Latest news with #PeterMcGuinness
Telegraph
30-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Vegan burgers that bleed like meat hit by ‘frustrating' red tape delays
Vegan burgers that 'bleed' like meat have been blocked from being introduced in Britain for four years because of delays and red tape. Impossible Foods, the Silicon Valley-headquartered company behind the plant-based burger, first applied to launch it in Britain in 2021. However, its chief executive, Peter McGuinness, said the process had now dragged on for four years, preventing the company from being able to sell its burgers in the UK. He said: 'We're ready to contribute to the UK economy and be good citizens and put better options out there for the UK consumer that we know they want, and we are a bit frustrated with how long the process has taken. 'It's been frustrating – our team tells us that [the Food Standards Agency] has more information than any other regulator in the world on this ingredient.' The 'bleeding' burgers use an ingredient called soy leghemoglobin to mimic the texture and colour of meat. While the brand has been able to sell other vegan products that do not contain soy leghemoglobin in the UK, the delays have prevented it from launching its flagship burgers which it claims 'ooze' like meat when cooked. Impossible was given permission to sell its burgers in the US by American regulators in 2018, and last year gained approval to sell them in the EU. Mr McGuinness said: 'A few years is a long time – we've had it approved everywhere else.' Founded in California by a Stanford University professor in 2011, Impossible shot to fame in the years that followed, owing to its proprietary ingredient which gave its burgers an edge over rivals. However, its plans to expand in Britain come following a slump in the plant-based foods market. Vegan products have seen their sales decline after an initial explosion, which been blamed on concerns over excess processing and high prices. 'Preachy' rhetoric Mr McGuinness said vegan companies had been 'mis-marketed' by engaging in 'preaching' about their environmental credentials rather than advertising their taste. He said: 'It was overly climate-centric in the beginning. And these companies had founders that were climate zealots. 'It was 'death to the slaughter cartel', and 'death to the cattle industry' and 'people who eat meat are Neanderthals'. It was a lot of preachy, pokey rhetoric stuff. 'As a result of that whole positioning, people said 'oh, this stuff's elitist', 'it's academic', 'it's for the coasts', 'it's for the richies', that it's woke and all this stuff. 'We did ourselves no favours there. People don't want to be preached to. They don't want to be told what to do, they don't want to be labelled. It p----s people off.' The businessman, who took the helm of the company in 2022, enacted an overhaul of its marketing and packaging last year in a move designed to make it appeal more to meat-eaters. He said: 'I'm just trying to be calm and practical and invite people [to try the food]. I know that when we get meat eaters to try our product, they like it. They think it's much better than they thought, partly because they have low expectations. Doesn't matter. It's a backhanded compliment.' Dr Thomas Vincent, deputy director of innovation at the FSA, said: 'All new food products must undergo a rigorous safety assessment to make sure they are safe for people to eat before they can be sold. 'To carry out the assessment, the FSA requires robust and detailed information from the food business. We have maintained ongoing dialogue with Impossible Foods and are continuing to provide advice throughout the authorisation process. 'This week we launched a new pilot business support service to help companies developing innovative products navigate this process and this service will soon be expanding to support businesses such as Impossible Foods.'
Business Times
27-06-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Impossible Foods aims to put plant-based burgers on European menus this year
IMPOSSIBLE FOODS hopes to add its plant-based burgers to European menus this year, bringing to a close a six-year quest to enter the world's biggest market for meat alternatives. It would mark a major breakthrough for the Redwood City, California-based company as industry sales of plant-based meat substitutes shrink in its core American market. Before rolling out all its products to countries including Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, the firm is still awaiting final regulatory approvals for its genetically-modified ingredient, according to chief executive officer Peter McGuinness. Alternative proteins are a more environmentally friendly option to meat, but makers have been hit by consumer backlash against their taste, texture and concerns about ultraprocessed ingredients. Meanwhile, demand for meat has been boosted by weight-loss drugs and a wave of Maga masculinity rhetoric. By contrast, European retailers are still rolling out plant-based ranges to consumers who care more about sustainability. 'Plant-based has more consumption in the EU and the UK than the US and people are generally more open to it,' McGuinness said in an interview in London. 'We're ready to go. We know it's going to get approved.' BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Impossible Burger mimics the taste and texture of beef with plant-based ingredients. It contains soy leghemoglobin, an additive known as heme, which helps the product taste, smell and even 'bleed' like meat and is derived from a genetically-modified yeast strain. The products are already available in countries including Australia, New Zealand and Canada, but Europe's strict regulations on novel ingredients and GM foods have slowed the approval process. While the EU's food safety watchdog ruled late last year the ingredient didn't raise safety concerns, Impossible Foods is now awaiting the final nod from the European Union officials in the next few months. It also has a pending risk assessment from the Food Standards Agency in the UK, which it hopes to obtain in late summer. There is a likelihood that the full approval may not come until next year, the company said. Impossible Foods already offers a limited range of plant-based 'chicken' products, which don't contain heme. The company has met with large UK retailers like Tesco, Waitrose and J Sainsbury and 'they all want our product because they want to expand their category,' he told the audience of the Bloomberg Sustainable Business Summit in London on Thursday. 'They're starting to see trends where the consumption's going down because the consumer wants better tasting food,' he said. 'So they would love our products here.' McGuinness took over as the CEO in 2022 - switching from yogurt maker Chobani Inc - to oversee Impossible Foods' expansion into retailers and supermarkets in the US, which now make up about half of the business, he said. But the US market has been shrinking, just as investor funding in alternative proteins has dried up and more startups are going out of business. There are some 200 plant-based brands in the US, which is confusing to customers, McGuinness said. Impossible Foods has laid off workers over the past few years, as the value of the company's shares slumped. McGuinness is dialing down on the climate, anti-cattle rhetoric, which he thinks alienated many people, led to politicising of the product, and contributed to mismarketing of the category in the beginning. He's targeting meat eaters by emphasising the taste, protein content and nutrient-density of its products. His pitch includes changing the colour of packaging from green to red. 'This only works if we get meat eaters to come try the product,' he said. 'I know once I get them to try it, they actually like it.' The repeat rate among customers - a gauge of whether consumers like a product - is 'a little bit over 50 per cent,' McGuinness said. Impossible is the fastest growing plant-based company in the world, he said. Impossible Foods is expanding its distribution network to increase availability. While achieving price parity with conventionally produced meat will take longer, the company's products are now the same price or less expensive than organic, grass-fed beef, the CEO said. 'What's going to bring it to the next level is choice and taste,' McGuinness said. 'We've doubled down on taste and at the end of the day it's food.' BLOOMBERG
Los Angeles Times
26-06-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Impossible Foods aims to put plant-based burgers on European menus this year
Impossible Foods Inc. hopes to add its plant-based burgers to European menus this year, bringing to a close a six-year quest to enter the world's biggest market for meat alternatives. It would mark a major breakthrough for the Redwood City, California-based company as industry sales of plant-based meat substitutes shrink in its core American market. Before rolling out all its products to countries including Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, the firm is still awaiting final regulatory approvals for its genetically-modified ingredient, according to Chief Executive Officer Peter McGuinness. Alternative proteins are a more environmentally friendly option to meat, but makers have been hit by consumer backlash against their taste, texture and concerns about ultraprocessed ingredients. Meanwhile, demand for meat has been boosted by weight-loss drugs and a wave of MAGA masculinity rhetoric. By contrast, European retailers are still rolling out plant-based ranges to consumers who care more about sustainability. 'Plant-based has more consumption in the EU and the UK than the US and people are generally more open to it,' McGuinness said in an interview in London. 'We're ready to go. We know it's going to get approved.' Impossible Burger mimics the taste and texture of beef with plant-based ingredients. It contains soy leghemoglobin, an additive known as heme, which helps the product taste, smell and even 'bleed' like meat and is derived from a genetically-modified yeast strain. The products are already available in countries including Australia, New Zealand and Canada, but Europe's strict regulations on novel ingredients and GM foods have slowed the approval process. While the EU's food safety watchdog ruled late last year the ingredient didn't raise safety concerns, Impossible Foods is now awaiting the final nod from the European Union officials in the next few months. It also has a pending risk assessment from the Food Standards Agency in the UK, which it hopes to obtain in late summer. There is a likelihood that the full approval may not come until next year, the company said. Impossible Foods already offers a limited range of plant-based 'chicken' products, which don't contain heme. The company has met with large UK retailers like Tesco Plc, Waitrose Ltd. and J Sainsbury Plc and 'they all want our product because they want to expand their category,' he told the audience of the Bloomberg Sustainable Business Summit in London on Thursday. 'They're starting to see trends where the consumption's going down because the consumer wants better tasting food,' he said. 'So they would love our products here.' McGuinness took over as the CEO in 2022 — switching from yogurt maker Chobani Inc. — to oversee Impossible Foods' expansion into retailers and supermarkets in the US, which now make up about half of the business, he said. But the US market has been shrinking, just as investor funding in alternative proteins has dried up and more startups are going out of business. There are some 200 plant-based brands in the US, which is confusing to customers, McGuinness said. Impossible Foods has laid off workers over the past few years, as the value of the company's shares slumped. McGuinness is dialing down on the climate, anti-cattle rhetoric, which he thinks alienated many people, led to politicizing of the product, and contributed to mismarketing of the category in the beginning. He's targeting meat eaters by emphasizing the taste, protein content and nutrient-density of its products. His pitch includes changing the color of packaging from green to red. 'This only works if we get meat eaters to come try the product,' he said. 'I know once I get them to try it, they actually like it.' The repeat rate among customers — a gauge of whether consumers like a product — is 'a little bit over 50%,' McGuinness said. Impossible is the fastest growing plant-based company in the world, he said. Impossible Foods is expanding its distribution network to increase availability. While achieving price parity with conventionally produced meat will take longer, the company's products are now the same price or less expensive than organic, grass-fed beef, the CEO said. 'What's going to bring it to the next level is choice and taste,' McGuinness said. 'We've doubled down on taste and at the end of the day it's food.' de Sousa writes for Bloomberg.
Bloomberg
26-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Impossible Foods CEO on European Expansion Strategy
Peter McGuinness, President & CEO, Impossible Foods discusses the company's European expansion and evolving business strategy with Bloomberg's Kriti Gupta at the Bloomberg Sustainable Business Summit 2025 in London. (Source: Bloomberg)
Bloomberg
26-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Impossible Foods Aims to Put Plant-Based Burgers on European Menus This Year
Impossible Foods Inc. is set to add its plant-based burgers to European menus this year, ending a six-year quest to enter the world's biggest market for meat alternatives. It would mark a major breakthrough for the Redwood City, California-based company as industry sales of plant-based meat substitutes shrink in its core American market. Before rolling out all its products to countries including Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, the firm is waiting for final regulatory approvals for its genetically-modified ingredient, according to Chief Executive Officer Peter McGuinness.
