top of page

Impossible

A meat-acular approach to saving the world.
Impossible Logo
Client
Impossible Foods

Agency
Jones Knowles Ritchie

Project Type
Brand Transformation

Services Rendered
Brand & Design Strategy
Brand Architecture
Brand Naming (Product Naming & Claims)
Brand Experience Design
Brand Identity & Packaging

Role
Group Strategy Director; 
led strategy team & partnered with ECD/GBD
The Challenge

Founded in 2011, Impossible had a simple but audacious mission: displace animal agriculture by convincing people to eat less meat; in the process, save the world. This meant convincing meat eaters—not just vegetarians—that its product was as good as the animal meat they loved. Impossible had the product, but its momentum was slowing and market penetration was small. In a world that sees meat as thrilling, it wasn’t any wonder: Impossible was generic and clinical, designed for vegetarians over meat lovers. If the business wanted to reach its goals and invite meat lovers in, it needed to start doing things differently.

The Strategic Opportunity  

We discovered that a large percentage of meat lovers cared about sustainability and making healthier choices, but weren't willing to compromise on taste or experience. Amidst a category that was almost entirely speaking to conscience, we saw a huge opportunity to speak to hearts and stomachs instead. We would transform Impossible from feeling clinical and sterile to feeling thrilling and enticing, creating a meat-acular world that meat lovers couldn’t resist being a part of.

The Execution

Vegan green turned meaty red. A new and bespoke typeface, Sans Meat, was created; reminiscent of meat-market signage and vintage circus posters. The packaging system grabbed attention with a modernized logo and red shelf-block, but reassured with the right nutritional claims, and followed a new portfolio architecture centered on required food preparation. The system overall flexed in all the right places, appealing to different consumer needs at different journey points.

Results

  • Unaided awareness rose 25%, search impressions 16.4%, and social engagement 31%

  • Impossible became part of the cultural conversation: 404 articles post-relaunch, 2.6 billion impressions, and 7,581 engagements, all reaching nearly 200,000 journalists, with features in: Fast Company, CNBC, DesignTAXI, Trend Hunter, AdWeek, Brand New, Dieline, Graphic Design USA, Creative Review and many more

  • Market penetration, previously declining, stabilized at 7.4% by June 2024 (4 months post-launch)

Approach Highlights

  • Learn—expert & stakeholder interviews; category semiotics; deep dive into culture of meat; store & restaurant visits; use of existing consumer segmentation  

  • Build—strategic territory creation in parallel with creative territories; brand strategy framework developed for entire organization to get behind; iterative qual / quant testing throughout 

  • Deploy—senior stakeholder engagement throughout; comprehensive roll-out planned and implemented, ready for full brand relaunch 

bottom of page