The Impossible Burger is coming to Burger King as the Impossible Whopper, in a market test that could lead to the largest restaurant industry embrace yet of a plant-based meat substitute.
The Impossible Whopper will feature the same bun, cheese and condiments as a traditional Whopper, but with Impossible's plant-based patty where animal meat is normally found. Fifty-nine Burger King stores in the St. Louis area will offer it as of April 1, with a potential expansion to the other 7,100 US restaurants later in the year.
While the partnership is debuting on April Fools' Day, it's no joke. Burger King is making an unusually high-profile endorsement of plant-based meat, while Impossible is facing its own Tesla Model 3 moment in terms of going mainstream.
I got a jump on the debut when I arrived at Impossible's Silicon Valley headquarters carrying two bags of Whoppers from the local Burger King. There, J. Michael Melton, Impossible's technical sales and culinary manager, cooked up a batch of the patties they're supplying to Burger King, using the same broiler Burger King uses. He swapped them in for the beef in the Whoppers (with professional dexterity that somehow left the burgers appealing) and I took a couple bites.
The remarkable thing was how unremarkable they were: Nothing gives away the fact that this Whopper contains a different main ingredient.
The patties supplied to Burger King will be based on Impossible's new 2.0 formulation that was announced at CES in January, 2019. Among other upgrades, this formulation holds up better in restaurant environments like sitting in hot holding trays or the 6-inch drop at the end of the conveyor that grills the patty for exactly 2 minutes and 35 seconds at 630 degrees.
"We're making meat from plants. That's never been done before," Impossible Foods founder Pat Brown told me, tacitly demoting competitor Beyond Meat's plant-based burger. "People have made plant-based replacements for meat, but they haven't made plant-based meat."
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"We're making meat from plants. That's never been done before," Impossible Foods founder Pat Brown told me, tacitly demoting competitor Beyond Meat's plant-based burger. "People have made plant-based replacements for meat, but they haven't made plant-based meat."
He's a bit full of himself.
But I tried it as well and it passes. I'm glad they now have a vegetarian alternative; sometimes I find myself needing something quick and easy on the go. (And I love French fries.)
