• by Danielle Oster , November 7, 2023

A  brand that’s provided a plant-based alternative to turkey for decades, Tofurky has deep-seated associations with Thanksgiving since introducing its Holiday Roast in 1995. So as the holiday season starts to kick off, it makes sense that the brand is entering the marketing fray. But the plant-based meat brand found a way to stand out by getting weird.

Tofurky is launching a White Elephant Storefront with a series of strange gifts, giving customers the opportunity to bring the oddest item to their family, friend or office gift exchange. Just how weird are we talking? Well, there’s everything from a Tofurky Christmas ornament, to a Tofurky-scented candle, to the arguable highlight: the Howling Wolf Tofurky Moon Tee.

 “It’s time to celebrate two of the more outlandish (yet truly beloved) holiday traditions of the year: serving a Tofurky Roast at your holiday table and hosting a White Elephant party,” Tofurky President and CEO Jaime Athos said in a statement. “Take these preposterous gifts to your family or office party and watch friends double down on frivolous swaps, to land the gift pile crown jewel."

While plant-based meat alternative have proliferated in recent years, Tofurky’s Holiday Roast seems to have kept its hold on Thanksgiving without major competitors, giving the brand a niche of its own as large brands in the space have struggled.

Tofurkey's not the first brand to dial up the weirdness to show it’s willing not to take itself too seriously. This promo comes on the heels of Hormel’s Pepperoni Pizza Pop-Up Shop for National Pepperoni Pizza Day, which featured such oddities as a pair of “I Only Stand For Pepperoni” socks. Coincidentally, Tofurky’s own pop-up includes a Pepp’roni Fleece Pizza Blanket -- which would have felt at home in that collection (if not for the Tofurky logo).