Unattainable Meals plans to convey out meatless hen nuggets this fall

Attendees visit the Impossible Foods booth at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 8, 2020.

Robyn Beck | AFP | Getty Images

Impossible Foods plans to add another meat substitute to its offering: plant-based chicken nuggets.

The company will showcase the new product to US operators at a trade show next week, with a wider launch date planned for the fall. Bloomberg reported the news first.

In the past decade, chicken has overtaken beef as the most popular meat choice among Americans, making it a destination for companies looking to replace or reduce their consumption of animal meat. In early July, rival Beyond Meat launched chicken tenders in US restaurants more than two years after its original chicken alternative was discontinued.

To mimic the taste and texture of chicken, Impossible’s nugget recipe includes soy protein and sunflower oil, Bloomberg reported. However, it does not include the use of heme made from genetically modified yeast. The company has used the substance in its two beef and pork alternatives, but China and the European Union have banned its products because of its use, posing a major hurdle to Impossible’s global expansion.

The new nuggets – and their potential global reach – could make Impossible more attractive to investors. Reuters reported in April that the company is preparing to go public through an IPO or merger with a special purpose vehicle (SPAC) sometime in the next 12 months. Impossible is reportedly aiming for a valuation of at least $ 10 billion, several billion dollars higher than Beyond Meat’s current market cap. To date, Impossible has raised $ 1.5 billion from private investors.

Impossible Foods is a four-time CNBC Disruptor 50 company ranked number 24 on this year’s list

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