Impossible Burger Has Taken Over The Grocery Stores After Just Two Weeks

The Impossible Burger made its grocery store debut on September 20 in 27 Gelson's Markets in Los Angeles. It costs $8.99 for 12 ounces. That was two weeks ago. Since then, it's moved on to the East Coast, in 100 Wegmans stores in the northeast and two Fairways in Manhattan.

In the entire time its been on the shelves at Gelson's, Impossible beef has been the chain's number-one packaged item and has outsold all the cow-beef, both in terms of volume and revenue. Gelson's has had to impose a 10-pack limit on its customers. It's also the number-one item in the meat departments of both Fairways. More than one-third of all the shoppers who bought Impossible Burger meat got at least two packages (which makes sense if you want to serve it to the whole family). On average, Impossible buyers spent 72% more than other shoppers, which probably makes the grocers very, very happy. They also bought brioche buns, cheddar cheese, and marinara sauce, so draw your own conclusions about how that Impossible meat was used.

Impossible Foods has yet to announce when it will start selling the grocery version of Impossible Burger in the rest of the country. Be prepared.

"No one could have predicted this level of pent-up demand for Impossible Burger," Gelson's chief merchandising officer told said in a press release.

It's also possible that people were just curious about what it would be like to make an Impossible Burger at home. We shall see...

The excitement hasn't yet reached Popeye's Chicken Sandwich levels, but Impossible Meat has already hit the black market: one seller in Brooklyn has three five-pound packs available for $50 apiece.