Due to month-over-month production records and accelerated economies of scale, Impossible Foods is expanding its product lineup and dropping prices. The price reduction applies to distributors and averages 15% on Impossible Foods’ current US foodservice products.
The move comes amid increasing demand for the flagship Impossible Burger, now served at thousands of restaurants including Burger King, Red Robin, Qdoba, Cheesecake Factory, and Hard Rock Cafe. And last week, Impossible Burger was named the official plant-based burger of Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort, and Disney Cruise Line.
Production quadrupled throughout 2019, both in its Oakland, California production facility and at multiple plants owned by co-manufacturing partners. The company will announce additional manufacturing capacity later this year.
The product expansion and price reduction reflect the company’s vision to compete against ground beef made from cows in every way that matters to the consumer: taste, nutrition, sustainability, convenience, and affordability. The taste of the Impossible Burger rivals ground beef from cows in taste while requiring a tiny fraction of the planet’s precious resources. In contrast, meat collapses biodiversity, accelerates climate change and provokes public health crises.
“We launched Impossible Burger at America’s top restaurants, and we still enjoy a premium reputation among the world’s best chefs and gourmets,” said Impossible Foods’ CEO Dr. Patrick O. Brown. “But our stated goal since the founding of the company has always been to drive down prices through economies of scale, reach price parity and then undercut the price of conventional ground beef from cows. Today’s price cut is just the latest step toward our goal of eliminating animals in the food system.”
Its expanded product lineup now includes quarter-pound and third-pound plant-based patties, and its 5-pound bulk package of Impossible Burger. The quarter-pound patties are now fully stocked at DOT Foods. While later this month, the company will introduce the all-new third-pound patties. The patty will be thicker and juicier and available to order by restaurants nationwide.
“Our customers have been extremely eager for patties, which are convenient and popular — both in the back and front of house,” said Dan Greene, Senior Vice President of US Sales at Impossible Foods. “We are thrilled to expand our lineup of SKUs and give customers what they’ve been demanding.”
Like many food companies, Impossible Foods does not own or operate the final point of sale for its product — restaurants, corporate cafeterias, stadiums, theme parks, and other venues. Instead, Impossible Foods sells directly to food redistributor DOT Foods, which operates warehouses throughout the United States, and DOT Foods, in turn, sells to hundreds of food distributors such as US Foods, Sysco, and many others. Those distributors determine the prices that restaurants pay, and the restaurants, in turn, determine the final menu price for consumers.
“We are asking our distributors to pass along the price cuts that average around 15% to restaurants, particularly to America’s hard-working restaurateurs,” said Impossible Foods’ President Dennis Woodside, who oversees numerous divisions including sales. “It’s the right thing to do for small business owners, their loyal clientele and the planet.”
The price cut does not affect Impossible Food’s retail product, which is available at about 150 retail stores, including Gelson’s in Southern California, Wegmans on the Eastern seaboard, and Fairway Markets in greater New York City.
To order quarter-pound Impossible Burger patties, restaurant operators can contact their local distributors or email Impossible Foods at [email protected].