The plant-based artificial meat industry made a critical “mistake” by introducing its products originally as a climate solution, Impossible Foods CEO Peter McGuinness said.
Sales of alternative meats have been steadily falling for the last several years, and Impossible Foods’ chief rival, Beyond Meat, saw its share price crater after its 2019 IPO. The reason, McGuinness said at the World Economy Summit, was that the industry was “mismarketed and mislaunched,” and stood little chance of competing in the PR arena against the vastly better-funded and better-organized Big Beef.
Focusing on the climate benefits of alternative meat severely restricted the potential customer base, and made fake meat a political target.
“People don’t want to eat tech food or climate food,” he said. “They just want to eat delicious, nutritious food, so that’s what we’re trying to get back to.”
One of Impossible’s strategies going forward will be to focus more on the UK and European markets, which are more receptive to alternative meats than the US. And McGuinness may even take a cue from the auto industry and make a “hybrid” burger that is half real beef: “If that got meat eaters to try it and like it, I think it’s a win.”