By Joann S. Lublin

Impossible Foods faces an unsavory conundrum: How can a major maker of plant-based meat succeed in a shrinking industry?

Chief Executive Peter McGuinness is taking steps to tackle that challenge, including a new brand identity that stresses the meatiness of the company's products and a plan to woo "flexitarians" -- people whose diets only occasionally include meat. Among recent changes, the Redwood City, Calif., company switched packaging colors from green to blood red, hired a hot-dog eating champion as a brand ambassador and expanded product offerings once focused on ground-beef substitutes to steak bites, hot dogs and chicken tenders.

"Approximately over a hundred million U.S. people fit the broad term of flexitarians," says McGuinness. "They are cross eating."

Last year, Impossible Foods overtook rival Beyond Meat for the No. 2 spot in U.S. retail market share of meat alternatives, according to market researcher Circana. Kellanova's Morningstar Farms holds the biggest share. Still, McGuinness says profitability is likely years away for the privately held company, mainly due to brand-building expenditures.

Amid slaughterhouse shutdowns during the pandemic and broader business lockdowns, sales of plant-based meat soared and fast-food offerings such as Impossible Whoppers became popular. Created by manipulating plant protein, starches and other ingredients, those burgers sizzle, sear and even bleed nearly the same way that ground beef does.

But growing concern about the health benefits of highly processed foods, as well as higher food prices, subsequently reduced demand for meat alternatives. Impossible Foods conducted companywide layoffs in 2022 and 2023 as expenses outpaced revenue growth. The company declined to disclose its revenue figures.

The 56-year-old McGuinness, who was previously president of Chobani, became Impossible Foods' CEO in 2022. In an interview, he discussed his strategy. Edited excerpts follow:

Too many companies

WSJ: What are your biggest hurdles and how do you overcome them?

PETER MCGUINNESS: The biggest issue is people think plant-based meat won't taste good. That's a huge barrier to even trying it. We'll change the misperception through very targeted and sustained marketing.

WSJ: U.S. retail sales of plant-based meats dropped during the past three years and will likely decrease slightly this year, market researcher Packaged Facts predicts. How can Impossible Foods flourish in its niche market?

MCGUINNESS: There are too many companies in the plant-based meat industry for a too-little market. From a taste perspective, their food isn't up to par. That affects us all. I'm not happy we're the only company growing in a declining category. I restructured Impossible Foods. We're investing in product innovation. A few years ago, we didn't have a full chicken portfolio. We now have all meat groups. In 2022, our products mainly were only available in restaurants. Today, we're also in about 35,000 retail locations, including mass merchants like Walmart. Nothing ensures you can flourish, however.

WSJ: Do flexitarians represent the U.S. demographic group with the greatest potential for Impossible Foods?

MCGUINNESS: Flexitarians are our biggest growth opportunity. One type leans vegetarian and dabbles in meat. Another type eats close to 50/50 plant-based and animal meat. That's a huge market. To get this category going, I may do a hybrid burger that's 50% beef.

WSJ: Yet some industry watchers don't see a huge U.S. flexitarian market -- based on narrowly defining flexitarians as occasional meat eaters. From that viewpoint, how will wooing flexitarians help Impossible Foods?

MCGUINNESS: Capturing a sizable portion of flexitarians could quadruple Impossible Foods' revenue in a short period -- even if their numbers stay the same.

Flexitarians tend to have a bit more discretionary income, be a little more educated and live in more-urban areas. They shop at Whole Foods, regular grocery stores, Costco and mass merchants like Target and Walmart.

A flawed campaign

WSJ: Your recent campaign targeting meat eaters raised awareness of Impossible Foods products but generated scant sales, you told Inc. magazine. What went wrong?

MCGUINNESS: Our broad national campaign reached a lot of meat-only people who wouldn't consider buying our products. Our spend wasn't efficient because we tried to move immovables. We learned we don't have a national message.

We'll do another campaign -- but be much more targeted to where flexitarians live and shop. If we're doing TV, we'll buy time on local stations. Instead of trying to do all stores, we will target stores with a density of flexitarians. We'll focus on making the biggest impact in the quickest way. We're looking to launch that campaign around summertime grilling season.

WSJ: Taste differences have constrained your industry's growth. With ground-beef substitutes your top seller, how will you better mimic animal beef?

MCGUINNESS: In taste, we're not yet superior to beef. The hurdle to achieving taste parity is higher than it is with chicken. People have a very emotional connection to their burger. They really like the fat component because it's juicy and meaty. That's very hard to replicate. We're also looking at things like size, thickness, flavor delivery and sodium.

We're on our burger's fifth edition. We probably have two to three more versions before it perfectly sizzles, smells and looks like beef. It's probably over a year before our Beef 6.0 comes out.

WSJ: Carl's Jr. stopped selling Beyond Meat burgers in 2024. Burger King removed Impossible Whoppers from about 2% of U.S. restaurants last November to assess consumer demand, but recently resumed their sale. What's ahead for your fast-food chain partnerships?

MCGUINNESS: We're looking to expand our partnership with Burger King beyond the U.S. -- and expand meat categories at its U.S. restaurants. There's mutual interest in maybe introducing a chicken product. Meanwhile, we're in conversations with many potential fast-food chain partners. I can't say whom.

Why so expensive?

WSJ: On average, U.S. consumers pay up to twice as much for refrigerated plant-based meat compared with conventional fresh meat, Packaged Facts estimates. How and when will you reach your goal of Impossible Foods items costing less than animal meat to produce?

MCGUINNESS: We do 50 things every day to try to lower the cost. Some involve replacement ingredients. In a few years, it's possible we can get to parity for the average retail price of our products and animal products.

WSJ: Additional obstacles loom for your industry such as intensified consumer worries about health risks from meat substitutes and other highly processed foods. How will Impossible Foods overcome this threat?

MCGUINNESS: The plant-based meat industry hasn't talked about how its products deliver critical nutrients to your body.

Protein is the biggest food trend. We're going to better position ourselves as a protein-delivery company. Many of our products have as much -- if not more -- protein than animal meat.

WSJ: How will you better promote your protein content?

MCGUINNESS: We will emphasize protein dramatically more in claims and visibility on our packaging, website, ads and social media. It also will be a fiber message because there's no fiber in animal meat. And it will be a zero-cholesterol message, because animal product has a lot of cholesterol. That's a trifecta of nutritional benefits. Altered packages will appear within this year.

WSJ: When might Impossible Foods turn profitable and go public?

MCGUINNESS: We're on a path to profitability and an IPO. Both are probably years away, given the balance-sheet strength and need to invest in the business. I reserve the right to go public sooner.

WSJ: You became a flexitarian while a Chobani executive. Which Impossible Foods product do you like best?

MCGUINNESS: I eat our whole portfolio. But I adore our meatballs. They taste like half-pork and half-beef.

Joann S. Lublin, a former Wall Street Journal career columnist, is the author of "Power Moms: How Executive Mothers Navigate Work and Life." She can be reached at joann.lublin@wsj.com.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 10, 2025 10:00 ET (14:00 GMT)

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