To the delight of many, Burger King is amping up its service of the Impossible Burger.
While the Impossible Burger has been nearly impossible to find recently, Burger King is rolling out the Impossible Whopper nationwide this month. (By our accounts, Impossible Burgers are pretty solid.)
Beginning August 8, Burger King will serve up the Impossible Whopper for a limited time to allow for a taste test and see if it’s comparable to the original beef-based Whopper. The specialty item is currently slated to be on the menu a limited time at a suggested price of $5.59.
The Impossible Whopper is “100% Whopper, 0% beef,” but like the original Whopper, it’s flame-grilled with sliced tomatoes and onions, lettuce, mayonnaise, ketchup, and pickles on a sesame seed bun.
Burger King first tested the Impossible Whopper idea earlier this year in St. Louis before announcing a planned rollout. The chain known for its grilled flagship item became the first coast-to-coast restaurant to serve up Impossible Burgers. Making a spin of its famous burger with the plant-based patty could be a sign of things to come.
Burger King launched a social media campaign with a Burger King disguised as an Impossible Foods restaurant:
Impossible Foods recently announced it plans to quadruple production this year and plans to launch in grocery stores in September. The production is needed whether or not it hits store shelves since the brand has faced shortages.
The path to the supermarket was opened up when the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of soy leghemoglobin as a color additive. Until that approval, the only channel of distribution was through restaurants, first in high-end joints like David Chang’s Momofuku Nishi in new York City, and then in fast-food restaurants, like Burger King, Qdoba, and White Castle. The company also tested plant-based sausage at Little Caesar’s earlier this year. Despite the shortages and restaurant-only service, Impossible Foods products are supposedly found at 10,000 locations.
Launched in 2016, the brand is on Impossible Burger 2.0 and Impossible Foods has a goal of eliminating meat consumption by 2035. So far, 98% of meat substitute buyers also buy regular meat, according to Nielsen. The company has raised more than $300 million in investments from investors like Google Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Viking Global Investors, UBS, and Bill Gates.
