After announcing a trial run of the Impossible Whopper in early April, Burger King will introduce the plant-based patty at locations nationwide. On Monday, the chain confirmed the news that its vegan-friendly burger will land on menus by the end of this year.
"The Impossible Whopper test in St. Louis went exceedingly well, and as a result there are plants to extend testing into additional markets in the very near future," a spokesperson said in a statement. "Burger King restaurants are targeting nationwide availability of the Impossible Whopper by the end of 2019. Burger King restaurants in St. Louis are showing encouraging results and Impossible Whopper sales are complementing traditional Whopper purchases."
So what *exactly* is this trendy beef-less but beef-like alternative? The Impossible Burger initially launched in 2016, but has since been revamped. In January, Impossible Foods debuted the 2.0 version and has since made its way onto nearly 5,000 restaurant menus. And no, it's not your average veggie burger. It looks, tastes, and even bleeds like the real thing.
Impossible's COO and CFO David Lee told Food & Wine: "I literally remember getting the reaction from certain Burger King employees, the shock of 'Wow, wait, this isn't made out of beef?' So after seeing that and the excitement there at headquarters, I became convinced that we had a great future partnership in the market."
However, Burger King is not the first fast food joint to introduce the innovation. In fact, White Castle was an entire year ahead of its competitor. They began testing the Impossible Burger in April 2018 and have since expanded their offerings. The menu currently includes a BBQ Impossible Slider and the Impossible Slider with Smoked Cheddar Cheese.
McDonalds, you next?
