Kevin Hart is joining the vegan food business. Instead of just relying on his acting career and popularity, the comedian is hoping to attract more meat lovers to an affordable plant-based lifestyle with his Hart House concept.

The Hart House By Kevin Hart

Kevin Hart’s concept will become a reality this year. The first location for Hart House is set to open at the end of summer 2022, and its goal is to bring sustainable and affordable vegan food to consumers. Moreover, Hart wants to create as many high-quality job positions at his fast-food chain as possible.

While others may have gotten into the industry only for profit, the American comedian is genuinely interested in the plant-based industry. He’s been working on the concept for more than two years, since the beginning of the pandemic. “After almost two years of really working on this menu and getting the food to a place where it can deliver on that promise, we’re ready to go and we’re excited to tell the world about Hart House and excited to serve the food,” said CEO Andy Hooper.

Hart believes that plant-based food should be of the best quality and taste. So, his huge menu of burgers, chicken sandwiches, nuggets, “fish,” and more is free of hormones, artificial colors, preservatives, and high fructose corn syrup. That said, he strives to bring more meat-eaters to the vegetarian lifestyle. “If you were to just come out and say to folks, ‘Come to my vegan restaurant,’ automatically, there’s two thirds of the country that just won’t go because they’re thinking to themselves, ‘Oh, vegan food doesn’t taste as good as other food,’” Cooper commented. “I think it’s important for us to be a restaurant that first and foremost serves a crave-able product that people go out of their way to consume.’”

Tapping Into A Growing Industry

While going plant-based has gained popularity in recent years, Cooper reassured consumers that Hart isn’t leaning on the craze. Opening a vegan fast-food chain had been his idea for a few years, and it just happened to come to life in time. “That’s where things are going, both out of taste preference, but also out of necessity,” the CEO stated. “So when you think about a future that is set up that way, you have to consider all of the things that are going to go into ultimately making that a sustainable experience for everyone.” The concept is certainly suitable for this decade — by 2030, the plant-based business could make up 7.7% of the global protein market, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence report.

“Food-related consumer habits often come and go as fads, but plant-based alternatives are here to stay — and grow. The expanding set of product options in the plant-based industry is contributing to plant alternatives becoming a long-term option for consumers around the world,” Jennifer Bartashus, senior consumer staples analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence said.

While demand for global meat and dairy will continue to grow through 2030, the potential for plant-based alternatives will also expand. In a couple of years, vegan meat and dairy products might grow to dominate up to 5% and 10% of their global market shares, respectively. Even global food shows have proven the increase in popularity. The Specialty Food Association’s 2022 Summer Fancy Food Show was expected to be full of fancy meats and cheeses again. This year, however, was different; plant-based products dominated this season for the first time ever!

Sources: Bloomberg, Los Angeles Magazine, Whole Foods Magazine