Impossible Foods Makes Beef-Like Veggie Burgers Possible

REDWOOD CITY, CA — Some high-profile visitors descended Thursday on a San Francisco Peninsula company with a product so popular one vendor manager said it's impossible to count how many are ordered.

On this week's visit to California, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is getting a taste of the new Impossible Foods craze with a tour of the Saginaw Drive plant making plant-based burgers in Redwood City.

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture is in the food business, from the consumer to the producer. That’s why we’re here at Impossible Foods to learn more about the opportunities, advancements and technologies of the food innovation space,” said Perdue, who tried a burger and called it "a good experience."

He recognized Impossible burgers as a trend that's popularity hinges on a "consumer in charge."

Impossible Foods has become a success story in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond — especially since leveraging another $300 million in funding in May and teaming up with the Burger King chain to seize on mass distribution. The manager at the Burger King on Middlefield Road in the company's hometown said the popularity has taken off since the fast food chain has been selling the vegetarian option in ground beef territory.

Impossible Burgers cook, taste and smell like beef from cows, which for many vegetarians is a refreshing alternative to several dull-tasting veggie patties on the market now.

"We have cracked the molecular code for meat," Impossible Foods Chief Financial Officer David Lee said of the craze.

In addition, the burgers are made with a smaller environmental footprint and contain no hormones, antibiotics, cholesterol or artificial flavoring.

Impossible burgers made their debut in October 2016 in restaurants in San Francisco and Los Angeles and have mushroomed from there.

"The Impossible Burger is a delicious and provocative way to begin a dialogue about food," said Traci Des Jardins, a James Beard award-winning chef.