The Fake Meat Trend
Veggie/vegan patties have been a round for quite some time. Go to any supermarket and somewhere within the rows of commercial freezers you’ll find a couple choices of vegetarian substitutes for meat patties. These vegetarian options have been gaining traction over the past decade as part of the vegan and/or green movement—eating sustainably and reducing our environmental footprint.
Historically, these options were merely a consolation to vegetarians and vegans who had embraced that lifestyle much to the chagrin of their meat-eating family and friends. A market solely created so that this group would not be totally left out at a barbecue. In other words, meat substitutes were an afterthought. At least, they were until…Impossible Burger happened.
The Future of Plant-Based Protein
Impossible Burger first came out in 2016 at the famous New York restaurant, Momofuku Nishi. Since then, the patty has gone on to explode onto the foodservice scene by appearing at restaurants big and small nationwide. The patty is copyrighted by Impossible Foods, a bay area company.
By all accounts, the patty is hailed as being a quality meat replacement. The patty is said to have a savory taste and texture highly similar to meat. Many have speculated that the reason the Impossible Burger offers up that meaty sensation is that Impossible Foods’ scientists have found a way to extract heme from plants. Heme is a compound that contains iron and is present in red meats and contributes to their flavor profile a great deal.
However, Impossible Burger is not the first and certainly won’t be the last. This is just a temporary stop on the way to a meatless future—at least according to Impossible Foods’ CEO, Pat Brown. “We’re going to go after the vast majority of people who are still buying meat as our customers”, Brown is on record saying. Impossible Foods mission can be summed up as not offering a tasty meat substitute for vegetarians, but rather offering a convincing and tasty alternative to meat for carnivores.
From Restaurants to Commercial Refrigerators
Brown has also stated that they intended from the very beginning to create Impossible Burger with the intention of scaling to a global level. This has so far proven to be true, as since its debut in 2016 at Momofuku Nishi, Impossible Burger has been making the rounds to restaurants and fast-food chains such as White Castle and Burger King—the latter of which has been testing an Impossible Whopper to great success, stating they intend to roll out Impossible Whoppers to their 7300 locations.
They don’t intend to stop there, however, with an expected roll out to retail stores sometime in September. Impossible Burgers will be joining the increasingly popular lineup of vegetarian/vegan alternatives to meat such as offerings from Morningstar Farms, Beyond Meat, and many others.
Commercial Refrigeration Solutions
One thing is certain, whether you’re a carnivore, a vegetarian, or somewhere in between, plant-based proteins are going to be surging incredibly in popularity and revenue in the next decade at minimum. The freezer aisle is going to be a hotly contested zone, not just for frozen foods, but for the many current and future brands of plant-based protein that are to come.
Excellence Industries is the premier provider of quality commercial refrigeration solutions for top brands in the nation such as Nestlé, Pepsi, Ben & Jerry’s, Healthy Choice, and many more! A good cooling system can carry your business a long way by offering properly climate controlled, energy-efficient coolers that are eco-friendly and sustainable. Not only is this good for our planet, but also for your bottom line—as energy costs for inefficient cooling systems is sky-high when you consider that they run all day and night.
If you’d like to get your hands on quality cooling, or have questions about setting up cooling systems for your business, contact us here!
