The award-winning burger from Impossible Foods will provide an all-new plant-based option for White Castle’s loyal fans, who are dubbed “Cravers” for their insatiable hunger for the irresistible, snack-sized sliders. White Castle is known as the progenitor of American fast food.

“White Castle’s model has been often imitated but never duplicated -- an impressive feat in the hypercompetitive fast-food sector,” said Impossible Foods’ Founder and CEO Dr. Patrick O. Brown. “We look forward to working closely with White Castle, and together learning how to popularize plant-based meat with mainstream burger lovers, traditional and vegetarian alike.”

Craving innovation

White Castle basically invented the fast-food industry in 1921. The company pioneered food innovations such as the hamburger bun and the ultra-efficient sandwich assembly line, which other chains studied and tried to copy years later.

Columbus, Ohio-based White Castle, which has 376 restaurants throughout the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, is still known for its innovative approach and its ability to listen and respond to customer feedback -- from Seafood Crab Cake Sliders to the growing demand for plant-based meals.

“Innovation has been core to everything we’ve done at White Castle since our founding in 1921,” said CEO Lisa Ingram, the fourth-generation family member to lead White Castle. “The fact that we are the first-fast food chain to offer the Impossible Burger to our loyal customers epitomizes our history of being on the ‘bleeding edge’ of a rapidly evolving industry.”

Big taste, small footprint

In development since 2011, the Impossible Burger debuted in July 2016 at Chef David Chang’s Momofuku Nishi in Manhattan. The Impossible Burger is the only plant-based burger to win a 2017 Tasty Award and a 2018 Fabi Award from the National Restaurant Association.

White Castle is by far the largest single restaurant group to serve the Impossible Burger. Beyond the fast-food chain, the Impossible Burger is available in about 1,200 restaurants nationwide, including beloved “better burger” concepts Fatburger, Umami Burger, Hopdoddy, The Counter, and B Spot, the Midwest burger restaurant owned by Chef Michael Symon.

The Impossible Burger is made from simple ingredients, including water, wheat protein, potato protein and coconut oil. One special ingredient — heme — contributes to the characteristic taste of meat and catalyzes all the other flavors when meat is cooked.

Impossible Foods discovered a scalable, affordable way to make heme without animals: the company engineers and ferments yeast to produce a heme protein naturally found in plants, called soy leghemoglobin. The heme in the Impossible Burger is identical to the essential heme humans have been consuming for hundreds of thousands of years in meat — and while it delivers all the craveable depth of beef, it uses far fewer resources.

The Impossible Burger is produced without hormones, antibiotics, cholesterol or artificial flavors. It uses about 75% less water, generates about 87% fewer greenhouse gases, and requires around 95% less land than conventional ground beef from cows.

Impossible Foods launched production in September at its first large-scale manufacturing plant, in Oakland. With demand still outstripping supply, the company plans to add a second shift and double production in the coming months. Later this month, Impossible Foods will launch in Asia -- its first market outside the United States.

White Castle will be testing the Impossible Slider with plans to potentially expand its offering nationwide. To find a White Castle near you, visit www.whitecastle.com.