Impossible Whopper

The Impossible Whopper was rolled out in 2019. Burger King already sold other veggie burgers before this, but they were not intended to be as meatlike as the Impossible Whopper. In developing the burger, Impossible Foods used the same recipe as their other products (their Impossible Burger was released in 2016) but redesigned the patties to match the shape of the regular Whopper and fit in the same bun. The Impossible Foods factory in Oakland, California, added an additional production line specifically for Impossible Whoppers. This initial launch was accompanied with an April Fools-themed promotional video on April 1, 2019. In May 2019, the trial was expanded to four cities. In August 2019, the Impossible Whopper was made available nationwide, initially as a limited-time trial. Its price was $5.59, while the regular Whopper cost about $1 less. In October 2019, Restaurant Brands International reported strong growth in sales, attributed to the popularity of the Impossible Whopper. The burger stayed on Burger King's menu and was still available in late 2022. , Impossible Whopper is still available. The introduction of the burger was seen as a promising sign for the future of the meat alternative industry. The Guardian wrote that the "fanfare" of the August 2019 rollout "would have been unimaginable" a decade before. Eric Bohl, a meat lobbyist, called the burger a wake-up call for his industry, stressing how similar the Impossible Whopper was to a beef burger. Burger King expanded the Impossible Whopper to Canada in 2021, first in Ontario in March and then nationwide in April. == Comparison with the regular Whopper ==

Burger King executive Fernando Machado said that in taste tests, employees and customers could not distinguish between the Impossible Whopper and a regular beef Whopper. In terms of nutrition, the Impossible Whopper has a similar amount of protein to the regular Whopper but less fat, slightly less saturated fat, slightly fewer calories, and much less cholesterol; it also has slightly more sodium. A reviewer for the Tampa Bay Times mentioned that it does not have the antibiotics and hormones often used in beef production. According to the Tampa Bay Times, it uses 95% less land and 74% less water and creates 87% fewer emissions. == Reception ==

Customers' opinions vary on how similar the Impossible Whopper is to the regular Whopper; some say that it is almost identical, others think it is not even close. Megan Schaltegger of Delish found that the burger tasted "nearly identical to an OG Whopper", saying that she double-checked her receipt to make sure it really was not meat. Meat industry lobbyist Eric Bohl likewise said "If I didn't know what I was eating, I would have no idea it was not beef." Writing for The Washington Post, Tim Carman said that the Impossible Whopper patty is more flavorful than the traditional beef patty because the bar is set extremely low. He concluded: "The product is close enough to beef that your brain is willing to fill in the rest of the flavors, even if somewhere in the dark recesses of your cerebral cortex, you know it's all a lie." Similarly, the Tampa Bay Times Christopher Spata said that eating the two versions together made the Impossible Whopper feel inadequate. Nonetheless, Rothbarth expressed approval for Burger King's decision to introduce the Impossible Whopper. The Spoon Chris Albrecht said it was good but "definitely wouldn't fool a meat eater", concluding that he would order one again in the future for environmental reasons. and Zachary Fagenson of the Miami New Times said it was "a near-perfect circle with right angles at its edges". One called it a "solid meatless option", while the other concluded that like the regular Whopper, it has the characteristic low quality of fast food. == Vegetarian and vegan options and cross-contamination ==

The Impossible Whopper is prepared with mayonnaise and is cooked on the same grill as all other burgers. As such, it is not strictly vegetarian or vegan by default. Customers who want to make it vegan can ask for no mayonnaise. The burger is not marketed as vegetarian, Burger King has also said that some vegans are not concerned about cross-contamination from cooking food on the same grill as meat products. Lawsuit In November 2019, a customer by the name of Phillip Williams sued Burger King in a class action lawsuit after he bought an Impossible Whopper without knowing that it was cooked on the same grill as meat burgers. In July 2020, the lawsuit was dismissed by district judge Raag Singhal, who said that the plaintiffs did not represent a valid class, that they failed to show they were deceived into paying a higher price for the burger, and that "Burger King promised a non-meat patty and delivered". == See also ==