As plant-based foods continue to gain market share in grocery stores, one company reflects how far the plant-based segment of the food industry has come and where it is headed. Impossible Foods just closed a $500 million funding round in support of its phenomenal worldwide growth. The company now has 22,000 grocery stores taking its product lines from just 150 in early 2020, while also entering roughly 40,000 restaurants around the world.
As the company continues to re-write the narrative of global food supply, it also helping to address climate change. Impossible Foods’ products come from plant-based food agriculture that has a much smaller environmental footprint than its meat from animal competitors.
Prior investor Mirae Asset Global Investments led the round with participation of existing Impossible Foods investors. Funds will be used to pursue even greater market share in retail grocers and increase its product portfolio while continuing its rapid global expansion. Building a company that both dramatically improves the global food supply chain while also addressing climate gained them the enthusiastic support of investors.
“Mirae Asset is excited to double down on the team at Impossible Foods as they continue transforming the global food system,” says Thomas Park, president of Mirae Asset Global Investments (US). “It is important to us to partner with true innovators like Impossible Foods’ CEO Pat Brown and support the entire Impossible Foods team as they work to solve one of the most critical challenges facing our planet – climate change.”
While Impossible Foods has made its mark over such a short and recent period, it is far from being an overnight success. The company was co-founded in 2011 by Patrick O. Brown, M.D., Ph.D., professor emeritus of biochemistry at Stanford University and Monte Casino, a chef and culinary innovator who has worked in the kitchens of chefs like Lydia Shire, Jodi Adams, and Wolfgang Puck.
Together they pioneered the creation and development of a new food category — meat made from plants. Obtaining investor funding helped move the company out of its R&D stage into market entry and then to rapid global expansion, raising close to $2 billion in funding along the way.
Now with a very receptive and well defined market, the company continues to pursue innovation. Just recently they announced the introduction of Impossible™ Meatballs Made From Plants. This product joins a range of product launches over the past four months that includes Impossible™ Sausage Made From Plants, Impossible™ Chicken Nuggets Made From Plants, and others.
The leadership team of co-founders and co-Ceos Brown and Casino can now tout recent IRI research that analyzed U.S. dollar sales for the most recent 13-week period compared to one year ago. Their research indicated that Impossible Foods is now the fastest-growing plant-based meat company in retail, outpacing the next 10 leading plant-based meat companies combined.
In addition, the research revealed that the majority of consumers see Impossible Food products to be as good as or decidedly better than the respective animal-based products in recent taste tests. With that insight Impossible Foods is now pursuing collaborations with notable food brands and foodservice providers such as Jack in the Box and a new branded product line by refrigerated pasta leader Buitoni.
Noteworthy for the battlers of climate change is the launch of two branded marketplaces at Climate Pledge Arena, where Impossible™ Burger was named the “official burger” of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken.
The company’s most recent funding follows a series of raises that began with $500 million in March 2020 that was also led by Mirae Asset Global Investments. A $200 million round followed in August led by Coatue. Those rounds spurred on the company’s momentum and they included backing of top well-known global investors that includes Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, Google Ventures, Horizons Ventures, UBS, Viking Global Investors, Temasek, Sailing Capital, Coatue, and Open Philanthropy Project.
“We’re fortunate to have great investors who believe in our long-term mission,” said Impossible Foods’ Chief Financial Officer David Borecky. “The latest round of funding allows us to further accelerate our product innovation and global expansion efforts as we continue to leverage the power of the food system to satisfy consumers and fight climate change.”
