Impossible Foods’ Marketing Mistake: Talking to the Converted

When Impossible Foods launched in UK supermarkets through Tesco in September 2026, the announcement led with taste, protein and fiber and said the brand is “preferred by meat eaters in taste tests.” The climate argument that once defined plant-based meat sat lower down, as a supporting point. Peter McGuinness, who pushed that change, is no longer chief executive. Impossible announced in January 2026 that he would step down and stay on the board, and that a three-person executive team would run the company. In that announcement it said it held the number two position in US market share.

The category around it is still shrinking. US retail sales of plant-based meat and seafood fell 10% in dollars and 11% in units in 2025, to about $1 billion, the Good Food Institute reported in 2026. Only 11% of households bought any, down from roughly 20% in 2021. Beyond Meat, which rebranded itself as “Beyond” in 2025, reported fiscal 2025 revenue of $275.5 million, down 15.6%.

McGuinness’s best-known diagnosis came at Semafor’s World Economy Summit in Washington in October 2025, where he said presenting plant-based meat as a climate solution had been a mistake and that the industry was “mismarketed and mislaunched.” His summary, as Semafor reported it: “People don’t want to eat tech food or climate food.” The lesson reaches well past food.

What McGuinness said, and when he started saying it

The Semafor remarks weren’t a sudden confession. In a 2023 interview with AgFunderNews, the year after he joined from Chobani, he said the company had insulted the very meat eaters it wanted to try its products. At a Berkeley Haas talk in May 2025 he put vegans at 1% to 1.5% of the population and said the category had become partisan and political, when it should have invited the people who eat animals.

The arithmetic is the point. A product designed to replace meat needs meat eaters to buy it. Early plant-based marketing spoke the language of the people who already wanted to eat less meat: climate, animal welfare, a new food system. That language told everyone else the product wasn’t for them, and some heard it as a judgment of what they ate.

What Impossible changed

The repositioning started before the Semafor talk. In March 2024 Impossible relaunched its brand with red packaging and a “meatier” look, designed with the agency JKR, and McGuinness said the aim was to “educate consumers that they can still enjoy meat.” Since then the company has moved its messaging toward protein and health:

• Steak Bites, launched in March 2025 and promoted on their 21 grams of protein.
• NSF Certified for Sport status for Impossible Beef and the Impossible Burger in October 2025, aimed at athletes.
• A partnership with EQUII in January 2026 on high-protein breads and pastas.
• A multiyear deal with Madison Square Garden in April 2026, including an Impossible concession stand at the Garden and branding at Knicks and Rangers games.

McGuinness also changed who the company targets. In a June 2025 interview with The Wall Street Journal, reported by Green Queen, he named flexitarians as the audience, said “our spend wasn’t efficient because we tried to move immovables,” and raised the idea of a hybrid burger that is half beef. Not every partner stayed: White Castle dropped the Impossible Slider in October 2025 and later replaced it with another brand’s patty.

What the research says about values-led labels

McGuinness’s instinct matches the evidence. In randomized experiments published in Appetite in 2023, labeling dishes “vegetarian” or “vegan” made people less likely to choose them, and removing the labels didn’t push vegetarians toward meat. A London School of Economics study cited by the World Resources Institute found meat eaters were 56% less likely to order a dish placed in a separate vegetarian section, and in a trial by the institute’s Better Buying Lab, a Sainsbury’s café sold 76% more of a veggie sausage dish once its name described the Cumberland spices rather than what was missing.

The effect isn’t limited to food. In a 2013 study, a “Protect the Environment” sticker made moderates and conservatives less likely to buy a more expensive energy-efficient light bulb. The label meant to add value took it away for buyers who didn’t share the message.

Messaging isn’t the whole story, though. GFI says plant-based meat is still priced up to twice as high as the animal version, though plant-based beef costs only about 8% more, and its 2024 report put the decline down to lost distribution, with taste and price the main reasons people don’t buy. A Rethink Priorities review found that even at equal price, taste and convenience, most people in choice studies still picked meat. Repeat buying has held steady at around 62%. The loss is in how many households buy at all, and GFI says lapsed shoppers played a meaningful part. Winning those people back, and reaching people who never tried, is where first impressions and messaging matter most.

How to spot copy that only speaks to the converted

Every brand with a mission runs this risk, whether the mission is sustainability, wellness or a political stance. Virgin Active took the opposite route and picked a fight with fitness culture, and our piece on when counter-positioning backfires covers where that works. Some checks for your own copy:

• Read it as your hardest buyer. Pick the customer you most need and least resemble. If a line asks them to agree with you before it tells them what they get, it is written for your fans.
• Lead with their reason, then yours. Taste, price, convenience and results come first. Your mission can follow as proof, as Impossible’s Tesco launch does with sustainability.
• Watch for labels that sort people. Words like “vegan,” “clean,” “conscious” or “ethical” can tell outsiders the product belongs to a group they aren’t in.
• Cut what implies the reader is wrong. Copy that frames the old choice as harmful or stupid asks people to admit a mistake before they buy.
• Test names and claims with outsiders. The Sainsbury’s result came from changing a name, not the food. Run the test with people who don’t buy from you.

None of this means hiding what you stand for. Conviction sells to buyers who already share it. When growth depends on people who don’t, the product’s benefits have to come first. Our guide to brand codes and category codes explains how to signal what you are without shutting buyers out, and our piece on Lululemon covers the signs a brand is losing touch with what customers come for. Getting the message right for each audience is brand identity strategy work, and carrying it through every page and post is content marketing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did the Impossible Foods CEO say about marketing?

At Semafor’s World Economy Summit in October 2025, Peter McGuinness said marketing plant-based meat as a climate solution had been a mistake and that the industry was “mismarketed and mislaunched.” He said people want delicious, nutritious food rather than “tech food or climate food.” He had made similar points since 2023, saying the company had insulted the very meat eaters it wanted to win.

Is Peter McGuinness still CEO of Impossible Foods?

No. Impossible announced in January 2026 that McGuinness would step down as chief executive and remain on the board. Since then the company has been run by an executive team of three: Jason Gao, chief legal and operating officer; Meredith Madden, chief demand officer; and Robert Haas, chief supply officer. Impossible hasn’t said whether it will appoint a new chief executive.

Are plant-based meat sales falling?

Yes, in US retail. The Good Food Institute reported that sales of plant-based meat and seafood fell 10% in dollars and 11% in units in 2025, to about $1 billion, after falling 7% in 2024. Only 11% of US households bought any in 2025, down from roughly 20% in 2021, though people who buy tend to keep buying. Global sales have risen over the past two years, according to GFI.

Do vegan labels hurt sales?

Research suggests they can. Randomized experiments published in Appetite in 2023 found that “vegetarian” and “vegan” labels made dishes less likely to be chosen. A London School of Economics study found meat eaters were less likely to order dishes listed in a separate vegetarian section, and the World Resources Institute found names describing flavor sold better than names stressing what a dish lacks. Labels still matter for people who need them, so placement and wording are the levers.

How can a brand with a mission avoid alienating buyers?

Lead with what the buyer gets, such as taste, price, convenience or results, and use your mission as supporting proof. Avoid language that sorts people into groups or implies their current choice is wrong. Read your copy as the customer you most need to win, and test names and claims with people who don’t buy from you yet, since your fans will approve of almost anything.