Impossible Burger Hits 1,000 Supermarket Shelves
Impossible Foods first launched its flagship plant-based Impossible Burger in retail stores in September, and now its expanding this footprint more than 500%. With 777 new Albertsons banners starting to carry the product on April 17, the total number of grocery stores will be approximately 1,000.
“We’ve always planned on a dramatic surge in retail for 2020 — but with more and more Americans’ eating at home under ‘shelter-in-place’ orders, we’ve received requests from retailers and consumers alike,” said Impossible Foods’ President Dennis Woodside. “Our existing retail partners have achieved record sales of Impossible Burger in recent weeks, and we are moving as quickly as possible to expand with retailers nationwide.”
The Impossible Burger will now be at:
• All Albertsons, Vons, Pavilions and Gelson’s Markets in Southern California
• All Safeway stores in Northern California
• All Safeway stores in Nevada
• All Jewel-Osco stores in the greater Chicago area, and portions of eastern Iowa and northwest Indiana
• All Wegmans stores along the Eastern seaboard
• All Fairway Markets in the New York City region
The Impossible Burger at retail comes in 12-ounce packages priced between $8.99 and $9.99 at retailers. Shoppers may find the plant-based Impossible Burger fresh or frozen in the meat aisle, in the vegetarian section or in special promotional displays; grocery store placement varies by location.
Beyond burgers
The COVID-19 pandemic has led Impossible Foods to implement new measures prioritizing the health and safety of its employees and communities as well. There are stringent restrictions on external visitors to company facilities and those of co-manufacturing partners, and daily sanitizing, disinfecting and deep cleaning of all workplaces to ensure the strictest hygiene standards and utmost safety.
Impossible Foods secured approximately $500 million in its latest funding round earlier this month. The latest investment round will fuel fundamental research and innovation, accelerate Impossible Foods’ manufacturing scaleup, and accelerate commercialization of next-generation products including Impossible Sausage Made From Plants and Impossible Pork Made From Plants.
Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons Cos. operates stores across 35 states and the District of Columbia under 20 well-known banners, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen and Carrs, as well as meal-kit company Plated. The company is No. 3 on Progressive Grocer’s 2019 Super 50 list of the top grocers in the United States.
