Mr Charlie’s: Mike Tyson, Ric Flair Invest in ‘Vegan McDonald’s’ to Fuel Expansion

Los Angeles-based vegan fast food chain Mr Charlie’s has secured an investment from Carma HoldCo, parent company of sports legends Mike Tyson and Ric Flair’s brands.

Mr Charlie’s Told Me So, home of the McDonald’s-spoofing vegan Frowny Meal, has received a “strategic investment” from Carma HoldCo, the parent company of several brands from cultural icons.

The plant-based fast-food chain, which has locations both in Los Angeles and in San Francisco stateside, as well as in Sydney, Australia, is now eyeing expansion both domestically and internationally via a franchise model.

This will be facilitated by the investment from Carma HoldCo, whose portfolio brands specialise in the cannabis and wellness sector. These include Tyson 2.0, founded by boxing legend Mike Tyson; Ric Flair Drip and Wooooo Energy from wrestling icon Ric Flair; and Evol by the rapper Future.

“Mr. Charlie’s is a natural choice for Carma Holdco, as we diversify into the food industry. I very much believe in the healthy benefits of a vegan diet and was a strict vegan for many years,” said Tyson. “I’m proud to align myself with partners bringing healthy alternatives that taste good to the fast food space.”

A vegan McDonald’s with a strong community mission

Established in 2020, Mr Charlie’s gained popularity on TikTok, where users dubbed it the “vegan McDonald’s”, thanks to its menu and branding.

Instead of a Happy Meal, diners can choose the Frowny Meal, which includes an Impossible Burger or TiNDLE chicken patty, TiNDLE nuggets, fries, and a choice of drink.

The beef burger menu features Not A Hamburger, Not A Cheeseburger, Mr Chuck, and the recently launched Mr Royale with Cheese (among others), alongside Mr Sunday and Not A Chicken Sandwich as the chicken options. Aside from the latter, all feature vegan cheese. In addition, it has a breakfast menu comprising Mr Muffin – a take on the iconic McMuffin with vegan egg, cheese and mayo – and Mr Muffin Deluxe (which adds a TiNDLE sausage to the mix), as well as tater tots.

The red and yellow packaging is paired with a parody of the famous Golden Arches, with each box featuring a sad face and crossed eyes to feign an ‘unhappy’ brand aesthetic, complemented with the tagline: “Turn that frown upside down.”

But behind the tongue-in-cheek messaging, there’s a serious community-focused mission underscoring the business. Founders Aaron Haxton and Taylor McKinnon have been committed to providing second chances to employees from underprivileged backgrounds, including those overcoming addiction or homelessness.

Mr Charlie’s has previously partnered with the Dream Center, a non-profit that helps homeless and formerly incarcerated people find accommodation and employment. For its Los Angeles eatery, the restaurant chain has hired around 60 workers from the organisation, which helped McKinnon through a dark time once too.

It pays employees above minimum wage, with management-level staff receiving a $300 credit card allowance to build up a credit score. The chain aims to create more jobs through similar collaborations with community organisations as it expands.

“Mr Charlie’s mission to help and hire those from the homeless community is something that I am truly passionate about, and I look forward to helping many people and communities with the expansion of Mr Charlie’s across the globe,” said Tyson, who is vegan and whose wife heads a homeless shelter in Los Angeles to help victims of domestic violence find work.

Mr Charlie’s eyes expansion amidst challenging times for vegan F&B

Mr Charlie’s says it has several locations lined up in the US, and wants to use the investment to rapidly grow its footprint. To do so, it has developed a franchise model targeting area developers and master franchisees in large US territories, with plans in place for international expansion.

It has leveraged its partnerships with data-driven delivery platforms like Uber Eats and Postmates to use robust market data to pinpoint ideal locations for franchise expansion. This would allow for faster rollouts of new branches, and more effective penetration of local markets.

“This isn’t just an investment in a plant-based food concept – it’s a smart business decision,” said Carma HoldCo CEO Adam Wilks, who has previously worked at Cold Stone Creamery, Pink Berry, Buy N Bulk, and more. “The QSR space is ripe for innovation, and Mr Charlie’s combination of bold brand identity, crave-worthy menu, and scalable business model makes it a compelling opportunity for franchisees. We’re excited to help bring this innovative brand to more markets.”

In a joint statement, McKinnon and Haxton said Mr Charlie’s would be helped by Carma HoldCo’s experience in building disruptive brands. “Both Carma and Mr Charlie’s are about creating meaningful change – whether it’s providing second chances to our employees or delivering plant-based food in a fun and novel way,” they noted.

The investment comes at a time when plant-based and quick-service restaurants have been struggling. Kevin Hart’s fast-casual chain Hart House suddenly closed all its locations last month, joining a trove of other plant-forward Los Angeles eateries that have shut their doors in the past year, such as Vegan Drip Burger, Shojin, Nic’s on Beverly, Flore Vegan, Jewel, and Matthew Kenney’s VEG’D and Plant Food & Wine.

In fact, the Los Angeles Times reported that at least 65 well-known restaurants closed in the city last year, with high inflation rates prompting consumers to spend less on dining out – a recent survey showed that American families spend 10% less of their eating-out budgets than they did in 2022.

Restaurants themselves are also facing thin margins on top of high labour and ever-increasing ingredient costs. In 2023, pound sales of meat analogues dipped by 8% in the US foodservice sector, versus a 4% drop for conventional meat, according to Circana data cited by the Good Food Institute.

Whether they’re backed by celebrities or otherwise, restaurants – especially plant-based ones – face an uphill challenge in the current landscape. Mr Charlie’s would do well to turn the frown upside down.