Plant-based meat maker expands into U.S. supermarket chain

California-based Impossible Foods is hoping the U.S. meat industry plant shutdowns and production slowdowns amid the coronavirus pandemic spurs consumers to give plant-based meats a closer look.

The company, which announced Tuesday an expansion into 1,700 stores under the Kroger supermarket chain, said it's been seeing growing sales ever since the coronavirus began to pick up pace in the U.S. this spring.

CEO Pat Brown said April sales set a new record, though a spokesperson declined to provide the numbers, citing company policy.

The spike in sales coincided with the forced shutdown of about 20 slaughterhouses and processing plants in North America where workers have fallen ill due to the coronavirus.

U.S. meat manufacturers, including Tyson Foods Inc, have signalled disruptions to food supply as they are forced to shut many meat plants to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Brown said he expected his company's bump in sales to be sustained by consumers who are forced by corona virus induced supply disruption sin the meat industry to look for other options.

"With those interruptions, many consumers are going to take a look at our product for the first time, and when they try it, they'll be blown away by how delicious it is. I actually think many of them aren't ever going to want to go back to the old school meat from slaughterhouses," he said.

In March, the company also announced an average 15 per cent cut in prices of its vegan products sold to U.S. distributors as the plant-based meat maker tried to make its patties more affordable to compete better with beef.

Brown said he expects the deal to be a success but said it would be premature to estimate any numbers. The addition of Kroger is the latest in the Impossible Foods' expansion plan, which includes increasing its presence on retailers' shelves 50-fold by the end of the year.

Last month, the company added about 1,000 grocery stores, including Safeway in California and Nevada, Wegmans on the east coast, and Fairway in New York. The spokesperson said that constituted a 500 per cent increase in its footprint.

RICHA NAIDU • REUTERS A plant-based Impossible Pork patty is cooked at the Impossible Foods headquarters in Silicon Valley in San Francisco.