Today, CES 2019 is wrapping up and, according to many, the Impossible Burger 2.0 is the undisputed winner. It doesn’t matter that LG showcased a mind-blowing rollable TV, journalists are still saying that the best technology of this year’s edition has been a vegan patty of fake meat. That’s quite impressive.
Tech publisher Digital Trends, for example, named the Impossible Burger 2.0 “Top Tech of CES 2019”, with emerging tech editor Drew Prindle defining it “a triumph of food engineering.”
Similarly, technology blog Engadget awarded the vegan patty the title of “Most Unexpected Product” with senior editor Nicole Lee celebrating it as “a burger that could truly wean people off their meat lust.”
In general, the burger won everyone’s heart and - what’s most important - mouth. In the words of CNET’S Dara Kerr, if the Impossible Burger 1.0 tastes like “an OK Sizzler steak”, the 2.0 version is more like “a well-massaged Kobe ribeye.”
In the United States, the new burger will be first rolled out in a few high-end restaurants and, from early February, in all Impossible Foods partner restaurants. Unfortunately, the Impossible Burger, even its 1.0 version, has yet to make it across the pond. Beyond the US, it’s indeed distributed just in Hong Kong and Macau.
Last December, The Economist declared 2019 the ‘Year of the Vegan’ and many people, myself included, agreed. We’re just a dozen days into the new year but the new Impossible Burger’s instant success hints that we’re on the right track.
However, Impossible Foods doesn’t show intentions of resting on its fresh laurels. In a recent interview for The Spoon, the company’s CEO Pat Brown declared that the company is now working to create what many consider the Holy Grail (or Holy Grill…) of alternative meat: the steak.
Producing whole cuts of vegan beef is a quite complex matter given the peculiar texture of animal steaks and Impossible Foods will truly have to live up to its company's name.
The only competitive advantage they have is the one pointed out by CEO Pat Brown: “Unlike the cow, we get better at making meat every single day.”
