Impossible Burgers Finally Launch in Canada

This week, California-based Impossible Foods debuted its flagship Impossible Burger at more than a dozen top restaurants in Canada—representing the company’s first international expansion outside of Asia. The plant-based meat is available in various dishes (not all are fully plant-based) imagined by Canada’s best chefs, including Impossible Petits Farcis à la Provençale at meat-centric Joe Beef in Montreal; a double Impossible Burger patty signature burger at CHARCUT; and The Impossible Return of the Mac pizza at acclaimed chef Matty Matheson’s two restaurants in Toronto. Several Canadian restaurants are offering diners a chance to win an Impossible Mystery Box, including Vancouver’s Hog Shack Cookhouse (Vancouver); Toronto-based Favorites Thai BBQ, The Federal, Gold Standard, Soos and Woodhouse Brewing; and Metropoliain Brasserie and North & Navy in Ottawa. These restaurants are also offering diners who purchase a dish made with Impossible Burger a free goodie bag while supplies last. All restaurants currently serving dishes made with Impossible Burger can be found through the company’s locator tool. 

Impossible Foods chose this expansion route after thousands of Canadians requested the plant-based meat—with more Canadians requesting the Impossible Burger than residents of any other country outside of the United States. “The launch of Impossible Burger in Canada is a watershed moment for Impossible Foods—a proof point and accelerator for the international movement toward a sustainable, plant-based food system,” Impossible Foods CEO and Founder Patrick O. Brown said. “I’m also 100 percent confident that Canada’s world-class chefs will create some of the most delicious and unique Impossible dishes on the planet.” In the coming weeks, the Impossible Burger will be available at additional restaurants across Canada before debuting in grocery stores later this year. 

Stateside, Impossible Foods—which debuted at high-end restaurants in 2016—is aggressively expanding its retail footprint. The Impossible Burger first launched in the retail sector in September 2019 and has grown its retail distribution by 66-fold in 2020 to more than 50,000 stores, including Walmart, Sprouts Farmers Market, Trader Joe’s, Kroger, and, most recently, Target.