Let The Games Begin – Fake Meat Wars

In a real life display of the old saying “success breeds contempt,” the Impossible Foods CEO “slams rivals ‘awful’ products that he says help convince shoppers that all plant-based meat alternatives ‘suck’,” according to a Business Insider article.

While the two giants of fake meat burgers seem to have solidified their place in the market, two more industry giants are prepared to take the leap into the plant-based meat market. Nestlé and Tyson are jumping on bandwagon, at the same time the Impossible Burger is expanding to 100 Wegmans locations.

“Nestlé recently debuted the plant-based “Awesome Burger” after a year and a half of development. In June, Tyson Foods introduced Raised & Rooted, its first line of plant-based products. Pork giant Hormel debuted its plant-based brand Happy Little Plants in September,” according to the Business Insider article.

Taking on the “big players,” Brown said the established companies are not where changes come from. He accused them of jumping in to take advantage of consumer demand.

According to Brown, who declined to single out any particular brand, some of these companies are simply jumping on the plant-based “meat” bandwagon without taking the time to perfect a product that can actually compete with meat.

“Every time someone uses one of those products and it sucks, it's a setback” for Impossible Foods and plant-based meat alternatives more generally, Brown added.

Brown and other Impossible Foods executives emphasize that their real competition isn't Beyond Meat or other plant-based “meat” makers, but the meat industry. Brown says Impossible Foods' dedication to creating a product that is as good or better than meat in terms of flavor, nutrition, and price will be what wins over most shoppers — not whether it is better than its plant-based rivals.

The question is, is fake meat a fad that, once a consumer tries it once will revert back to the real deal? Or is the production of fake meat part of a bigger agenda – one in which people like presidential candidate Kamala Harris want to dictate the food choices of the public?

Only time will tell.