Walmart now sells the Impossible Burger, which means the plant-based 'meat' is now in 50 times more grocery stores than it was in March

• On Thursday, Impossible Foods announced that Walmart would roll out the Impossible Burger grounds at 2,100 stores starting that day.
• "It's a major milestone for Impossible Foods," Impossible Foods' chief financial officer, David Lee, told Business Insider in an interview. "Around nine out of consumers in retail are really close — 10 or 15 miles — to a Walmart."
• Impossible Foods has taken over the grocery space during the pandemic, expanding its retail presence by 50 times in the span of three months.
• The addition of Walmart's stores means that the Impossible Burger is now sold in over 8,000 grocery stores across the country — a previously unimaginable figure.

Impossible Foods is well on its way to accomplishing its mission of supplanting all animal-based foods.

On Thursday, the plant-based meat company announced in a press release that its 12 oz "beef" grounds would roll out at Walmart stores nationwide.

The addition of nearly 2,100 Walmart Supercenters and Walmart Neighborhood Markets to Impossible's already impressive spring/summer roster of Kroger, Trader Joe's, Stop and Shop, and others brings Impossible's total store presence to over 8,000 stores. The Impossible Burger will also be sold on Walmart's website and app.

"It's a major milestone for Impossible Foods," Impossible Foods' chief financial officer, David Lee, told Business Insider in an interview. "Around nine out of consumers in retail are really close — 10 or 15 miles — to a Walmart."

Lee said that the partnership with Walmart will help achieve Impossible's goal of being "as ubiquitous as possible." The press release, which was emailed to Business Insider, also reiterated that Impossible Foods' mission to "completely replace the use of animals in the food system." And in the span of less than three months, Impossible has indeed gone from being relativly obscure to being practically everywhere.

Impossible made its grocery debut less than a year ago on the shelves of high-end SoCal chain Gelson's Markets, and even in January was only available in 150 or so regional grocery stores. The raw plant-based burger only really became available nationwide in early May, with Impossible's Kroger launch. And in mid-July, Impossible Foods released a cookbook containing 40 Impossible-based recipes contributed by high-profile chefs.

Lee said that the company had planned for a major retail expansion since before the pandemic, but that the shift to grocery shopping has expedited growth. Still, Lee said the company doesn't view the pandemic as an opportunity, simply as reality. And it's the reality that Impossible has spent years preparing for.

"Even before this global pandemic we face today, we've been gearing up to supply more product," Lee said. "I think you're going to see us grow in more and more markets and launch more and more products."