Plant-based options will soon be more readily available across the US after Impossible Foods partnered with a catering service which supplies public buildings across the country.

The plant-based burgers will be available at 1,500 schools and hospital cafeterias thanks to the partnership with Sodexo.

As demand for vegan options ramps up across the country, Sodexo has struggled to keep pace. But the new partnership will see the meat alternatives, which mimic the taste and texture of meat, reaching a huge number of people who may otherwise be unaware of such products.

Senior vice president of products and operations at Impossible Foods, Sheetal Shah, told FOX Business that the company’s burger patties are now available in 10,000 restaurants, which is expected to grow to 17,000 this year alone.

“We are going to be able to significantly ramp up production,” Shah said.

The capacity of Impossible Foods’ production line in California has doubled in recent times as sales of plant-based food grew 11 percent in the US this year.

Impossible Whopper

The company has recently partnered with Burger King to create the plant-based Impossible Whopper, which has been rolled out to all 7,200 stores.

The Impossible Whopper patty is made primarily from wheat protein, coconut oil, potato protein and heme – giving it a meaty taste and texture.

The company has recently been valued at more than $2bn and has celebrity backing from the likes of Jay-Z, Serena Williams and Will.i.am.

Customers have reported that the Impossible Whopper ‘tastes just like meat’ , while Burger King launched a promotional campaign in which meat eaters were tricked into eating the vegan burger, and believed it was the beef option.

The burger contains 17g of protein and has zero cholesterol, and Impossible Foods says the meat alternative ‘delivers the rich, beefy taste that discerning meat lovers demand with as much bio-available iron and high-quality protein as a comparable serving of ground beef from cows’.

McDonald’s is also expected to introduce a plant-based burger named the Big Vegan, with the company currently trialling the burger in Israel.

• Read: Subway to launch plant-based Beyond Meatball Marinara sub at 685 stores

What impact could Impossible Foods’ contract with Sodexo have? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Oli Gross

Oli’s career and personal ethical values both help shape his reporting of the diverse world of veganism. His background is in local newspaper and magazine journalism, and his work has included reporting court cases, celebrity interviews, business analysis, food and drink features and government legislation.

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