Premium cat food brand Reveal Pet Food is turning a viral internet cat into a recurring brand ambassador, signing comedian Mario Mirante and his feline companion Chef to a monthly content deal on TikTok and Instagram. The partnership, which began with an organic product send in the spring and formalized into a structured brand deal, taps Mirante's combined 7.8 million followers across the two platforms.
How the Deal Came Together
The relationship started after Reveal sent Mirante an oversized box of products — featuring Chef's own photo on the exterior — following Mirante's adoption of the kitten in March. A May video Mirante posted, depicting Chef demanding an online purchase be delivered immediately, caught the attention of Reveal's marketing team. The brand approached Mirante about a formal partnership, and a July unboxing-style video marked the first official collaboration, with Chef delivering lines like "Give your kitty what they deserve — patés, gravies, filets and more. Or don't — and face the consequences."
Candace Chau, Reveal's MPM Brand Manager, described the deal as one of the brand's most prominent ambassador partnerships. "We love how Mario gives a unique voice to Chef, whose spicy banter and zest for Reveal treats and meals makes for highly entertaining content for our growing audience," Chau said. The monthly cadence gives the brand a predictable content calendar while allowing Mirante creative latitude to develop Chef as an ongoing character — a strategy increasingly favored in pet-category influencer marketing.
Why the 'Cat Dad' Moment Matters
The timing aligns with a broader cultural shift that brands in the premium pet food segment are actively courting. The New York Times recently declared "We're living in the age of the 'cat dad,'" noting the demographic is being used to market premium pet products. Mirante fits that profile — a male content creator whose pet adoption story and comedic chemistry with Chef have built a loyal, engaged audience.
For Reveal, a Certified B Corporation founded in 2017 that positions itself around grain-free, additive-free recipes built on real fish and poultry, the partnership reinforces its premium quality story to a consumer base that self-identifies as discerning on behalf of their pets. The brand is distributed broadly across pet specialty retailers including PetSmart and Petco, mass merchandisers such as Walmart and Kroger, and e-commerce platforms including Amazon and Chewy — meaning the social content feeds a wide retail ecosystem.
Mirante noted that Chef's authentic enthusiasm for Reveal's Chicken Purée Lickable Treat in particular makes the content feel genuine. "All jokes aside, Reveal's treats are to him as Lasagna is to Garfield," he said. That authenticity-first framing echoes what hospitality and foodservice marketers increasingly look for when evaluating influencer partnerships — organic affinity before a deal is structured, rather than casting talent cold. Reveal's approach of seeding product first, then formalizing based on content performance, offers a replicable model for food and beverage brands targeting pet-owning demographics through social channels.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
