Catching Beef: Impossible Foods Calls Out Bloomberg Plant-Based Meat Report

As declining sales of plant-based meats puts the category under media scrutiny, Impossible Foods is catching beef with business news publication Bloomberg.

This weekend, the animal-free meat manufacturer took out a full page ad in the New York Times and issued an online statement responding to a critical Bloomberg Businessweek cover story which labeled the “fake meat” category as “just another food fad” that had failed to deliver on its promise to revolutionize the meat industry.

In the ad, Impossible dismissed the article, stating “When stories in the media are hating on plant-based meat, we throw our burgers on grill & leave the rest to Reddit.” The headline is accompanied by comments from anonymous Reddit users calling the integrity of the article into question, with statements like “I suspect it’s coming form [sic] a news outlet paid money to write a article [sic] by people who make money from meat sales.”

The initial article, written by journalist Deena Shanker and published online on January 19, set off discussions across social media about the long term growth potential of plant-based meat companies like Impossible and Beyond Meat, as well as concerns about the nutritional value (or the alleged lack thereof) of their products. The story highlighted the massive $14 billion valuation of Beyond Meat at the time of its IPO – which has since fallen to around $1 billion – and contrasted statements made by the founders of both companies nearly a decade ago promising their products would upend the meat industry with the challenged state of the category today, where fast food partnerships have fizzled and refrigerated plant-based meat sales were down -14% for the 52-weeks ending December 4, 2022 per IRI data.

On its website, Impossible expanded on its criticisms of the report, calling it “one-sided” and “just another opinion piece” that failed to report the full facts.

“Across several pages rife with one-sided anecdotes and editorialized framing, the story works hard to create a misperception that plant-based meat, once celebrated for its significant environmental potential, has nowhere to go but down,” the company stated. “The reporting is scarce of any data to support its position.”

In the blog post, Impossible said the article failed to show that sales of frozen plant-based meats increased in the same period that refrigerated products declined. An IRI report tracking plant-based meat sales through June 26, 2022 showed refrigerated volume sales down -7.8% in the 52-week period, while dollar sales of frozen meat, poultry and seafood alternatives were up 12.2% to $62.5 million. However, unit sales of frozen products were down -3.3% in that period and volume growth improved a more modest 0.7%.

Impossible also said it has reported record sales every year since its launch, including 2022, and noted that 90% of its consumers also eat meat – repudiating Bloomberg’s claim that the category is mostly appealing to vegetarians and vegans.

“The reality is that the plant-based meat category is still young and yet to be fully defined. We’re proud of our leadership in the category, even if that means we take the heat sometimes,” Impossible stated. “And there are hundreds of amazing plant-based meat companies right behind us that will grow, thrive, and continue to advance our mission. We like to think we’re speaking for all of the players in the plant-based space when we say — we’re just getting started.”

On Twitter yesterday, Shanker offered her own reply to Impossible’s response, commenting simply that “We stand by our reporting.”

Speaking to advertising trade publication Ad Age this week, Impossible Foods chief marketing and creative officer Leslie Sims explained the New York Times ad further, telling the publication that it “wasn’t about picking a fight with a media company. It was about quickly responding and sticking up for our category, our company, and our mission, and getting our side out there.”

“The Reddit thread was intended as a lighthearted poke, and to demonstrate that everyone has an opinion about where plant-based meat stands right now,” Sims told Ad Age. “The media has theirs, Reddit users have theirs and in our blog, we shared ours.”

Beyond Meat does not appear to have publicly responded to the article. The company reported third quarter net revenue down -22.5% to $82.5 million and a gross profit loss of $14.8 million in its most recent Q3 earnings report in November 2022. In the report, Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown said the company “is executing a full force pivot to a sustainable growth model, emphasizing the achievement of cash flow positive operations within the second half of 2023.”