IMPOSSIBLE FOODS DEBUTS IN CANADA AS INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION ACCELERATES

TORONTO, Ontario -- Starting today, Canada’s most reputable chefs are launching Impossible Foods’ flagship product at their restaurants from coast to coast. 

In response to overwhelming demand, the award-winning Impossible Burger will become available later this year in a wide variety of additional restaurants and grocery stores from coast to coast -- but patrons of the country’s top restaurants can get an exclusive sneak peek for the next two weeks. 

Starting today, Canadians can try the plant-based Impossible Burger in world-class restaurants by:

Impossible Burger is also debuting today at several other elite Canadian establishments, prepared by their innovative chefs -- and diners at these restaurants are eligible to win an “Impossible Mystery Box.” Everyone will get a goodie bag of Impossible merchandise when they order an Impossible dish at the following restaurants (while supplies last): 

Some of the “Mystery Boxes” will include an extra-special prize. To learn more about Impossible Mystery Box and the participating restaurants, please visit https://www.impossiblefoods.ca(opens in a new tab). 

CANADIANS CLAMOR FOR IMPOSSIBLE BURGER

Canada is Impossible Foods’ first international market outside of Asia and will soon become the company’s largest market outside of the United States. Impossible Burger will debut in more locations throughout Canada in the upcoming weeks, and it will be sold in grocery stores starting later this year. 

Canadians have long been enthusiastic champions of Impossible Foods’ mission and products, which rival their prehistoric, animal analogs(opens in a new tab) for taste and nutrition. In fact, people in Canada have asked for Impossible Burger on social media and in passionate emails thousands of times. More Canadians have requested Impossible Burger than people in any country other than the United States, where Impossible Foods is based.

“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,” said  Impossible Foods’ CEO and Founder Patrick O. Brown. “I’m also 100% confident that Canada’s world-class chefs will create some of the most delicious and unique Impossible dishes on the planet.”

While the average Canadian eats 25.4 kilograms of beef per year(opens in a new tab), a growing percentage of them are looking for delicious, nutritious foods without cholesterol, hormones and antibiotics. They’re also buying foods with a smaller carbon footprint. Half of Canadians eat animal meat every day -- but younger generations are leading the shift to a sustainable, plant-based food system. 

IMPOSSIBLE FOODS’ SECRET SAUCE

Inc. Magazine’s company of the year(opens in a new tab) and one of Time Magazine’s 50 Genius companies(opens in a new tab), Impossible Foods makes delicious, wholesome, plant-based foods that deliver all the pleasures and nutritional benefits that consumers demand. The company’s mission is to eliminate the need for animals in the food system.  

Impossible Burger is served in about 30,000 American restaurants and more than 10,000 grocery stores in the U.S. Based on surging demand from Canadian consumers, the company is planning a rapid rollout in Canada -- both in restaurants and retail outlets. Stay tuned for additional locations in the months to come.

Based in California, Impossible Foods uses modern science and technology to create wholesome and nutritious food, help restore natural ecosystems, and feed a growing population sustainably. The company makes meat from plants – with a much smaller environmental footprint than meat from animals. 

To satisfy the global demand for meat at a fraction of the environmental impact, Impossible Foods developed a far more sustainable, scalable and affordable way to make meat, without the catastrophic environmental impact of livestock(opens in a new tab). 

Shortly after its founding in 2011, Impossible Foods’ scientists discovered that one molecule — “heme(opens in a new tab)” — is uniquely responsible for the explosion of flavors that result when meat is cooked. Impossible Foods’ scientists genetically engineer(opens in a new tab) and ferment yeast to produce a heme protein naturally found in plants, called soy leghemoglobin. 

The heme in Impossible Burger is identical(opens in a new tab) to the essential heme humans have been consuming for hundreds of thousands of years in meat — and while the Impossible Burger delivers all the craveable depth of beef, it uses far fewer resources because it’s made from plants, not animals.

Impossible Burger debuted in 2016 at Momofuku Nishi, the New York City restaurant of Chef David Chang. It quickly became a cult favorite of America’s top chefs. Named top plant-based burger by the New York Times(opens in a new tab) and a favorite of Cook’s Illustrated(opens in a new tab), Impossible Burger is served in high-credibility restaurants including those helmed by David Myers, Gordon Ramsay, Wolfgang Puck, May Chow, Traci Des Jardins and Chris Cosentino.

Impossible Burger easily outsells other plant-based burgers whenever they are sold in the same locations. (In fact, at one grocery store chain in Southern California, Impossible Burger outsold all brands of ground beef from cows -- and it outsold the next most popular single product by 6X(opens in a new tab).) 

IMPOSSIBLE: BETTER IN EVERY WAY 

Impossible Burger rivals ground beef from cows(opens in a new tab) for taste. Impossible Burger delivers everything that matters to hard-core meat lovers, including taste, nutrition and versatility. 

Impossible Burger is delicious in any ground meat dish, including pastas, stews, chili, sauces, braises, dumplings, meatballs, meat pies or any other beefy menu item. It’s easy to cook on the BBQ, charbroiler, flat top grill, high speed oven, steamer or sauté pan. Chefs can use the Impossible Burger in recipes from lasagne to lo mein and from burgers to beef wellington. 

Impossible Burger contains no animal hormones or antibiotics, and is kosher, halal and gluten-free certified. It has as much protein and bioavailable iron as a comparable serving of ground beef from cows. A 113 g serving of Impossible Burger has 0 mg cholesterol, 14 g of total fat, 8 g of saturated fat and 240 calories. In Canada, a 113 g serving of “regular” ground beef from cows has 75 mg cholesterol, 28 g of total fat, 11 g of saturated fat and 330 calories.

Impossible Burger uses 96% less land, 87% less water and 89% fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional beef from cows. Home chefs can also log into Impossible Foods’ Impact Calculator(opens in a new tab) to learn exactly how much land, water and emissions they’ve saved by using Impossible Burger instead of ground beef from cows.

About Impossible Foods:

California-based Impossible Foods makes delicious, nutritious meat and dairy products from plants — with a much smaller environmental footprint than meat from animals. The privately held food tech startup was founded in 2011 by Patrick O. Brown, M.D., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry at Stanford University and a former Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. Investors include Mirae Asset Global Investments, Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, Google Ventures, Horizons Ventures, UBS, Viking Global Investors, Temasek, Sailing Capital, and Open Philanthropy Project.

Impossible Foods was Inc. Magazine’s company of the year(opens in a new tab) and one of Time Magazine’s 50 Genius companies(opens in a new tab). The flagship product, Impossible Burger, was named top plant-based burger by the New York Times(opens in a new tab) and received the Food and Beverage (FABI) Award(opens in a new tab) from the National Restaurant Association. 

Media kit: (www.impossiblefoods.com/media(opens in a new tab))

Media Contact: Esther Cohn ([email protected](opens in a new tab))