Impossible Foods Lands New Foodservice Deal
Impossible Foods has landed another partnership as consumers continue to eat more of the plant-based meat substitute. The Habit Burger Grill, a California-based restaurant company, said Monday that it has brought “the plant-based meat to select locations.”
According to the restaurant, it has introduced “two new culinary innovations to their menu, the Original Impossible Burger and the Impossible Bistro Burger, both of which are made with Impossible Foods' award-winning plant-based meat.” The Original Impossible Burger sells for $6.99 at the restaurant and the Impossible Bistro Burger costs $7.99.
“We understand our guests look to us for the latest product innovations and offerings and recently plant-based burgers have been especially popular,” said Iwona Alter, Habit’s chief brand officer. “Our culinary team has created unique combinations of flavors to ensure these burgers satisfy all our customers' cravings regardless of their dietary preferences."
Habit operates some 265 restaurants in 13 states and has seven international locations. Earlier this year, Yum Brands bought Habit Burger for a reported $375 million. Yum operates Pizza Hut and KFC, both of which have also offered plant-based meat substitutes — in those cases, “chicken” nuggets from Beyond Meat.
In a sign of the rising popularity of Impossible Foods products, the brand earlier in June launched a direct-to-consumer site. The new DTC website “offers family-size quantities of ... Impossible Burger, starting at $49.99 (plus tax),” the company noted. “The orders come with compostable and recyclable packaging, free shipping and two-day home delivery.”
More specifically, pricing starts at four 12-ounce packages for $49.99 (about $16.70 per pound). The company also is selling two 12-ounce packages and 10 quarter-pound patties for $59.99 (about $12 per pound); a single, 5-pound bulk package for $64.99 (about $13 per pound); and 20 quarter-pound patties for $69.99 (about $14 per pound).
The company also is in the midst of a retail growth spurt. Impossible Foods has increased its retail footprint nearly 20-fold since the start of 2020, and its flagship product is now available in over 3,000 grocery stores nationwide, including Albertsons, Fred Meyer, Gelson’s, H-E-B, Kroger, Ralphs, Safeway, Smith’s, Wegmans and more,” the company said in announcing its DTC offering, adding that the product had debuted in grocery stores last September.