Impossible Foods cuts food prices by 20%

Impossible Foods cuts recommended prices for U.S. grocery stores by 20%, bringing it closer to price parity with the meat being replaced.

Impossible’s suggested retail prices for meat-free burgers are now $ 5.49 for patties and $ 6.99 for a 12-ounce package. The price cuts make the meat alternatives cheaper than ever, but consumers will still pay more than double what the Impossible burger is, based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture national beef retail report for the week through Thursday.

Outside the US, double-digit price cuts for Impossible products are also being rolled out in grocery stores.

This is the first time the privately owned start-up has cut its retail prices, but the third time in the last year that the company has permanently discounted products. Restaurant traders received price cuts in 2020 and again in January.

Over the past year, the number of supermarkets selling Impossible Foods meat substitutes has increased 113 times. It’s also included in a 47-site test Costco Wholesalewhich could lead to even more stores selling their products.

The Coronavirus pandemic The renewed interest in meat substitutes was fueled as more consumers turned to grocery stores for their groceries and Covid-19 outbreaks in meat packers resulted in some shortages of meat products.

“Our plan was not to move so fast in retail last year until Covid hit,” said Dennis Woodside, president of Impossible.

Impossible’s production capacity has increased sixfold since 2019 to meet the new demand. According to Woodside, the company’s manufacturing has become more efficient as the production lines run more frequently and the schedule is expanded to include additional shifts. He also said that as Impossible Foods grows, so do its suppliers.

“You can pass savings on to us,” he said.

rival Beyond meat has also worked to bring prices down as more competition comes into the market. Last summer, the company started selling frozen packs of its meatless burger patties. Beyond’s 10-pack had a suggested retail price of $ 15.99, or $ 6.40 a pound.

Beyond’s shares are up 50% over the past year, giving the company a market value of $ 10.4 billion.

Impossible and Beyond could not only face competition from other companies selling realistic meat alternatives, it could also soon face price pressure from cell-based meat manufacturers. Future Meat Technologies, an Israel-based company, said Monday it had cut the cost of producing a cultured chicken breast to $ 7.50. So far, Singapore is the only country to approve the sale of meat from laboratory cultivation after approval for Eat Just was granted in December.

“Ultimately, we’re all competing with the £ 1 trillion industry, the current animal protein industry,” said Woodside.