© 2026 ABC News

\"Plant-based food remains one of the fastest-growing categories at Kroger. We're excited to continue growing our selection, especially as more customers than ever are purchasing meat products made from plants,\" Kroger's senior vice president of merchandising, Joe Grieshaber, said in a statement.

The plant-based product that imitates ground beef in texture, mouthfeel and flavor skyrocketed to the No. 1 item sold on the East and West coasts after its initial launch, according to the brand, and outsold ground beef from cows at many grocery stores.

\"PHOTO:
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
PHOTO: Beyond Meat "Beyond Burger" patties made from plant-based substitutes for meat products sit on a shelf for sale, Nov. 15, 2019 in New York City.
>

Its main competitor, Beyond Meat Inc., reported a 141% jump in first-quarter revenue and profit on Tuesday as demand for its meatless products also rose.

\"[It] exceeded our expectations despite an increasingly challenging operating environment due to the COVID-19 health crisis,\" Beyond Meat Chief Executive Ethan Brown said in a statement on the results.

Our goal has always been to use food as a vehicle for change, and we're fortunate to be in a position to put that into action now like never before.

Learn about our FEED A MILLION+ pledge here: https://t.co/vVxH0dz4qk. #GoBeyond pic.twitter.com/L2cEQNJW5H

— Beyond Meat (@BeyondMeat) April 6, 2020

Kroger also saw a jump on Wall Street after the Impossible Foods announcement on Tuesday.

The brand also announced \"Impossible: The Cookbook,\" which is available for pre-order, and will donate $3 of every sale to No Kid Hungry as part of it's \"social good\" programs.

Impossible Foods will also host its first-ever virtual cook-a-thon on May 14, hosted by Eric Wareheim and Chef Traci Des Jardins, to bring attention to No Kid Hungry's efforts and help raise funds for the group's COVID-19 response.

\"PHOTO:
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
PHOTO: PPackages of "Impossible Foods" burgers and Beyond Meat made from plant-based substitutes for meat products for sale on Nov. 15, 2019 in New York City.
>

Last month the company partnered with a San Francisco-based tech startup Cheetah to sell its product in bulk to consumers through independent restaurants.

The direct-to-consumer ingredient sales were a result of the Food and Drug Administration's new guidelines that temporarily allow flexibility around food not originally intended for retail sale during the COVID-19 pandemic.

\"Many restaurant partners have started selling Impossible Burger directly to consumers -- whether as an additional revenue stream for take-out orders, or as a means of reducing perishable inventory during temporary shut-downs,\" according to a company statement. \"Inventory sales have become a critical revenue channel for restaurants as dine-in service wanes due to shelter-in-place orders and social distancing.\"

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/Business/supermarkets-add-plant-based-products-meet-demand-amid/story?id=70532235","legacySlug":"/news/story/supermarkets-add-plant-based-products-meet-demand-amid-70532235","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"18:00","publishDate":"05-06-2020","updatedTime":"18:15","updatedDate":"05-06-2020","socialImage":{"alt":"Packages of \"Impossible Foods\" burgers and Beyond Meat made from plant-based substitutes for meat products for sale on Nov. 15, 2019 in New York City.","credit":"Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images, FILE","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/impossible-meat-grocery-gty-ps-200506_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"5/6/2020 18:00:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":70532235,"headline":"Demand for plant-based meat alternative skyrockets","mediaAssetTitle":"MEATLESS DEMAND","description":"Products like Impossible Burgers could fill the void of beef and pork.","duration":"3:00","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/05/200506_gma_gutman_0715_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["70515059","65882181","66688128"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"May 6, 2020","headline":"Wendy's warns of menu changes because of beef supply challenges","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/wendys-warns-menu-beef-supply-challenges-70515059","id":70515059,"image":{"alt":"Wendy's warns of menu changes because of beef supply challenges","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/wendys-drive-thru-gty-jc-200505_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"September 26, 2019","headline":"Where to try McDonald's new PLT -- the plant-based patty from Beyond Meat","section":"food","slug":"/food/story/mcdonalds-announces-plt-aka-plant-based-burger-meat-65882181","id":65882181,"image":{"alt":"Where to try McDonald's new PLT -- the plant-based patty from Beyond Meat","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/plt-2-ht-er-190926_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"McDonald’s","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"November 1, 2019","headline":"How the Vegan diet and lifestyle has become mainstream over 75 years","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/veganism-world-vegan-day-66688128","id":66688128,"image":{"alt":"How the Vegan diet and lifestyle has become mainstream over 75 years","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/vegan-meal-rf-gty-jc-191101_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Demand for plant-based meat alternative skyrockets","description":"Products like Impossible Burgers could fill the void of beef and pork.","duration":"3:00","uploadDate":"05-06-2020","publication":"05-06-2020","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/05/200506_gma_gutman_0715_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/05/200506_gma_gutman_0715_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/supermarkets-add-plant-based-products-meet-demand-amid-70532235"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131121474","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131247079","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131228784","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131178806","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131142257","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131046664","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131048076","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131033212","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130999943","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130971027","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"Demand for plant-based meat alternative skyrockets","pubTime":"14:00","pubDate":"05-06-2020","modTime":"14:15","modDate":"05-06-2020","taxonomyTags":"none","id":70532235,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Demand for plant-based meat alternative skyrockets","mediaAssetTitle":"MEATLESS DEMAND","videoId":70532235,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/supermarkets-add-plant-based-products-meet-demand-amid-70532235"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/70532235","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/70532235","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};