Sponsorship
“The Intrepid Herbivores” is an international travel show about vegan and vegetarian food. The pilot episode has been filmed, is through post-production, and will soon be on the way to viewers at large. We are exploring media distribution outlets in television (network and cable) and web-based platforms. Securing pledges from sponsors will take our pitch to the next level.
We believe the opportunities for corporate partnership could have great potential for your company as well as our project. Our audience is one that enjoys food, travel, adventure, vegan issues, green living, animals, global interests, etc. With vegan programming being an up-and-coming niche in mainstream media with a huge built-in audience, we are poised to get the word out about vegan lifestyle products to a viewership hungry to know what’s out there!
Synopsis
Sadie, the host, is a vegan food enthusiast with a sense of adventure. She will take the viewer around the world, seeking out and celebrating diverse cuisines that highlight animal-free foods. The viewer will learn not only about spectacular destinations where they can indulge in plant-based culinary delights, but also cultural- and regional-specific tips on how to communicate dietary restrictions and preferences through a language barrier.
Themes
The program’s main goal is twofold. One is to reach out to vegetarians and alleviate the conception that it’s difficult to maintain a special diet while you travel—this program shows how inviting the world of international tourism can be once you arm yourself with some basic tools. The other is to highlight just how diverse a vegetarian diet really is, and how there’s a whole wide world of food out there that is healthy, flavorful, indulgent and still compassionate. 
The pilot features Thailand, but each episode will highlight plant-based cuisine in a different country or region (plans for Season One include explorations of Morocco, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Greece and Turkey). Sadie will address specific challenges that a vegetarian might expect to meet (eg, fish sauce in Thailand). She will learn and share some basic vocabulary tools to empower the vegetarian to ask questions and make requests in the local language.
Visits to cooking schools will show the viewer some ways to bring the flavors and aromas of the world into their own homes. Sadie will befriend local vegans and vegetarians to gain some context of what it means to be veg in different cultures. She will occasionally take breaks from eating to explore cultural and historical landmarks, accommodations, means of transport and other travel tips, as well as other destinations on the themes of traveling with compassion (animal sanctuaries, sustainable businesses, etc).
Audience
While the most obvious audience are those who already follow an herbivorous diet, the show appeals to anyone who enjoys travel AND anyone who enjoys food. We make an effort to present the content in a way that does not imply judgment of those who do not eat the way we do. It is accessible and exciting to the vegan, vegetarian and omnivorous viewer alike.
With the benefits of a plant-based diet being touted by more and more high-profile health professionals, successful documentaries such as “Forks Over Knives” and “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” bringing food choices into focus for many health-conscious Americans, and more and more celebrities publicly embracing and promoting vegan issues, what was once a small fringe niche is quickly expanding into mainstream consciousness.
Comparisons
The single program that has most influenced this show is Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations.” The combination of a travelogue with a focus on understanding local cuisine is what we’re going for here. Besides a different feel from an entirely different hosting style, the key difference is that this show features the excitement of plant-based foods. Viewers of “No Reservations” and other popular food/travel shows such as Jamie Oliver’s “Food Escapes” and Rachael Ray’s “Tasty Travels,” and lovers of the classic travelogues such as those from Rick Steves and Samantha Brown will find that “The Intrepid Herbivores” holds similar appeal.
Next steps
With the Thailand pilot completed (and looking GREAT!), we need financial backing to support production of a full, 7-12 episode Season One. With an overall budget of $150,000 we plan to explore the food, language and culture of Morocco, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Greece and Turkey. Our professional production team, headed up by cinematographer Joe Bourguignon, is on board and ready to go on location. We have a professional editor, a composer to create an original theme and soundtrack, and a giant community of vegans, vegetarians, and travel-lovers ready to see a fresh program enthusiastically presented. With your financial support we can produce and present high-quality, informative, and entertaining programming that promotes a vegan message to an audience ready to meet the possibilities of your product.
Contact
Sadie Bowman, co-producer:
763-370-4705, sadie@intrepidherbivores.com
Joe Bourguignon, co-producer:
650-868-6734, joe@intrepidherbivores.com
Facebook.com/IntrepidHerbivores
Treatment copyright 2013