Why do people create stuff like 'Impossible Burger'

  • Basically a burger made of plants, which is supposed to taste like a real meat burger.


    But guess what? It's fking more expensive than an actual meat burger. So why the actual hell would I want to pay extra for it?


    You would think that people will try to make healthier food or vegan food cheaper but NOPE. Like do they not know how economics work?


    Like first of all the demand for your Impossible Burger is already so low, then you try to make less people eat your food by making it expensive. And the price elasticity of demand for your food is so elastic because there are so many alternatives to your expensive food and it's not like your food is a 'necessity'.


    Have anyone tried it?

  • for money :peperich:

    No but the economics don't work. In order to get more money they should price their stuff cheaper and be more competitive. I mean unless they think their burger is some niche stuff but I honestly don't see it.


    You only price your stuff higher if it is seen to be worth that much, or that it is a luxury good.

  • Because they are more expensive to produce and don't have the mass industrialization that normal burgers do to lower production cost. They're for vegan people who want a burger.


    As for cost, there are other cheaper vegan options that do not taste like real meat.


    I've never tried the Impossible Burger, only the Beyond Burger.

  • If subsidies from meat industry (tens of billions vs tens of millions for fruit and veggies, of course some crops receive huge ones like certain grains) goes to this sorta endeavor (like lab meat as well), the price would be flipped. Eventually subsidies may not be enough to sustain the meat industry in the long run.


    Just like other sources of energy are getting cheaper than coal due to subsidies and the market believing more on these sources than conventional ones which lead to better economics and lower prices. This sorta meat substitute will probably follow a similar path.


    Right now is more expensive and for a small chunk of the public, but we can't really sustain the meat industry at current form. Maybe if we cut subsidies and have a more balanced consumption of meat, sure, but as far I can see, we are eating ourselves to death.


    Now talking about demand, it's increasing just judging from their numbers, so economics are there even without subsidies. Sure just looking at stock prices isn't the only indication, but the jump in price indicates that the market has some faith in this enterprise.


    I did try Impossible burger and it was fine taste wise. I used to have a similar belief of why vegans need meat imitations, but now I don't think this product is for just vegans. The truth is industrial meat isn't the most efficient way of nutrition and the public will not go to a more balanced diet that could normalize meat production (like eating meat occasionally than every single meal). Demand for it will only increase unless we flip it with other alternatives.


    This is from a meat lover perspective.

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