Why Cher Is Coming For Nestlé Almonds On Twitter
Fast food brands commonly use celebrity endorsements as a way to drive sales — and, in general, it works. According to Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse and Barclays Capital analyst Jeroen Verleun, a company's sales will typically rise an average of 4% following a celebrity campaign (via USA Today). Furthermore, the business' stock value increases by 0.25%.
One such partnership was that between Tim Hortons and Justin Bieber, which saw the release of three new Timbits flavors known appropriately as Timbiebs. Per CNN Business, the trio was composed of chocolate white fudge, sour cream chocolate chip, and birthday cake waffle donut bites. Paired with merchandise sales, the collaboration elevated Tim Hortons' revenue by 10.3% in the final quarter of 2021.
Just as a celebrity endorsement can boost a company's success, a celebrity's disapproval has the power to impact a business in a negative way. Presumably, Nestlé is hoping that won't be the case following a string of tweets Cher fired at the brand over the weekend.
Cher called for a 'boycott' of Nestlé's products
As a California resident, Cher isn't very happy with Nestlé right now. On Sunday, August 21, the musician shared an excerpt of a 2021 article by The Guardian on Twitter. The story reported that Nestlé has been using much more water from California springs than allowed in order to grow its almonds; its allowance is 2.3 million gallons of water per year, yet an investigation found that the company actually used a whopping 53 million gallons in 2020.
In a second tweet, Cher shared another online excerpt claiming that a single almond requires 1.1 gallons of water to grow. Due to an ongoing drought in California, the singer doesn't agree with Nestlé tapping into the state's springs. "HOW LONG HAVE OUR GOVS.MAYORS, SENATORS, CONGRESS LET CALIF BE DRAINED OF WATER?" she wrote. "I [LOVE] ALMONDS, GROW THEM IN ANOTHER STATE WITH LOTSA WATER...BOYCOTT EVERY SINGLE NESTLE PRODUCT."
Together, Cher's tweets have racked up about 5,000 likes — not the best PR for Nestlé. The "Half Breed" singer isn't the only one coming after the manufacturer for its water use; last year, California's State Water Resources Control Board sent Nestlé a cease-and-desist letter over its depletion of local creeks for bottled water (via The New York Times).