chicken. And I'm like, eat that jerk chicken. It's good. Yeah. But I wasn't in alignment. Oh. And I was serving something to people that I wouldn't even eat. So it wasn't real. Interesting. And that's why I didn't last. What happened? I had a grease fire. And that restaurant caught on fire and I lost everything. I went flat broke. My car got repoed. I lost my mind and my relationship. Thank God I lost that.

9:31But I lost everything. Okay. 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. Okay. So take us through what happened next. I got a call from a show called Eyalna Fixed My Life to work as a casting director. And I'm like, hell yeah, I'm coming. Like, where did 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.

10:11I was Miss Clark Atlanta, had Delta, had everything. So everything that I've always touched turned to gold except for that. So I had to start over. so you literally went to work on a show called how to fix your life exactly i mean the irony of it all like so it's like a little on the nose here yeah 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 you know what i mean you're getting a paycheck and I'm getting a paycheck and it was such a beautiful feeling because it allowed me the opportunity to get clear uh-huh there's nothing more special in the world than clarity and because I got clear that's when I created slutty vegan okay so the moment when you're like I got to get back to my sort of roots the the vegan food that I love and I want to bring it to more people talk me through the genesis the the origin story then of slutty vegan so uh I can remember when I was living in my two-bedroom apartment, I had recently moved to Atlanta to work on the show on the ground.

11:19And 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, right? 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? Like I'm thinking about my TV background. So I called up my friends. I'm like, what do you think about this idea? They was like, Pinky, that's a damn good idea. You got to do it.

11:47And 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. This episode is brought to you by Paka. You know those pieces you'd wear every day if you could get away with it? For me, it's my Paka hoodie and crew sweater. Made with the same care and unmistakable softness, Paka creates outdoor and lifestyle apparel from alpaca fiber, one of the most sustainable natural fibers on the planet.

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14:01How many of you have eaten at a slutty vegan? okay so can i just say that's been my question every single uber i've gotten into i've been like you ever eaten at slutty vegan and they're like what of course i'm from atlanta what are you playing at talk for people who haven't been what is the experience and why did people show up to begin with was it the the food or was it like the vibe that you were going for okay so slutty vegan is a plant-based restaurant located in the heart of Atlanta. It's a plant-based joint, right? That helps people to reimagine food in a way that you've never seen it before.

14:40So 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. And if you're above 55 years old, you're going to clutch your pearls. 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 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 white, black, blue, yellow, short, tall, you come in this space.

15:18This is a safe space. And even though you're coming to buy food, you're going to leave out and you're going to feel like, wow, 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 they told five people. And here we are. We got lines down the block and people get excited about it. I think it's really interesting that you just said this is going to be the best experience. Yeah. Not meal, burger, you know, dinner experience. So tell me, I mean, tell me about the color scheme that you chose, how you named the items on the menu.

15:59Really paint a picture of us, for us, what, I mean, one of the dishes is called the menage a trois. Yes. And which at first you're like, oh, French. Oh, French. Like, tell us about, you know, because you are the person who writes all the copy. You do it all. I'm laughing about your comment. Mad slutty yesterday. But yes. So the colors. Right. So like there's that 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?

16:39Bold 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. We love food and we need sex. Well, oh, well, 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. Now, it 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.

17:19You 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. Do you know how many of your customers are hardcore vegans versus like don't even really know what that means? 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. Oh, interesting. So y 'all, not even vegan.

17:56And let me tell you why that's so interesting. to create a brand that is 100 % 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-A's because it's a brand that's inclusive for everybody, which is really, really important, especially in the hospitality space. 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, okay, now that I've got you in the door, I got to educate you?

18:34Or 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. Like, how do you, because there is an education element to this, which is not maybe as sexy, but how do you do it then? Yeah, so can I be honest with y 'all? Okay. So when I created Slutty Vegan, my thought process wasn't climbing 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.

19:18And you know what I mean? Like really, I started to realize like, oh, this is like this is deeper than rap. Like it's not just about just 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 coming to the hospital and it's like triage first before you go to the back. Okay. Right. I'm meeting people where they are. Yeah. And oftentimes what I realize is my audience, especially most of them don't really want to hear about climate change.

19:51But 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.

20:21And I feel like it is my responsibility as a vegan restaurateur in this hospitality space and a space where it's still this, 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. Yeah. It is hard. I'm on the front lines. Sometimes I'm by myself. you know 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 are you 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 let's hold on to the status quo?

21:10Or do you, what do you see you, what you want to do next? Scaling. I have one word for scaling. Let's hear it. Ghetto. Oh, I'm joking. I don't even know what that means. You have to tell me. I'm going to be honest. Okay. Listen, let me, let me sit right. 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 doing it here and duplicating it and making it make sense, it is not easy.

21:45And people can sit up here and say, oh, well, it's easy. No, no, no, no. Because there's some sleepless nights that comes with scaling a company, right? Sometimes I want to throw in a towel because of scaling. Sometimes I'm like, I'm ready to de-scale. Like, let me de-scale. Let me close some of these stores. Because scaling is not what it's, 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 front line by myself because I see so many other vegan restaurants that are amazing having to close their doors.

22:22Raise your hand. How many businesses you've seen 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 got to keep those doors open. So I'm working it. I'm like a duck and 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. Okay. So you are going after growth. Yes. Yes. Can you give us a hint? Okay. Okay, so there's a lot of growth happening with Slutty Vegan.

22:57I'm going to the airport, Hartsville-Jackson International Airport. It will be the first ever vegan restaurant in the busiest airport in the world. Yes. And then I 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. 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. Yeah. And that feels good. Big applause for Pinky.

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25:14that was pinky cole talking to ted radio hours manoush zamorodi at ted next 2024 hearing this talk i keep returning to this idea of experience both how pinky's varied experiences led her to where she is today and how the overall experience she wanted to provide her customers was her North Star. I mean, it's more than just good food, right? It's the bright wall color. It's the unconventional way her customers are greeted. It's the hamburger-less burger that's surprising and inviting. For Pinky, it's all about understanding the power of a good experience. And in order to do that, it requires you to return to your roots and think about what a good experience is for you.

25:59When's a time when you really felt like you were having a ball? For me, it's all about being with my friends, being in nature, going on hikes, or digging deeper into a topic after dinner until you suddenly realize it's after midnight and you have no business being up that late. And it turns out, that's a lot of what my job entails. A lot of my research ideas come from taking walks with my colleagues and collaborators around the globe. Following that core feeling can guide you to so many different places. Pinky's TV production background helped her create a splashy concept. But what keeps people coming is that original feeling of connection and fun that's so important in a hospitality setting.

26:43So how would you characterize some of your past amazing experiences? Tease them apart. Figure out what felt special about them. And let what emerges be your guide when you feel lost or unsure about your vision. that's it for today TED Business is part of the TED Audio Collective this episode was produced by Hannah Kingsley Ma edited by Alejandra Salazar and fact-checked by Julia Dickerson special thanks to Maria Ladias Farah Degrunge Daniela Ballarezzo Tansika Sangmanivang and Roxanne Heilash I'm Madupa Akinola thanks for listening

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