Plant-Based Meat Prices Nearing Those of Traditional Meat
One of the main challenges for the plant-based meat industry to compete with traditional meat is pricing. Traditional meat manufacturers have fine-tuned their processes to offer their products at a reasonably low cost. Plant-based meat, being a newer industry, hasn’t yet optimized its production processes, resulting in higher prices. However, as plant-based meat producers improve their efficiency, the prices are expected to align with those of traditional meat, a goal pursued by companies like Impossible Foods.
Impossible Foods, known for its vegan plant-based burger and sausage alternatives, recently announced a 15% reduction in wholesale prices for commercial distributors in the US. This cut follows a previous 15% reduction in March. While these reductions currently apply only to the US market, the company stated that distributors in Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Macau can anticipate similar cuts soon.
Impossible Foods cuts prices for foodservice distributors, moving closer to parity with meat https://t.co/IZJKNp3hbY
— CNBC (@CNBC) January 6, 2021
According to a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as of the start of 2021, a traditional beef burger patty costs around $5.32 per pound. However, with the recent price reductions by Impossible Foods, an Impossible Burger patty of equivalent size and weight costs approximately $6.80 per pound. If Impossible Foods manages to match the price of traditional meat, it could potentially innovate the market and attract more consumers to choose its products.
Impossible Foods representatives mentioned that their production scale has grown sixfold since 2019, with the past year seeing frequent production milestones. The company hopes that distributors will pass on the savings from these price cuts to restaurant owners who have suffered losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
