LAS VEGAS \u2014 Impossible Foods added pork to its plant-based menu on Monday, and Chief Executive Pat Brown will not stop there.<\/p>\n
Impossible Foods, the Beyond Meat Inc.
\u201cWhat we\u2019re working on is the most significant science project and business endeavor in the world,\u201d said Brown, a vegetarian since the 1970s who, during a recent visit to the company\u2019s Redwood City, Calif., headquarters, donned a green hoodie and T-shirt emblazoned with the picture of a cow in a red circle with a slash through it.<\/p>\n It isn\u2019t merely following up its Impossible Burger with pork, but continuing to play a vital role in addressing the \u201ctwo biggest threats to the word: climate change and the meltdown of biodiversity,\u201d Brown said. He previously was a professor of biochemistry at Stanford University\u2019s School of Medicine, where he and his colleagues developed DNA microarrays \u2014 a new technology that made it possible to monitor the activity of all the genes in a genome \u2014 along with the first methods for analyzing, visualizing and interpreting global gene expression programs.<\/p>\n Pork is an important step in that process, Brown said. In the U.S., beef may be \u201cking,\u201d as Brown put it, but \u201cpork is the No. 1 consumed meat in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is the natural follow-up for us,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Many wonder if an Impossible Foods initial public offering will be the natural follow-up to Beyond Meat\u2019s blockbuster 2019 IPO. Impossible Foods is also laying out grand business plans that could lead to an initial public offering in 2020, but Brown parried a question about a possible IPO this year.<\/p>\n \u201cWe replan our annual plan every month,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Since going public in early May, plant-based burger maker Beyond Meat\u2019s share price more than tripled before cooling off. In that same time, Impossible Foods secured an additional $300 million in funding, bringing its total to a whopping $784 million. <\/p>\n See:<\/strong> 5 big reasons that Beyond Meat stock is a buy for 2020<\/a> <\/p>\n A recent IDTechEx report, \u201cPlant-based and Cultured Meat 2020-2030,\u201d<\/a> projects the global market for \u201cnovel meat substitutes\u201d to top $30 billion by 2030. And the greatest opportunity resides in China, where 62.4 million tons of meat was consumed in 2019, according to Euromonitor International Ltd. The U.S. was a distant second, at 21.1 million tons.<\/p>\n D.A. Davidson analyst Brian Holland estimates U.S. restaurant and food service revenue of $1.1 billion for Beyond by 2028, though he acknowledged the threat of Impossible. \u201cLarger players with more resources have entered the fray in short order \u2014 thereby impacting Beyond\u2019s first mover advantage time,\u201d Holland wrote in an Oct. 29 note.<\/p>\n \u201cAny company that helps the mission against the animal-food industry is good with me,\u201d Brown said, alluding to Beyond Meat, Eat JUST Inc., and others.<\/p>\n The animal-farming industry, Brown said, is responsible for more greenhouse-gas emissions than the entire global transportation industry, and it\u2019s the single largest global land user, gobbling up 45% of the land that\u2019s not covered by ice. \u201cIt uses the land that should be capturing carbon through trees and grasslands,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere have been feeble commitments to the environment,\u201d said Brown, who last month attended COP25, the 25th United Nations Climate Change conference in Madrid, to accept an award<\/a>.<\/p>\n Read:<\/strong> Steak ta-ta? We need to reach \u2018peak meat\u2019 in 10 years to combat climate change<\/a> <\/p>\n The single-biggest focus for Impossible Foods in 2020 is ramping up its research-and-development team. About 20% of the company\u2019s 550 employees work in R&D. A facility in Oakland, Calif., can\u2019t produce enough product, so Impossible teamed with OSI Group in 2019 to co-manufacture its burger<\/a>. Impossible has ambitious goals: It intends to double its food supply each year over the next 15 years.<\/p>\n The meat has gained popularity through partnerships with Burger King, Applebee\u2019s, Cheesecake Factory Inc.
Sales of Burger King\u2019s Impossible Whopper helped boost Restaurant Brands International Inc.\u2019s
Burger King will play an important part with Impossible\u2019s sausage plans as well. Impossible Sausage will debut Jan. 13 at 139 Burger King restaurants in five test regions: Savannah, Ga.; Lansing, Mich.; Springfield, Ill.; Albuquerque, N.M.; and Montgomery, Ala. It is an ingredient in the Impossible Croissan\u2019wich, which also features a toasted croissant, egg and cheese.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n BYND, -1.09%<\/span><\/a><\/span>
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \u00a0rival that has raised nearly $800 million in venture investment, introduced products called Impossible Pork Made from Plants and Impossible Sausage Made from Plants at CES 2020 on Monday evening, a year after debuting its newest beef product at the giant trade show. Brown told MarketWatch before the event that consumers can eventually expect plant-based substitutes for lamb, goat, fish and dairy products in the near future.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n CAKE, +2.48%<\/span><\/a><\/span>
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \u00a0, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc.
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n RRGB, +1.62%<\/span><\/a><\/span>
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \u00a0, White Castle, Little Caesar Enterprises Inc., Wegmans Food Markets and others.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n QSR, -2.06%<\/span><\/a><\/span>
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \u00a0third-quarter revenue <\/a>6% to $1.46 billion. Burger King\u2019s sales in the U.S. registered their strongest growth since 2015 in large part because of the product, one of the most successful rollouts in the fast-food chain\u2019s 67-year history, Restaurant Brands International CEO Jose Cil told investors during an October earnings call.<\/p>\n