Vegans feel ‘betrayed’ over Hell’s blood sauce

A Hell Pizza marketing stunt in which a vegetarian pizza was sold with an optional bag of tomato sauce infused with animal blood has left some customers ‘‘grossed out’’. Alexandria White, a vegan from Dunedin, said the campaign made her feel ‘‘betrayed and manipulated’’. White said she found opening the advertisement for a vegetarian pizza with an animal blood sauce ‘‘traumatising’’. The blood sauce was sold as a promotion for a new limitededition vegetarian Steak and Cheese Pie pizza. The blood sauce was delivered in a hospital-style blood bag, and made up of tomato sauce infused with beef stock, and capsules of deer blood. Hell Pizza chief executive Ben Cumming said the new campaign had sparked a lot of debate. ‘‘Part of the purpose of the campaign was to get people talking about plant based proteins and sustainable food options. We have been a leader in this field and so wanted to push the discussion.’’ The blood sauce was not as scary as it sounded and was really a piece of ‘‘theatre’’, he said.