An Impossible Burger Blended with Beef? CEO Hints at Move Amid Category Struggles

Impossible Foods CEO Peter McGuinness has suggested that the plant-based giant could enter the blended meat space to entice more flexitarians.

In 2024, nearly every American household that bought a vegan burger also purchased conventional meat, highlighting how exclusively plant-based eating is still niche.

Meat alternative makers’ target consumer is neither vegan nor omnivore – instead, it’s somewhere in between. “Approximately over a hundred million US people fit the broad term of flexitarians. They are cross-eating,” suggests one industry leader.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Impossible Foods CEO Peter McGuinness made the case for why flexitarians are the brand’s biggest growth opportunity. “Capturing a sizable portion of flexitarians could quadruple Impossible Foods’ revenue in a short period,” he claimed.

It’s a loosely defined term, as McGuinness himself admitted: some lean vegetarian and occasionally eat meat, others consume 50/50 plant-based and conventional meat.

“That’s a huge market,” he said, nodding to the rise of blended meat. “To get this category going, I may do a hybrid burger that’s 50% beef.”

Is it a concrete plan, or just a thought for the future? For one of the industry’s most well-known companies to suddenly embrace the very thing it exists to displace will certainly raise some eyebrows. There is logic behind the idea, though, especially if done right.

Why plant-based meat is giving way to blended proteins

As the name suggests, blended meat (some prefer the term ‘balanced protein’) involves combining animal-derived meat with plant-based ingredients, whether those are vegetables or vegan proteins.

The idea isn’t new, but has taken off over the last couple of years as consumers cool on 100% plant-based meats that cost more than animal meat and don’t always meet their taste expectations. Last year, for example, retail sales of meat alternatives fell by 7% in the US, continuing a downward spiral that began in 2021.

Americans have gripes about the flavour, price and nutrition of plant-based meat. These products are still 82% more expensive than conventional meat. Further, concerns about health are fuelled by the ultra-processed food backlash and, as many have pointed out, successful misinformation campaigns from the meat industry.

Impossible Foods itself has hit back at misinformation with an online health hub and a renewed marketing strategy that targets meat-eaters, though these efforts haven’t had the intended effect. “Our spend wasn’t efficient because we tried to move immovables,” McGuinness told the Wall Street Journal. “We’ll do another campaign – but be much more targeted to where flexitarians live and shop.”

So: blended meat. Everyone from Nestlé and Purdue Farms to Aldi and Disneyland has entered this space. The idea is to displace some, not all, of the meat with plant-based ingredients in a manner that enhances taste while offering better health outcomes (think more fibre and less saturated fat). And while not advertised, it has a big impact on the planet too.

It’s what makes plant-based meat so important. Using animals as an intermediary to eat plants is an inefficient use of our resources and livestock agriculture is highly problematic from a climate point of view. Research shows that even replacing half of your meat consumption can reduce agriculture and land use emissions by 31% and water use by 12%, while doubling climate benefits.

Still, Impossible Foods’s approach has already attracted critiques. “Flexitarians don’t need their plant-based meals to mimic meat. On the days they opt for a meatless meal, they’re not necessarily craving imitation. They’re seeking something veggie-forward, clean, and nutrient-dense – real food that satisfies on its own terms,” argued Kerry Song in a social media post. Song is the CEO of Abbot’s, a veggie burgers and vegan chicken CPG company, which has a popular mince made from pea protein and porcini mushrooms.

“Impossible built a brand on saving the planet… and now they’re casually talking about blending real beef into their products to chase profits? That’s not disruption, that’s deception,” said Jason Rosenbaum, the co-CEO of whole food veggie burger brand Actual Veggies, which last year launched a product containing dairy cheese.

Impossible Foods must do blended meat right

Here’s what may be driving Impossible Foods’s interest in blended meat: flexitarians dig it. Sensory testing shows that these consumers find blends more appealing than plant-based alternatives. In some cases, they even outperform 100% meat products: alternative protein sensory research non-profit Nectar found that four blended meat products either match or surpass conventional meat on taste.

Notably, separate research from Nectar shows that while most plant-based meat brands fall short, Impossible Foods is among the outliers. Six of its products won a Tasty Award (four more than anybody else), signifying that more than half of omnivores say they taste the same or better than animal protein.

McGuinness, however, says his company’s beef is still not superior to the conventional version, suggesting it would take “two to three” more iterations before it gets there. He reiterated his belief that there are “too many companies” in the meat alternative space, and revealed that profitability is likely years away (while touching upon the idea of an IPO).

If Impossible Foods does begin offering blended meat, it has to do it right. If the company adds meat and sells blended products under its own portfolio, it could mar the positioning it has carefully crafted over the past decade.

One possible way forward? Act as a supplier for existing meat producers, the way companies like Quorn have done. Substituting a percentage of beef with Impossible Foods’ plant-based version will bring wins for the climate and the bottom line of all parties involved. Australia’s Fable Food has done so with great success. Its blend-ready shiitake mushroom products led to a 50% revenue growth in 2024, with even better results forecast this year.

The reality is, despite the hullabaloo, plant-based meats aren’t going anywhere. Concurrently, meat sales have never been higher in the US, and blended meat continues to grow as a category for flexitarians. By lending its plant protein to meat makers, Impossible Foods – already the second-largest plant-based meat company in the US, behind Morningstar Farms – could get a larger slice of the pie.

While some Americans still have complaints about the taste and texture of blended meat, that outlines both the challenge and opportunity for leading brands. Can Impossible Foods get it right?