Impossible Foods’ Next Mission: Vegan Steak

Plant-based company Impossible Foods is currently developing vegan steak using its proprietary technology. Impossible Foods CEO Patrick O. Brown spoke to The Spoon during last week’s International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas—where Impossible Burger was the first food product to be featured at the popular technology conference. “When we started building the technology platform, we were not focused on ground beef. That was a strategic choice,” Brown said. “We wanted to pick the product that would have the maximum disruptive impact relevant to our mission.” During its extensive research and development process, Impossible Foods discovered the ability to widely apply its biochemical findings to develop other plant-based meats such as fish and “whole cuts” of beef. “The next categorically new product that we launch will most certainly be a beef steak,“ Brown said. “[Steak] has huge symbolic value. If we can make just an awesomely delicious world-class steak … that will be very disruptive, not just to the beef industry, but to other sectors of the meat industry.” Brown believes that once an Impossible Foods vegan steak is on the market, meat companies will regret that they did not produce something of its caliber first. While the steak is still in development, the company is focusing on perfecting its flagship Impossible Burger patty. Brown revealed that the Impossible Burger 3.0—an upgraded version of the already improved Impossible Burger 2.0 it unveiled at CES—may debut by the end of 2019. Using its technology, Impossible Foods’ ultimate aim is to replace all food animals with plant-based alternatives by 2035.