Quick Summary
- 1Jimmy Donaldson launched MrBeast Burger in 2020 with explosive success, selling over 1 million sandwiches in months and expanding to 1,000+ locations.
- 2By mid-2023, Donaldson was publicly calling for the brand's destruction due to quality control issues and a loss of control over his own name.
- 3The partnership with Virtual Dining Concepts (VDC) collapsed into a legal war, with both sides filing lawsuits over breach of contract and brand sabotage.
- 4Despite the feud, MrBeast Burger continues operating worldwide, a 'zombie brand' that lives on even as its creator tries to kill it.
The Unraveling of a Dream
It was nearly six in the morning on a Tuesday in mid-2023, and Jimmy Donaldson had been awake for hours. The world's most famous YouTuber, known as MrBeast, was firing off a stream of frustrated texts about his nearly three-year-old food venture. His message was blunt and final: "I'll just let it die."
What began as a billion-dollar food empire ambition had devolved into a colossal headache. The creator, famous for his polished, smiley persona, was now consumed by a partnership that had spiraled out of his control. The texts, revealed as evidence in an ongoing legal battle, mark a stark departure from the grand visions Donaldson had shared just six months earlier.
The saga of MrBeast Burger is a cautionary tale about the collision of internet fame and traditional business models. It highlights the inherent risks when a creator's name becomes a product they can no longer command.
A Meteoric Launch 🚀
The brand exploded onto the scene in 2020 with the force of a viral video. Donaldson, then just 22, set up a pop-up near his hometown of Greenville, North Carolina, sliding wads of cash into burger bags and handing out free iPads. He posted the event to YouTube, and the video crossed 200 million views—a marketer's dream.
Demand was immediate and overwhelming. "We were beyond slammed and ill-prepared for his incredible following and demand that ensued," said Robert Earl, founder of partner company Virtual Dining Concepts (VDC). "It was beyond any expectation."
Within months, the company sold over 1 million sandwiches. By 2021, it had expanded to over 1,000 restaurants. Donaldson was giddy with the possibilities, texting his cousin in December 2022 about his vision to "run circles" around Nestlé and become a "god in this space."
"I want to go down the food rabbit hole and become a god in this space. The king of healthy food innovation."
He imagined a $10 billion IPO and merging the burger venture with his candy brand, Feastables. For Donaldson, the goal was to build a legacy that would outlast his YouTube fame.
"I'll just let it die."— Jimmy Donaldson, Text Message
The Ghost Kitchen Problem
Despite the initial hype, cracks appeared almost immediately. MrBeast Burger operates as a virtual dining brand, meaning the food is prepared in existing kitchens—often called "ghost kitchens"—ranging from 7-Eleven and Red Robin to local mom-and-pop shops. While this model allowed for low overhead and rapid expansion, it came with a massive downside: inconsistent quality.
Customer complaints about undercooked burgers, soggy fries, and incorrect orders flooded social media. For Donaldson, who compares his philosophy to Yankee great Joe DiMaggio—"There is always a kid who may be seeing me for the first time. I owe him my best"—these failures were personal.
"People were ridiculing me and saying I didn't care," Donaldson said in a deposition. The decentralized nature of the kitchens made quality control a nightmare. Tracking down mistakes was like playing a game of whack-a-mole.
- Undercooked burgers and soggy fries
- Incorrect orders from independent locations
- Inability to standardize ingredients across kitchens
According to food-service consultant Rich Shank, these issues are common for ghost kitchen brands. "There's just a lot of variances and nuances in the ghost kitchen space that make it challenging," he noted, including standardizing cooking processes that differ from kitchen to kitchen.
The Legal War 💥
Tensions reached a breaking point in late 2022. Donaldson accused VDC of using his name, image, and likeness in social posts and trademarks without his consent. He also wanted a larger ownership stake to gain control over the brand's destiny, texting a friend, "Fuck those pieces of shit."
Donaldson attempted to acquire nearly all of the company from VDC, but negotiations dragged on for months. During one meeting, the YouTuber reportedly banged a clothes hanger on the table out of frustration. In another, he claimed Earl showed him a desk drawer of lawsuits to prove he wasn't afraid of being sued (a claim Earl denied).
In June 2023, the feud went public. Donaldson fired off a series of tweets declaring that if he had the ability to shut down MrBeast Burger, he "would have done so a long time ago sadly." He added, "sometimes when you're young, you sign a shit deal."
"As long as I have no control, I couldn't care less about it."
VDC called the tweets "sabotage." The fallout was financial: revenue dropped from $64 million in 2022 to about $45 million in 2023. By July, Donaldson's company sued VDC, portraying him as a victim of an unfair contract. VDC countersued, claiming Donaldson failed to meet contractual obligations and walked away from a promising deal.
A New Era of Control
Amid the legal chaos, Donaldson pivoted. He turned his focus to Feastables, his candy line launched in 2022. Unlike the burger venture, he maintained tight control. "I'm never giving up control of Feastables so I can always do what's best for my fans," he tweeted in July 2023.
The strategy paid off. Feastables generated over $200 million in 2024 and was profitable. Donaldson restructured his company, Beast Industries, bringing operations in-house and hiring Silicon Valley vet Jeff Housenbold as CEO. In 2024, the company was valued at approximately $5 billion in a capital raise.
However, the road ahead presents a paradox. Donaldson plans to launch new categories like mobile phones and financial services, which will require partnering with third parties. "There's no way that a lot of these creators could just on their own build and run a hundred million or billion dollar brand," said talent-firm CEO Eric Bogard. "You absolutely need a third party."
The lesson Donaldson learned was harsh but clear: control is paramount. His "new giga brain play" involves winning the VDC lawsuit, partnering with a major chain like Burger King or McDonald's for a "MrBeast Burger 2.0," and eventually selling out for hundreds of millions.
The Zombie Brand
The MrBeast Burger saga is far from over. The legal battle between Donaldson and VDC continues, with a potential trial looming later this year. Meanwhile, the brand itself persists in a strange limbo.
Despite Donaldson's public attempts to kill it, MrBeast Burger marches on. You can still order his Beast Style crinkle-cut fries and smash burgers from hundreds of ghost kitchens worldwide—from Singapore to Switzerland. The website still features photos of a beaming Donaldson.
It is a "zombie brand" in every sense: dead to its creator, yet alive in the marketplace. For independent creators and brands alike, the story serves as a vivid reminder of the complexities of licensing deals and the high stakes of putting your name on a product you don't fully control.
"As long as I have no control, I couldn't care less about it."— Jimmy Donaldson, Text Message
"I want to go down the food rabbit hole and become a god in this space. The king of healthy food innovation."— Jimmy Donaldson, Text Message
"We were beyond slammed and ill-prepared for his incredible following and demand that ensued. It was beyond any expectation."— Robert Earl, Founder of VDC
"I was getting destroyed online, and it was impacting how people viewed me, and it made me chronically depressed."— Jimmy Donaldson, Deposition
"The inherent risk is, when you do these licensing deals, the creator's name is the product. The audience doesn't distinguish between the operator and the creator."— Keith Gelman, Founder of Talent Partnership Advisors
"Sometimes when you're young, you sign a shit deal."— Jimmy Donaldson, Twitter
Frequently Asked Questions
Jimmy Donaldson became frustrated with a loss of control over the brand and consistent quality issues, including undercooked burgers and incorrect orders. He felt these failures were damaging his personal reputation and made him 'chronically depressed,' leading him to publicly state he wanted the brand to 'just die.'
Despite the ongoing legal battle between Donaldson and Virtual Dining Concepts, MrBeast Burger continues to operate. It is still available in hundreds of ghost kitchens worldwide, from Singapore to Switzerland, functioning as a 'zombie brand' that persists even as its creator tries to shut it down.
The partnership imploded over disputes regarding quality control, ownership stakes, and the use of Donaldson's intellectual property. Negotiations failed, leading to Donaldson filing a lawsuit to terminate the partnership and VDC countersuing for sabotage and breach of contract.
Donaldson has shifted his focus to his candy brand, Feastables, which he maintains full control over. The brand was profitable and generated over $200 million in 2024. He is also expanding his company, Beast Industries, into new categories like mobile phones and financial services.
