Plant-based player... gets money. Impossible Foods raised a fresh $200M for its alt-meat operations. Since its founding in 2011, Impossible has raised $1.5B — over half of that came in 2020 alone. Back in March, Impossible raised $500M. That money hasn't just been chilling in the company safe. Since June, Impossible has been spending to turn the corona-conomy tide around.
- Scared of going outside? Impossible launched a direct-to-consumer business to deliver bulks of plant-based patties to your door.
- Not the ecommerce type? Impossible majorly expanded its grocery presence, launching at Trader Joe's and Walmart.
- Don't know how to cook? Impossible partnered with Home Chef to be included in its meal kits.
- Not so adventurous? Impossible launched breakfast sandwiches at Starbucks and Burger King to bring alt-meat mainstream.
The theme here is... Distribution. For the first eight years, Impossible focused on restaurants. In March, its patties were only available in 150 grocery stores. When COVID shut restaurants down, Impossible had to make an impossibly quick distribution pivot. Its grocery store presence has soared 60X to 9K stores.
Impossible is playing catch up... to older, publicly-traded rival Beyond Meat. Impossible started by offering pricey patties to high-end restaurants. Beyond focused more on retail and going international. But Impossible could catch up quickly if it keeps expanding its distribution. It's also developing new products like pork, steak, and milk, which could give it an edge over patty-focused Beyond.