REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, California-based Impossible Foods expanded its industry-leading plant-based meat portfolio with a leaner version of its flagship Impossible™ Beef product: Impossible™ Beef Lite.
Impossible Beef Lite is designed to be better than lean ground animal beef, featuring 21 grams of protein, no trans fat or cholesterol, and 75% less saturated fat as well as 45% less total fat than 90/10 lean beef from cows.1 The nutrient-packed product is also a good source of fiber, iron, B vitamins, zinc, and potassium while featuring 33% less sodium than a competitor’s plant-based beef product.
Impossible Beef Lite tastes2, cooks and satisfies like lean ground animal beef, and makes for a flavorful, high-protein addition to numerous dishes like tacos, chilis, stir-frys, soups, and classic lasagna. And like all Impossible Beef products, Impossible Beef Lite is a better choice for the planet than lean ground beef from cows — amounting to a fraction of the land use, water consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions.3
"We’re constantly working to compete with beef in all of the ways that matter to consumers, including nutrition,” said Peter McGuinness, president and CEO of Impossible Foods. “A lot of health-conscious fans and shoppers are looking for a plant-based beef option that’s high in protein and nutrients with even less fat, and Impossible Beef Lite is our solution to that. It’s got 21 grams of high-quality protein, a whopping 75% less saturated fat than lean ground beef from cows, and of course no cholesterol. It's a perfect plant-based way to customize all of the great recipes that call for lean animal ground beef."
The new plant-based beef offering complements the company’s existing Impossible Beef product, which is the #1 best-selling retail product across the entire U.S. plant-based meat category in both dollar sales and volume, and is the best-selling product by volume of any plant-based meat brand in U.S. food service. Impossible Beef already compares favorably to conventional 80/20 beef from cows in terms of nutrition — containing less total fat, less saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol4, and additional nutrients like fiber and B vitamins. Both products contain none of the animal hormones or animal antibiotics associated with animal meat.
Since the launch of Impossible™ Burger in 2016, Impossible Foods has continued to improve the taste, texture, and nutrition profile of its proprietary plant-based beef recipe. In 2019, it launched a more versatile "2.0" recipe to widespread critical acclaim, followed by another recipe update in 2022 which achieved a 25% reduction in saturated fat (6 grams per 113-gram serving) compared to the prior version (8 grams per 113-gram serving). With the addition of Impossible Beef Lite, consumers have even more ways to experience and enjoy ground beef from plants just like they do ground beef from animals.
Impossible Beef Lite marks the fourth new product launched by the company in 2023, following its debut of three new plant-based chicken products last month. In 2022, Impossible Foods achieved record sales and launched a series of new plant-based products, including Impossible™ Sausage Links, Impossible™ Wild Nuggies, Impossible™ Chicken Patties and Impossible™ Bowls. The company continues to be the fastest growing plant-based meat brand in U.S. retail stores, where it experienced more than 50% dollar sales growth last year.
Availability:
Impossible Beef Lite has already begun rolling out in the fresh meat aisle of select retailers, with wider nationwide availability expected in the coming weeks. Customers can visit the locator map on the Impossible Foods website to find a store near them.
Impossible Foods products –– including the recently launched Impossible™ Chicken Tenders, Spicy Chicken Nuggets and Spicy Chicken Patties –– can be found in more than 30,000 grocery stores across the U.S.
About Impossible Foods:
Impossible Foods is on a mission to positively impact people and the planet by making delicious, nutritious meat from plants with a fraction of the environmental footprint of meat from animals. The privately-held food company was founded in 2011 to combat climate change by taking a scientific approach to making the world’s best meat — from plants. Every nugget, burger, and patty we sell uses less land and water and generates less greenhouse gas emissions compared to the animal version. We make plant-based chicken, beef, and pork products for every meal — breakfast, lunch and dinner — with a goal of replicating the flavors, textures, and cooking characteristics that meat eaters crave.
Impossible Foods products are designed in California, produced in California and the Midwest, and are available in the United States, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Macau, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. For more information, please visit impossiblefoods.com and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn for updates.
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1 Impossible Beef Lite has 75% less saturated fat and 45% less total fat (1 grams and 6 grams, respectively vs. 4.5 grams and 11 grams, respectively) than USDA 90/10 ground animal beef per 113-gram serving.
2 Based on a U.S. National In-Home Use Test with 149 consumers in October 2022.
3 Impossible Foods Life Cycle Assessment of Original Impossible Beef, ISO compliant; WSP, 2022.
4 Impossible Beef has 40% less total fat and 33% less saturated fat (13 grams and 6 grams, respectively vs. 23 grams and 9 grams, respectively) than USDA 80/20 ground animal beef per 113-gram serving.