Impossible sausage patties

© Impossible Foods

Food Service

Impossible Foods Partners with IHOP to Bring Plant-Based Options to Nearly 1,700 US Locations

Impossible Foods announces partnership with major American family restaurant chain IHOP to bring its plant-based sausage patties and burgers to a new demographic.  Starting today, IHOP outlets nationwide will serve Impossible Sausage patties as part of the classic breakfast menu. For lunch or dinner, guests can opt for an Impossible Burger patty on any of the restaurant’s Steakburgers. This collaboration represents a significant development for both Impossible Foods and IHOP. With nearly 1,700 locations across the United States, IHOP’s wide-reaching appeal among families and diverse diners provides an optimal platform for Impossible Foods to extend its influence.  The new collaboration aligns with Impossible’s objective to introduce plant-based offerings to a broader consumer base, including flexitarians and meat-eaters who may have previously shied away from exploring …

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Motif Plant-Based Burger

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Politics & Law

Motif Obtains Examination Before US Patent Office in Impossible Foods Dispute

The US Patent and Trademark Office announced on Friday that it will initiate inter partes proceedings (IPR) on patent 9,943,096 B2 claimed by Impossible Foods. The US agency’s decision initiates an administrative proceeding on the validity of one of Impossible Foods’ key patents, which is expected to take about a year. Motif FoodWorks had sought reexamination of the patent after Impossible Foods sued Motif in federal court last year, alleging that the company had infringed patent rights in its use of the heme ingredient to make plant-based meat substitutes. In Friday’s PTAB decision, Administrative Patent Judge Donna M. Praiss wrote that Motif “has demonstrated a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on at least one claim of the ‘096 patent, and we are instituting an inter partes …

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Impossible Indulgent Plant-Based Patties

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Products & Launches

Impossible Foods Launches the Indulgent Burger as Its Boldest, Most Decadent Patty Yet

Impossible Foods is expanding its portfolio with the brand’s “boldest” burger yet – the Impossible Indulgent Burger. Created as a premium version of the original Impossible burger patty, Impossible states that the Indulgent Burger is thicker and offers a more gourmet flavor. The burger will launch this summer at select US restaurants, including Bareburger and Monty’s Good Burger, followed by select retailers.  According to Impossible Foods, the Indulgent Burger was developed using a taste-first approach. Each third-pound, restaurant-style patty offers a more beefy flavor with “maximum flavor and juiciness” that can be cooked on the stovetop or grill. In a blind taste test, the company reports 82% of consumers said the product tasted as good as or better than ground beef from cows. Innovating beef …

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Impossible Foods Tony Awards Ad Campaign

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Marketing & Media

“The Summer of Impossible”: Impossible Foods Unveils Major US Marketing Campaign

Seeking to introduce new customers to the plant-based category, Impossible Foods announces it will launch two US national ad campaigns this summer. Designed to appeal to a wider range of consumers, the campaign’s first spot – a 90-second musical ad – will premiere this Sunday, June 11 during the 76th Annual Tony Awards® broadcast. According to Impossible, the campaigns are intended to reach a broader consumer base of flexitarians and meat-eaters with a lighthearted and approachable message. The first campaign, entitled “Making Meat History”, explores the history of meat through time up to the present day, when the narrator introduces meat from a new animal called “the plant.”  Impossible says the ad familiarizes consumers with the concept of plant-based meat in a fun and entertaining …

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Future of Food Event hosted by Eat Just, GFI, Oatly, Finless Foods and more

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Politics & Law

Eat Just, Oatly and More Visit Washington DC to Promote Better Funding for Alt Protein

On Tuesday, a “first of its kind” all-star delegation, featuring representatives from Eat Just, Finless Foods, Impossible Foods, Next Gen Foods and Oatly, assembled in Washington, DC to advocate for increased government funding and updated regulation of alternative proteins.  The invite-only “Future of Food” event, which also included representatives from the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA) and The Good Food Institute (GFI), met with policymakers, regulators and media to discuss America’s leadership in building a more sustainable food system.  Among the policies discussed, industry leaders recommended the US government prioritize the following actions:  Invest in the future of food through research, development and consumer education. Create a market and regulatory ecosystem that allows for innovation and maintains US competitiveness. Prioritize good jobs and workforce development throughout …

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impact_Impossible Foods

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Marketing & Media

Impossible Foods Takes Out One Inch Ad in NY Times to Highlight “Tiny” Impact on Planet

For this year’s Earth Day, Impossible Foods reveals it is launching a new social media campaign spotlighting the “tiny” carbon footprint of its products. Created to help consumers connect their food choices to the size of their environmental footprint, the campaign will include videos of miniature food and kitchens, as well as a small 1” x 1” ad space in The New York Times. According to Impossible, its campaign seeks to help consumers grasp Impossible’s positive impact on the planet, especially the lower carbon footprint of its burgers compared to conventional beef. Impossible says it worked with Deloitte Digital and other creators to produce fun and engaging content, which will run on the company’s social media channels. The spots include “teaser” videos of tiny hands …

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Impossible Beef Lite

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Products & Launches

Impossible Foods Launches Beef Lite With 45% Less Fat Than Lean Animal Beef

Impossible Foods has introduced Beef Lite, a leaner version of its plant-based beef alternative that is designed to be “better than lean ground animal beef”. Containing 21 grams of protein, Beef Lite has 75% less saturated fat and 45% less total fat than 90/10 lean beef from cows. It is a good source of fibre and is free of cholesterol and trans fats. According to Impossible, the beef alternative cooks and tastes like ground animal beef and is ideal for use in dishes such as tacos, chilis, stir-fries, and lasagna. The product is already rolling out in the fresh meat aisle at selected retailers. Competing with beef Impossible’s original plant-based beef is now the best-selling product in the entire US plant-based meat category. The company …

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Clean-Label Vegan Burger

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Company News

The Great American Plant Co: A Private Label Helping Retailers and Restaurants to Offer Lower Cost Plant-Based Products

As higher prices for plant-based proteins continue to challenge sales, one company is launching to help retailers and restaurants offer more affordable plant-based meats under their own brands. The Great American Plant Co. (GAPC) is a private-label manufacturer offering a line of plant-based foods, including burgers, meatballs and sausages, to retailers and food service operators.  What sets GAPC apart, the company states, is its focus on clean-label ingredients and lower prices; compared to major competitors, GAPC’s products wholesale for 10-20% less than other leading brands. In addition, GAPC’s proteins are wholly sourced and manufactured in North America, creating what it calls a ‘significantly smaller’ environmental footprint than its competitors.  “Great products that delight consumers” Founded in Dallas in 2020, GAPC offers a line of pea …

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impossible chicken tenders made from plants

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Products & Launches

Impossible Foods Unveils New Spicy Plant-Based Chicken Nuggets & More Innovations for the Frozen Aisle

Today, California-based Impossible Foods announces the expansion of its best-selling portfolio with three new additions: Impossible™ Spicy Chicken Nuggets, Impossible™ Spicy Chicken Patties, and Impossible™ Chicken Tenders. Impossible’s new plant-based chicken flavors and the new chicken format will be available in the frozen aisle at select retail locations starting this month, followed by national availability in the coming months. Impossible Chicken Tenders will also be served nationwide in select food service locations.  The news comes just a day after Beyond Meat announced NPDs in the form of two new chicken products — burgers and schnitzels, in the Netherlands. Impossible Spicy Chicken Nuggets and Impossible Spicy Chicken Patties come with blended spices that add hot notes to the brand’s original plant-based chicken recipe. The new Impossible …

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Impossible Burger at Applebee's

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Company News

Impossible Foods to Cut 20% of Staff, Plans to Launch Major Marketing Campaign in ’23

Impossible Foods is reportedly planning to reduce its workforce by one-fifth as the company contends with a difficult economic environment, as well as an overall slowdown of the plant-based category.  According to Bloomberg, the California-based company employs about 700 workers, which could lead to the layoff of over 130 employees. A source also revealed the company offered employees “voluntary separation payments and benefits” at the end of 2022.  Last fall, Impossible cut 6% of its workforce (about 50 employees) – at the time, CEO Peter McGuinness said the cuts were necessary to help the company re-organize in order to focus on future growth. With the latest round of layoffs, Impossible joins a growing list of companies, along with Beyond Meat, that have been forced to reduce …

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Impossible Burger at Applebee's

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Marketing & Media

Impossible Foods: “Bloomberg Was Supposed to Report the Facts”

Last week, Bloomberg Businessweek published an article denouncing plant-based meat as just “another fad.” The story, which purports to give a factual picture of the plant-based market through the ups and downs (though gives more the downs) of Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat  — as if other brands worldwide did not exist or play a role in the market — states that “plant-based meat is turning out to be a flop.”  In a media frenzy reminiscent of 2020’s Burger Wars, Impossible Foods said today in a letter of response: “Bloomberg was supposed to report the facts. But became just another opinion piece”. Commenting on the article’s featured image, Impossible Foods says: “An unappealing image above the headline leaves an instantly negative association in the reader’s subconscious before …

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Impossible Burger School Lunch

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Society

Impossible Foods Coming to More US Schools As Middletown, CT Adds Burgers to Menu

Impossible Foods announces Middletown Public Schools, a Connecticut district comprising 4,800 students, will soon add plant-based Impossible Burgers across its school menus.  The move comes after the district tested the burger with students at Middletown High School, 75% of whom reportedly gave the burger positive feedback, reports NBC Connecticut. According to Randall Mel, Middletown Public Schools’ food services manager, the district now hopes to expand it across all of its schools over the next few months.  “Most of the students actually said if it wasn’t labeled as the ‘Impossible Burger,’ they wouldn’t have known that it was meatless!” Mel commented. “Most of them said they would be willing to eat it multiple times per week.” Made for lunches Middletown Public Schools also offers Meatless Monday …

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Slutty Vegan Chili

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Gastronomy & Food Service

Slutty Vegan Debuts ‘Hawt Toddy’ Plant-Based Chili Made with Impossible Pork

Slutty Vegan, the hit burger chain known for its provocative fast food, is launching its first-ever plant-based chili, the Hawt Toddy, made with Impossible Pork. Available through the end of December, the chili is now available to order at all of the chain’s locations.  Described as a hearty chili bowl, the Hawt Toddy is filled with Impossible Pork, beans, peppers, and onions, and seasoned with a warm blend of spices. Priced at $6.99, the brand says the offering provides the perfect winter comfort food.  “We can’t wait to bring the heat this winter with a sluttified version of the classic chili bowl. Trust me, you won’t know it’s vegan!” said Pinky Cole, Founder & CEO of Slutty Vegan. $100M burger brand Born in Atlanta, Slutty …

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Motif Foodworks

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Politics & Law

Motif Foodworks’ IP Battle Intensifies as Europe Revokes Impossible Foods Patent

Food tech startup Motif Foodworks announces it has filed four new challenges to US patents held by Impossible Foods. The company’s legal move comes a week after The European Patent Office (EPO) announced it had revoked an EU patent held by Impossible Foods. The EU and US patents that Motif is challenging involve meat alternative products containing heme protein, sugars and sulfur compounds. Motif argues these ingredients are not patentable by Impossible due to their longstanding use as taste and smell enhancers for meat alternatives. The reasoning behind the EPO’s decision to revoke Impossible’s patent (No. 2,943,072 B1 – Methods and compositions for affecting the flavor and aroma profile of consumables – ‘072) has not been published, but an Impossible Foods spokesperson asserted that the …

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flames australian restaurant iconic burger

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Market & Trends

This Week in Australia’s Plant-Based Scene

This week in Australia’s plant-based scene are three noteworthy developments in the plant-based meat and sweets and snacks categories as well as the expansion of a plant-based restaurant set to franchise its concept worldwide. Flave raises $2.5 million to open second restaurant of a future 1000-store plant-based burger chain  Australian plant-based restaurant Flave has secured $2.5 million in a Series A round to open a second Flave store in Darlinghurst in early 2023. $1 million came from board members, and the rest through equity crowdfunding. The company, which started as a subscription service and has since joined the fast-casual food service industry with a 100% plant-based burger restaurant in Bondi, plans to roll out 1,000 stores in Australia, the US, India, China, and other markets …

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Leslie Sims New Chief Marketing and Creative Officer, Impossible Foods

Leslie Sims ©Impossible Foods

People

Impossible Foods Hires Leslie Sims as Chief Marketing And Creative Officer

Impossible Foods announces that award-winning creative and marketing veteran Leslie Sims, formerly of Deloitte, will begin in the newly created role of Chief Marketing and Creative Officer on 1st Jan 2023. Sims has been hired by Impossible to “build out robust marketing and creative functions” as the company plans to “significantly increase consumer awareness and trial while pulling well ahead of other plant-based brands into a category of its own”, according to a press release. In her previous role as U.S. Chief Creative Officer at Deloitte Digital, Sims was named one of the Top 1CCOs’s in the U.S. by Adweek, one of the Most Creative Women in Advertising by Business Insider, and one of the Top Marketing Leaders and Innovators by Media. “Leslie is the …

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Domino's Australia

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Fast Food

Domino’s Australia Partners With Impossible Foods For New Pizza Range

Domino’s Australia has joined forces with Impossible Foods to launch a new range of pizzas made with plant-based Impossible™ Beef. The pizzas, which will also be available at Domino’s New Zealand, include: Vegan Impossible BBQ Burger — BBQ sauce topped with fresh tomato, red onion, vegan cheese, butter pickles, and Impossible plant-based Beef Pattie. The pizza is finished with hickory BBQ sauce. Vegan Impossible Double Beef & Onion — Vegan cheese, Impossible plant-based Beef Pattie, and red onion on a BBQ sauce base​. Vegan Impossible Fire Breather — Vegan cheese, Impossible plant-based Beef Pattie, jalapenos, diced tomato, red onion, and chilli flakes​. Vegan Impossible Godfather — Vegan cheese, Impossible plant-based Beef Pattie, capsicum, diced tomato, and Kalamata olives on a garlic and pizza sauce base, …

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Impossible Shop Foods Restaurant Burger Dog Haus

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Company News

Impossible Food’s Pat Brown Reveals Company is Now Working on Filet Mignon

Impossible Foods founder and ex-CEO Pat Brown says the company is currently working on developing plant-based filet mignon, and has already completed a number of successful prototypes. Though Brown couldn’t reveal a release date, he hinted the new steak is forthcoming during the MIT Technology Review’s ClimateTech conference on Oct. 12th.  According to Brown, he sampled multiple steak prototypes earlier this year. “I’ve tasted our filet mignon prototypes—and they’re pretty damn good,” Brown told MIT Technology Review editor James Temple. Noting the primary challenge was perfecting the texture, Brown said the company had to re-work its process for making ground beef to replicate the more difficult structure of steak. He also explained Impossible’s goal is to meet or exceed the taste of traditional animal foods, …

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Impossible Foods Pat Brown

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People

Pat Brown to Establish New “Advanced Research Venture” at Impossible Foods

Impossible Foods founder Pat Brown is to step down from his role as Chief Visionary Officer to establish a new research venture within the company. As reported by Business Insider, the news was disclosed via company emails, which also revealed that the new arm would be tentatively known as Impossible Labs. Impossible Foods is reportedly seeking a replacement for Brown, and the new venture will not supersede the company’s R&D team. Instead, Impossible Labs will “focus on the transformative innovation that will propel Impossible Foods to achieve our mission.” Impossible clarified today to vegconomist that the development was a planned leadership change and that the new advanced research venture will exist in addition to Impossible’s current R&D team. Ambitious goals When Brown first announced he …

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Baja Fresh Impossible Beef Tacos

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Gastronomy & Food Service

Baja Fresh Adds Impossible Beef to Permanent Menu at All Locations

Mexican fast-casual chain Baja Fresh announces it is adding Impossible Meat Made From Plants as a permanent menu item across all 90 US locations. The rollout follows the chain’s successful trial of Impossible Meat that first launched in 2021.  In addition to keeping the current selection of Impossible dishes, Baja’s guests will also be able to choose the brand’s plant-based beef as a protein on almost any menu item. The three staple Impossible dishes include:  Impossible Taco Combo – Three tacos with grilled corn tortillas filled with Impossible meat, topped with shredded lettuce, pico de gallo, guacamole, salsa baja and non-vegan cheese.  Fuego Impossible Burrito – Guacamole, black beans, Impossible meat, diablo salsa, salsa 6 chiles, pico de gallo, pickled jalapeños, shredded lettuce and non-vegan …

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