Impossible Burger makes its grocery store debut in Southern California
The plant-based burger brand could be in every region in the US by mid-2020.
Impossible Burger will soon be available at your local grocer. The company announced that starting on September 20th its plant burgers will be available at Gelson's Markets in Southern California, marking the first time customers can buy them in grocery stores. The burgers will be available in other grocery store chains in the state later this month, just as the brand makes its debut in East Coast grocery stores. Eventually, Impossible Burger plans to be available in grocery stores in every region nationwide by mid-2020.
Impossible Burger will be sold in 12-ounce packages at Gelson's for $8.99 each. Considering that a serving size is 4 ounces, that's about $3 a burger. The pricing is roughly the same as Beyond Burger, which currently retails at $5.99 for two four-ounce patties. All told, faux meat burgers are still more expensive than even organic, grass-fed beef in most instances. Whether the relative costliness of meat alternatives will end up being a barrier to entry for environmentally conscious consumers will determine the fate of brands like Beyond Burger and Impossible Burger.
So far, sales of Beyond Burger, which is available in grocery stores, have been strong. The vegan burger brand saw its sales double in 2019. Meanwhile, other companies are developing their own meat alternatives for sale in grocery stores. Tyson, Hormel, Kellog's and supermarket chain Kroger's are all developing their own fake meat products that will compete with Beyond Burger and Impossible Burger. The involvement of large corporations in the fake meat game could spell trouble for the smaller fake meat startups. Not only can the bigger companies afford to experiment with offering plant-based meat, but they could also potentially offer it at a lower price.
