2030 Finance | May 15, 2019

Impossible Foods raises $300 million as demand for plant-based meat surges

Dennis Price
ImpactAlpha Editor

Dennis Price

ImpactAlpha, May 15 – Oakland-based Impossible Foods hauled $300 million in a Series E led by Singapore sovereign fund Temasek and Hong Kong-based tycoon Li Ka-shing’s Horizons Ventures. The fifth round of funding for the company, which brings its total funding to $750 million, was also backed by celebrity investors including Jay-Z, Trevor Noah, Katy Perry, Questlove, Jaden Smith and Serena Williams.

Beyond Beyond Meat’s IPO lies a ‘new world order of food’

The big raise follows the initial public offering from Impossible’s top competitor, Beyond Meat, which is now valued at more than $4 billion. Impossible Foods is now said to be worth $2 billion, according to Reuters.

“We have cracked the molecular code for meat and built an industry-leading intellectual property portfolio and brand,” said Impossible Foods’ David Lee. Lee told Reuters going public is a priority for the firm, “but we are not in a rush, nor are we announcing an IPO filing.”

The growing demand for, and supply of, plant-based meats could help curb the huge carbon footprint of modern beef production. The market for alternative meats could reach $5.81 billion by 2022, according to Grand View Research study. 

The Impossible Burger is sold in 7,000 restaurants in North America and Asia, including Red Robin, White Castle and Qdoba.

Investor rush to alternative meats and healthy eating accelerates the disruption of food systems

Last month, Burger King began a pilot of its Impossible Whopper, a meatless burger made with Impossible Foods’ plant-engineered meat the burger chain plans to roll-out across its 7,200 U.S. stores by end of year. Hip-hop artist Questlove launched a Philly cheesesteak made with Impossible Foods’ meat, which now sells at 40 Live Nation venues across the country.

Sales in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Macau have increased three-fold since Impossible Foods launched in Singapore in March, according to the firm.