Impossible Foods Looking to Raise More, No IPO in Near Future

Plant-based food startup Impossible Foods plans to raise more money, just not through an IPO any time soon.

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The startup’s major competitor Beyond Meat went public earlier this year and the demand for plant-based food is growing.

Beyond Meat’s stock has soared on the stock market. The company priced its shares at $25, and its stock closed 163 percent higher on its first day of trading. Beyond Meat was trading at $146.29 around midday Thursday. Its IPO was wildly successful, and shows the market has a hunger for plant-based alternatives.

But still, Impossible Foods CEO Patrick Brown said Wednesday that going public isn’t in the cards for the company in the near future.

“At this point it’s not something that we need and we can take our time,” Brown said at TechCrunch’s annual Disrupt conference.

Impossible Foods has raised $687.5 million in total funding and its investors include Temasek Holdings and Horizons Ventures. The company last raised its $300 million Series E in May.

It’s a little odd that the company wants to raise more privately when it appears well-funded and raised money just a few months ago. But more cash could help it scale, develop new products (Brown mentioned that Impossible Foods has made a steak prototype, but it’s not trying to scale it) and beef up before exploring an IPO.

The Hunger For Plant-based Alternatives

Plant-based meat alternatives have gained popularity in recent years, with more and more restaurants adopting these options for their menus. Impossible Foods partnered with Burger King to create the Impossible Whopper and McDonald is partnering with Beyond Meat for its new PLT burger in Canada.

Brown waved away the idea of competing with other plant-based meat alternatives, saying he was primarily concerned with with beef producers.

“We’re not trying to outperform veggie burgers, we’re trying to outperform the cow,” he said.

Brown focused on the environmental issues that come with raising cows for food — think greenhouse gases, land use, and water consumption. All heavy topics to digest.

Photo credit: Alex Wilhelm