Impossible Is Getting Affordable

Vegan cuisine is rarely celebrated for its affordability. But $12 avocado toast aside, those eating green may soon be able to save some green.

Impossible Foods announced Wednesday it will slice wholesale prices in the U.S. by an average of 15% amid sizzling demand for its plant-based burgers.

The Meat Of The Matter

California-based Impossible Foods has made a mission of upending the beef industry by dishing out vegan patties that taste and even “bleed” like real meat.

Last March the company cut prices on its plant-based burgers and sausages by 15% for U.S. foodservice distributors. And less than a year later Impossible is delivering another uppercut in its bid to undercut traditional beef:

• The company is once again dropping prices 15% for U.S. distributors, bringing the wholesale price of its eponymous plant-based burger as low as $6.80 per pound, according to company spokeswoman Rachel Konrad.
• The new markdown sandwiches the Impossible Burger in between $9/pound top-shelf organic grass-fed beef and the $5.32/pound average price of beef patties in the U.S.

Impossible Foods has asked distributors to pass savings down the food chain to supermarkets and restaurants, many of which are struggling to bring home the bacon.

Founder and CEO Patrick Brown recently expressed confidence in the company’s lofty goal to “completely replace the use of animals as food technology by 2035.” Asking everyone to “stay tuned,” Brown asserted Wednesday that this latest markdown was “not the last.”

Where’s The Beef?

With many beef and pork producers shut down and consumers searching for a healthier bite to eat, the pandemic has driven searing demand for plant-based meats:

• Impossible Foods has beefed up production six-fold since 2019, and its products are now offered in 17,000 supermarkets. That’s up from just 150 a year ago. Walmart, Target and Kroger are all on board, and Costco began a pilot program in 45 California stores last month.
• Impossible’s chief rival, the publicly held Beyond Meat is also cooking with gas. Shares shot up over 65% in 2020 on the back of soaring revenue in the first half of the year.

The Last Bite: Tyson Foods doesn’t want to get left out of the kitchen. The food conglomerate just yesterday announced its first plant-protein offerings – two breakfast sandwiches under its famed Jimmy Dean sausage brand.