There’s a new burger in town, and the folks at Impossible Foods think that it’s the future of meat.
The California-based food business has announced that its Oakland plant is now online, marking the burgeoning company’s first large scale plant operation. After it ramps up, Impossible says the factory will have the capacity to churn out a million pounds of meat per month. But it’s not just any meat – these burgers are plant-based, and the company is betting 68,000 square feet on their success.
The Impossible Burger is being touted as the first plant-based “burger” that accurately emulates the flavors, textures, and aromas of real grilled hamburger meat. But the big difference is in its sustainability: Impossible’s website says that, compared to cows, their burger uses “95% less land, 74% less water, and creates 87% fewer greenhouse gas emissions.” The company hopes to create an alternative burger that relies on fewer resources but also uses science to make it “bleed” like real meat.
Impossible Foods CEO calls the Oakland plant one of the most ambitious scale-ups of any start-up in the food industry, with the company’s overall goal being “to make delicious, sustainable, nutritious and affordable meat for everyone, as soon as possible.”
Impossible Foods raked in $75 million in a recent funding round, and it’s not the only company that’s seeing dollar signs around meatless alternatives to traditional foods. Just this week, Nestle announced that it has acquired the company Sweet Earth – an attempt to add their vegetarian frozen products to its more traditional Hot Pockets and Lean Cuisine lines.