Peter McGuinness

Meredith Madden impossible foods

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Company News

Impossible Foods Hires Former Kraft Heinz Not Co. CEO Meredith Madden as Chief Demand Officer

Impossible Foods has named Meredith Madden as its new Chief Demand Officer, the company announced Monday. Madden most recently served as CEO of The Kraft Heinz Not Company, a joint venture between NotCo and Kraft Heinz focused on plant-based alternatives. In her new role, she will oversee sales, marketing, product, and communications, with a focus on simplifying commercial operations. A company spokesperson told Food Dive that Madden will be responsible for all “front of house” operations, including sales, product, marketing, and communications. Madden’s transition to Impossible Foods follows structural changes at NotCo’s joint venture with Kraft Heinz. She served as CEO of The Kraft Heinz Not Company until the end of 2024, but earlier this month, NotCo decided to close its New York offices and …

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Peter McGuiness CEO Impossible Foods

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Marketing & Media

Impossible Foods CEO Outlines Crucial Shifts Needed for Survival of Plant-Based Industry

The plant-based industry is standing at a pivotal crossroads. While long-term growth predictions do appear to be promising and meat consumption is declining in developed countries such as the UK, the US, Australia, and certain European markets, current challenges such as decreasing sales and an increasingly competitive marketplace create substantial setbacks for plant-based companies.  The plant-based sector’s current predicament stems from several factors, including potential marketing missteps, consumer misinformation, and intense competition from traditional animal agriculture. Peter McGuinness, CEO of Impossible Foods, spoke to this at the recent Adweek X conference in Los Angeles, citing a much-needed industry-wide transformation that emphasizes collaboration to overcome these challenges. At the conference, McGuinness pointed out the detrimental effect of early “wokeness” and foodtech positioning in plant-based meat marketing, which he …

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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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