Impossible Foods gobbles up another $0.5 billion to bring fake meat to the masses

As calls to save the planet reach fever-pitch level, many climate-conscious consumers are now switching to plant-based meats as part of the effort to reduce CO2 emissions and combat climate change. The result of this change has led to the exponential growth of Impossible Foods, one of the leading vegan startups that offer plant-based meats.

Today, the California-based Impossible Foods announced it has raised about $500 million in its latest funding round. The round, which bring the company’s total funding close to $2 billion since its founding in 2011, was led by existing investor Mirae Asset Global Investments, with participation from other existing investors.

The startup will use the latest cash infusion to accelerate its continued growth in retail and across its supply chain, product portfolio, technology platforms, and international expansion plans — all of which are critical to its mission of addressing the urgent threat of climate change caused by animal agriculture.

Impossible Foods is now the fastest-growing plant-based meat company in retail, outpacing the next 10 leading plant-based meat companies combined, according to custom IRI research analyzing U.S. dollar sales for the most recent 13-week period compared to one year ago.

“Mirae Asset is excited to double down on the team at Impossible Foods as they continue transforming the global food system,” says Thomas Park, president of Mirae Asset Global Investments (US). “It is important to us to partner with true innovators like Impossible Foods’ CEO Pat Brown and support the entire Impossible Foods team as they work to solve one of the most critical challenges facing our planet — climate change.”

The new funding round comes amid a record burst of new product launches from Impossible Foods over a four-month period — including Impossible™ Sausage Made From Plants, Impossible™ Chicken Nuggets Made From Plants, and Impossible™ Pork Made From Plants — all of which were found by the majority of consumers to be as good as or decidedly better than the respective animal-based products in recent taste tests. Earlier this week, the company added Impossible™ Meatballs Made From Plants to store shelves in an expansion of its offering at Walmart, with more retailers set to debut the product this year.

We wrote about Impossible Foods back in August 2020 after the startup raised $200 million in Series G funding to expand its research and development programs and accelerate its manufacturing scaleup. The round, which brings the company’s total funding to $1.5 billion, was led by existing investors including Mirae Asset Global Investments and Temasek as well as new investor XN also contributed to the “Series G” round.

Founded in 2011 by Stanford biochemistry professor and former pediatrician Dr. Patrick O. Brown, Impossible Foods makes meat from plants — with a much smaller environmental footprint than meat from animals. The company uses modern science and technology to create wholesome food, restore natural ecosystems, and feed a growing population sustainably.