Plant-based burger maker Impossible Foods secures $200m in funding

The US firm to use the money to expand research and develop new products

Among the first to introduce products made from plants that taste and cook like meat, Impossible Foods has been rapidly expanding its retail footprint. Drew Angerer / Getty

Plant-based burger maker Impossible Foods secured $200 million (Dh734.5m) in funding, less than six months after it raised the largest investment ever for a food tech startup.

It brings the total funds raised since the California-based company was founded in 2011 to $1.5 billion.

Impossible Foods, which counts Jay-Z, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and singer Katy Perry among others as its investors, said it would use the money to expand research, develop new products and for internal operations.

Among the first to introduce products made from plants that taste and cook like meat, Impossible has been rapidly expanding its retail footprint, selling its products in thousands of grocery and retail stores in the United States, including about 2,000 Walmart stores.

The new funding round, which follows the $500m funding it raised in March, was led by hedge fund Coatue and included existing investors Mirae Asset Global Investments and Temasek as well as new investor XN, the company said.

Impossible Foods and rival Beyond Meat have struck high-profile deals with several restaurant chains, including Subway and KFC, but have had to find new strategies to stay afloat as many chains were forced to limit operations due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In June, Impossible started selling its burgers online in the US through its website after beef prices shot up as the pandemic forced several meat plants to shutter.