As more meat plants temporarily close or operate at reduced capacity as coronavirus spreads, plant-based brands “have a window of opportunity to present themselves as more reliable alternatives,” says Lux Research. But no production facilities are immune from COVID-19, and there’s no room for complacency, say executives at key players in the space.

Speaking as Cargill announced it was temporarily idling its plant in Schuyler, Nebraska – the latest in a wave of meat plant closures – and Kroger, Sam’s Club and Costco placed restrictions on meat purchases, Impossible Foods unveiled plans to aggressively ramp up its presence in retail stores this year, beginning with a roll out at 1,700 Kroger stores.

“We are predicting a 50-fold increase from where we were at the start of the year [150 stores] by the year end [taking the brand to 7,500 stores], but it could be a lot higher than that,” said chief communications officer Rachel Konrad, who said many retailers had seen the explosive growth the brand had experienced with early adopters and decided to take it on, even in the current challenging climate.

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