Overview
- Peter McGuinness told the World Economy Summit the category was “mismarketed and mislaunched,” narrowing its audience by selling itself as a climate or tech solution.
- Impossible is refocusing on taste, quality, and inclusive messaging, with McGuinness stressing that growth depends on winning over meat eaters rather than vegans.
- The company is accelerating expansion in the UK and Europe, where he says consumers and retailers are more receptive to plant-based options.
- McGuinness floated a possible “hybrid” burger containing some real beef as a trial tactic to get skeptical consumers to try the brand, a concept not formally announced as a product.
- The reset follows sector headwinds, including a 7% drop in plant-based meat and seafood dollar sales in 2024 per the Good Food Institute and Beyond Meat’s post-2019-IPO stock slide, with McGuinness also citing Big Beef’s PR advantage.