IMPOSSIBLE™ BURGER DEBUTS AT UMAMI BURGER

• Impossible Foods’ famous burger will be on the menu starting tomorrow at nine Umami restaurants in Los Angeles County 

• Umami is first West Coast chain to feature the plant-based Impossible Burger 

• Number of Umami outlets with Impossible Burger is expected to increase as Impossible Foods scales up production 

LOS ANGELES, May 17, 2017—Impossible Foods will launch the Impossible Burger tomorrow at select Umami Burger outlets in Southern California, the birthplace of the fast-food burger. 

The plant-based Impossible Burger will be available at all nine Umami locations in Los Angeles County. Umami Restaurant Group (www.umamiburger.com) is the first multi-unit chain to serve the Impossible Burger on the West Coast. More of Umami’s 25 locations in California and other states may add Impossible Burger as Impossible Foods increases production at a facility under construction in Oakland, Calif. 

Founded in 2009 in a run-down Korean taqueria on South La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles, GQ Magazine named Umami “Burger of the Year” one year later. Umami jump-started the upscale burger trend, featuring premium ingredients and an extensive cocktail, beer and wine selection in a casual setting. 

“Seventy years after Southern California popularized fast-food burgers, Umami ignited the ‘better burger’ trend and helped it spread worldwide,” said Impossible Foods CEO and founder Patrick O. Brown, M.D., Ph.D. “Together, Impossible Foods and Umami can keep the West Coast on the cusp of global food and restaurant trends.” 

UMAMI: MEATY TASTE YOU CRAVE 

The term “umami” — coined by Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda in the early 20th century — roughly translates to “deliciousness.” Often called the “fifth taste” after salty, sweet, sour and bitter, umami delivers the meaty, soul-satisfying intensity in foods such as seared beef, soy sauce, and mushrooms. 

“One taste of the Impossible Burger and we knew it belonged on the menu,” said Gregg Frazer, CEO of Umami Restaurant Group. 

Umami Burger’s Impossible Burger comes with two patties, caramelized onions, American cheese, house spread, miso-mustard, dill pickles, lettuce, and tomato for $16.00. 

BIG TASTE, SMALL FOOTPRINT 

The Impossible Burger is the world's only burger that looks, handles, smells, cooks and tastes like ground beef from cows — but is made entirely from plants, with a much smaller environmental footprint than meat from animals. 

The Impossible Burger uses about 75% less water, generates about 87% fewer greenhouse gases and requires around 95% less land than conventional ground beef from cows. It’s produced without hormones, antibiotics, cholesterol or artificial flavors. 

In development since 2011, the Impossible Burger debuted in July 2016 in New York City at Chef David Chang's restaurant Momofuku Nishi. It’s currently served in 10 additional award-winning restaurants in New York and California. See the full list of restaurants on our website. 

Impossible Foods is building a production site in Oakland, Calif., which expected to produce enough Impossible Burgers for 1,000 restaurants within about a year. The site has the capacity to make 250 times more Impossible Burgers than the company is currently making in its headquarters in Redwood City, Calif., and at a small facility in New Jersey. 

Following Umami in Los Angeles County, the Impossible Burger will debut in more fine-dining restaurants and multi-unit chains throughout the United States. After the Oakland facility is fully ramped up, the company plans to launch Impossible Burger in retail outlets and key regions internationally. In addition to the Impossible Burger, the company is developing additional types of plant-based meats and dairy products. 

ABOUT IMPOSSIBLE FOODS 

Based in Redwood City, Calif., Impossible Foods makes delicious, nutritious meat and dairy foods directly from plants — with a much smaller environmental footprint than meat from animals. Impossible Foods is a private company with financial backing from Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, Google Ventures, Horizons Ventures, UBS, Viking Global Investors and others. The company was founded in 2011 by Patrick O. Brown, M.D., Ph.D., formerly a biochemistry professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Stanford University. 

More information: impossiblefoods.com www.twitter.com/impossiblefoods www.facebook.com/impossiblefoods www.bareburger.com 

Press kit: https://impossiblefoods.app.box.com/v/presskit 

Media Contacts: Impossible Foods: Jessica Appelgren, jessica.appelgren@impossiblefoods.com 

Source: Impossible Foods