Grit

Guest: Dana Worth, SVP, Commercial at Plenty; former VP of Sales at Impossible Foods

In this episode, we cover: 'What makes meat, meat?': Why Impossible Foods is working towards eliminating the use of animals in the food system by 2035. (3:28) ... The factors behind Dana's decision to join Impossible Foods in 2015. (9:22) ... Partnerships with high-credibility and meat-forward chefs: Impossible Foods' early go-to-market strategy. (13:11) ... ‘True believers’: The benefits of having a unifying mission as a company. (23:13) ... How Impossible Foods analyzed its organizational structure as its products became more commercially successful. (28:32) ... The supply and demand challenges Impossible Foods faced when the Impossible Burger 2.0 became a massive success in 2019. (31:28) ... Impossible Foods’ current strategy for selling its product direct-to-consumer — and why its main competition isn’t other plant-based meat companies. (39:18) ... How Dana defines grit. (45:33)

Show Notes

Impossible Foods has a mission to eliminate the use of animals in the food system by 2035. With the growing success of the company’s plant-based meat products, such as the Impossible Burger, this vision is becoming reality.


Feeling as though the company was “aligned with my own personal mission,” Dana Worth, former VP of Sales at Impossible Foods, joined the company in 2015 before it brought any of its plant-based meat products to market. Now, Dana has moved on from Impossible Foods, taking a position as SVP, Commercial at Plenty.


On this episode of Go to Market Grit, Joubin and Dana talk about how Impossible Foods’ go-to-market strategy changed as the company grew, as well as the company’s history.


In this episode, we cover:
  • 'What makes meat, meat?': Why Impossible Foods is working towards eliminating the use of animals in the food system by 2035. (3:28)
  • The factors behind Dana's decision to join Impossible Foods in 2015. (9:22)
  • Partnerships with high-credibility and meat-forward chefs: Impossible Foods' early go-to-market strategy. (13:11)
  • ‘True believers’: The benefits of having a unifying mission as a company. (23:13)
  • How Impossible Foods analyzed its organizational structure as its products became more commercially successful. (28:32)
  • The supply and demand challenges Impossible Foods faced when the Impossible Burger 2.0 became a massive success in 2019. (31:28)
  • Impossible Foods’ current strategy for selling its product direct-to-consumer — and why its main competition isn’t other plant-based meat companies. (39:18)
  • How Dana defines grit. (45:33)
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What is Grit?

Grit explores what it takes to create, build, and scale world-class organizations. It features weekly episodes highlighting the leaders who are pushing their companies to make a difference. This series is hosted by Joubin Mirzadegan, go to market operating partner at Kleiner Perkins, a venture capital firm investing in history-making founders.