The Impossible Burger is hitting grocery store shelves in a direct play for Beyond Meat's retail turf

On Friday, Impossible Foods ' plant-based "meat" will make its worldwide grocery store debut at Gelson's Markets in Los Angeles. The plant-based "meat" will also become available at some East Coast grocery stores in late September.
Until now, Beyond Meat , Impossible Foods' main competitor, has been the only plant-based "meat" company to sell its product in grocery stores, which it has done since 2016.
Impossible Foods CFO David Lee spoke with Business Insider about how entering retail brings the company one step closer to the meatless "meat" future that it envisions.

It's about to get a lot easier to get the Impossible Burger.

On Friday, the Impossible Burger will make its grocery store debut. It will become available at all 27 locations of Gelson's Markets, a Los Angeles-based grocery chain.

The Impossible Burger will be sold in its uncooked form, and a 12-oz package will cost $8.99.

Demand for the Impossible Burger has skyrocketed since its debut in 2016 , culminating in shortages of the meatless burger at partner restaurants White Castle and Red Robin this May and June. Impossible Foods took steps to increase production before Burger King's national rollout of the Impossible Whopper on August 8.

Impossible Foods CFO David Lee spoke to Business Insider about the company's grocery store debut of its flagship product and its choice to partner with Gelson's.

"There's no shortage of nationwide demand amongst all the major chains in retail for the Impossible Burger. But I think it's really important for the Impossible Burger to start at a high-quality place like Gelson's," he said.

Impossible burger retail packaging Courtesy of Impossible Foods

Gelson's is known for embracing innovation and for its high-quality products, Lee said. In a 2019 Consumer Reports survey , Gelson's was named shoppers' favorite grocery store in the West. But Impossible Foods has no intention of stopping with Gelson's. After its debut at Gelson's, the Impossible Burger will make its way to East Coast grocery stores in late September.

Impossible Foods' largest competitor, Beyond Meat, released its meatless ground "beef" product to grocery stores in 2016. It was the first plant-based meat alternative to be sold in the meat aisle, and it has long been the only one until now.

In regards to competition in the plant-based space, Lee said: "It's such an enormous opportunity and market that there is plenty of room for multiple successful players."

Lee emphasized the mission and vision of Impossible Foods founder and CEO Pat Brown: to get people to eat less meat in order to slow down climate change. Lee acknowledges that it may be years before Brown's vision comes true, but he sees entering retail as a crucial step toward that vision.

"We expect eventually for Impossible to become the new normal. Generations from now will look up at their grandmas and say, 'I can't believe you used to eat meat from an animal. How barbaric, how unnecessary,'" Brown said.

NOW WATCH: Dollar stores are a billion-dollar industry. Here's how they get customers to spend more money.