Impossible Markets and Big Dreams: My interaction with the CFO of Impossible Foods
“I’ve heard tell that what you imagine sometimes comes true.
-Grandpa Joe”― Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Prologue: City of Dreams
New governments, new worlds, futurism. The greater good. Do you believe we can build it?
In Cybertopia-Dreams of Silicon Valley, the Valley is described as a place that is driven by a blend of mysticism and technology. Its history is one of a place that is both communal and for the curious minded techie who has a passion for building and making, but who is also entrepreneurial. It is not unusual that such a place would be the home of Impossible Foods, led by the duo of Patrick the scientist and David the businessman, headquartered in Redwood City. In many ways, they embody the idealism and very fabric of Silicon Valley scientific optimism and entrepreneurship. They are “the Odd Couple of Silicon Valley”, as David jokes.
Why aren’t you working on problems that matter?
I listened to a podcast where the host read from the popular Richard Hamming book, “You and your Research”. Hamming asked his colleagues at Bell Labs, as scientists, why they weren’t working on the hardest problems.
“I claim that some of the reasons why so many people who have greatness within their grasp don’t succeed are: they don’t work on important problems, they don’t become emotionally involved, they don’t try and change what is difficult to some other situation which is easily done but is still important…” — Richard Hamming, “You and Your Research”
It reminded me of Pat’s scientific journey that led to the invention of Impossible Foods. He took an 18-month sabbatical to think about the problems where he too could make the most impact; the hardest problems. He decided that the environmental problem of intensive farming was the most pressing problem of our time, and he set out to solve it.
David Lee, similarly, set out to change the world. In his case, he realized that if he wanted to solve the hardest problems, he would have to put himself in the shoes of the customer.
In 1994, David Lee graduated college, and learned how to sell things, and in so doing, he learned about customers. He started a couple businesses to pay off his student loans. He worked at a bar, and then tried to make one. He worked for McKinsey and Zynga. He became engrossed in the opportunity to both provide a great customer experience and make the world a better place as his life’s mission.
For him, the drive was also legacy. Having two daughters, he wanted them to inherit a better world. He wanted to create a financial legacy.
Tapping Into the Consumer
“I believe that the customer will determine the future”, he says, peering at our group with a friendly smile. He is confident, open, and an optimist. He reminds us that he is sometimes “too open”. But it’s compelling. I want to live in his future, which is filled with optimism.
Sitting with David, amongst my peers, it is easy to see why Impossible Foods is successful. It is truly a customer-driven company. David believes that “if you give (customers) all the information, they end up making the right choice.”
Dealing with Backlash
“Everything in this room is edible. Even I’m edible. But, that would be called cannibalism. It is looked down upon in most societies.”- Tim Burton, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Marketing: from Umami to Protests
David continues with a smile. “Impossible Foods is at the centre of controversy”, he says.
He explains that they made a deliberate logistical plan to place their burgers in the meat section. As opposed to the traditional market strategy of placing plant-based products in the vegan section, they wanted their products to be embraced by meat eaters. Impossible Foods wanted meat eaters to see their products next to the meat product, and still choose theirs because the product made them feel better about their environmental impact on the world.
Backlash
This decision was not without backlash. Impossible Foods started its launch in upscale restaurants such as Umami, and in groceries such as Gelson’s. It then rolled out into chains such as Qdoba and Burger King, and other supermarkets. Persons criticized that such a move would negate the health benefits that were central to the premise of choosing Impossible Foods’ burger over traditional beef burgers.
There were also several incidents of picketing when their brand was first introduced in conjunction with the Umami brand, as Umami’s sauce is known to contain meat. In fine dining, the first mainstream vegan burger could only be consumed with Umami’s meat sauce.
Their products may never be consumed, Lee acknowledges, by those who object to consuming synthetic meat. However, Lee acknowledges that to the contrary, their business has been booming . This increase in purchases has been magnified during the quarantine of 2020. “At the end of the day, ninety percent of customers are making decisions based on wanting to feel better about making an impact in the world”.
Lessons on Impossible Foods
David mentions that when they first began, they had no brand, no customers, but great technology. He spent the first few weeks using $100, 000 to chart how much meat eaters liked meat. The study showed that meat eaters didn’t just like meat, they were addicted to it.
He mentions that the love for meat spans all socio-economic strata, and cultures. Our love for it runs deep; it is emotional. At this point, my mind wandered.
Personal Context
I used to live and work in Silicon Valley. But I didn’t always live there, and even when I did, I was haunted by my past; both as an immigrant and as a struggling artist in Los Angeles. It was through my struggle that I found the hybrid space of tech and art, which eventually led to my getting into tech and then into grad school for Computer Science research. Computer Science research is a perfect blend of creativity and technical expertise, looking into the future and trying to find solutions to difficult problems.
In a true Silicon Valley fantasy, I felt like I could be cut from the same thread as the founder of Impossible Foods, that there might be a possibility. Maybe I, too, could spend time in research and create something that could impact the world. It was the typical siren call of Silicon Valley luring me in. But having lived there and having had a background that isn’t solely tech afforded me the opportunity to be both involved in tech, and skeptical of this optimism. I saw the increase of jobs, but the disappearance of artists, the disappearance of a part of my past. I reassessed that I related more to Jaron Lanier than to Pat and David.
Does meat span all-socio-economic strata? An NP hard problem.
My humble origins on the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and David’s story reminded me of my childhood experience growing up.
Chicken is loved in my home country. Meat is loved in my home country. When I say love…we LOVE meat. I am pescatarian today, but I grew up eating every kind of meat from deer, iguana, chicken, beef, armadillo, goat, duck, pigeon, turtle, rabbit, sheep; the list goes on and on.
Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is especially popular. The brand is uniquely flavored in our country, and it is not uncommon to see lines of cars at all hours at KFC drive-throughs. My own relative had a monthly account with the local franchise, so that their children could order as frequently as they liked, and my relative could just pay the bill off each month. We also have delivery drivers who deliver KFC to your house.
In 1996, McDonald’s visited our country. They failed horribly. You can read a case study of failure in another Caribbean island, Jamaica, here. In addition to the lack of specific seasonings locals expected in their food, and a lack of chicken on their menu, within a year McDonald’s left, licking their wounds. They did, however, return in 2011, and seem to be doing well.
Cultural Expectations
Having lived through the failure of McDonald’s growing up, I thought back to Mr. Lee’s statement. Does meat really span all socio-economic strata? How might Impossible Foods tailor its business to expand multi-nationally to a company like the one in which I grew up?
And if they did fail to expand to Trinidad, what would it take for the company to decide it was time to throw in the towel? It reminded me of a recent tour I took at the Ben and Jerry’s factory in Stowe, Vermont. The tour guide proudly showed us a map of all the countries where Ben and Jerry’s was sold today.
If you look at the last country, that’s my country of birth; Trinidad and Tobago. Apparently, we are one of the countries that sells Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, too. Except, if you ask anyone in Trinidad and Tobago about ice-cream brands available, they probably wouldn’t mention Ben & Jerry’s. There are at least three other brands that are made locally that are at the tip of everyone’s tongue, and the other international brands that have been in the country longer than Ben & Jerry’s has.
Furthermore, the local brands have tapped into unique flavors expected by citizens, offering such options like Barbadine, Soursop and Coconut, which are local fruits in the Caribbean. I guess if everything is sold out, mom would grab a tub of B&Js, reluctantly. She might also mention that the foreign pasteurization process is quite different, cementing the idea that this ice-cream wasn’t made for us as a consumer. If anything, brands like Ben & Jerry’s, when they are sold in my country of birth, mostly target the sliver of expats from the United States and the United Kingdom, who actively seek to live with similar expectations to the countries from which they came, at a cheaper price because of the relative difference in purchasing power between the countries. I think that this is an important distinction to make when a company claims to be selling their product in a country.
Conclusion
“We did the best we cold trying to be smart and failing repeatedly, asking ourselves why it didn’t work out and tried again”, David mentions. Perhaps this is a key element as to why Impossible Foods continues to thrive.
David Lee believes that as the business scales, the price of Impossible Foods’ products will be more affordable. Food is often costlier on islands, and requires dedicated staff and expertise. I learned a lot from having met and spoken with David Lee, and I have much admiration for the Impossible Foods brand, but I’m still skeptical of whether such a brand has a place in markets like those of my country of birth.
References
Cybertopia: Dreams of Silicon Valley (VPRO), 2015
Graham, Paul “Richard Hamming: You and Your Research” (Talk at Bellcore, March 7, 1986)
How to Grad school, Nosa Edoimioya, 2020
Piper, Kelsey, “Meatless meat is becoming mainstream — and it’s sparking a backlash”, 2019
Piper, Kelsey, “The rise of Meatless meat, explained”, 2020
