Impossible Foods has reduced prices for its meat-analogue products by 15%, as part of a developing price war over plant-based proteins.
Impossible’s move came as the field is getting more crowded and big players are starting to undercut prices. Tyson Foods, Smithfield Foods, Cargill and others are getting ready to introduce meat-free patties and other products to compete with offerings from pioneering startups like Impossible and Beyond Meat.
An executive with a quick-service restaurant chain in Florida told the Wall Street Journal that Sysco Corp., the foodservice distribution giant, offered him plant-based burgers at 5 cents a patty less than Beyond Meat – an offer he says he didn’t take.
As meat analogue products are spreading in supermarkets, QSR chains and others, price remains a sticking point. The Impossible Whopper retails at Burger King for about a dollar more than a regular meat Whopper. It’s unclear if Burger King plans to reduce prices in conjunction with the price cut by Impossible Foods.
Prices are high mostly because manufacturing of analogue products is still on a relatively small scale – something that big processors would presumably be in a position to change.
