Cracker Barrel adds Impossible meatless sausage - some customers go apoplectic

[bcla]

Let's say you love fast food, hot dogs wrapped in pancakes, sausages galore. Imagine you wanted to eat healthier, possibly on insistence of your doctor, you're likely going for fake sausage/burgers/hot dogs vs salads or most dishes that resemble vegetables.

Impossible isn't going for healthy. They're trying to mimic meat with a hope that it is less resource intensive than real meat. The CEO also believes that at a point where they're making in large scale, it will be cheaper than real meat. Right now it isn't.

 

[Schneewittchen37]

Impossible isn't going for healthy. They're trying to mimic meat with a hope that it is less resource intensive than real meat. The CEO also believes that at a point where they're making in large scale, it will be cheaper than real meat. Right now it isn't.

Is that the old "we lose money on every sale but make it up in volume".

 

[Colleen27]

People are weird these days. A few years ago, I'd have doubted this was real... but the behavior I've seen in the last year or so makes me think there probably are at least a handful of vocal crazies offended by the mere presence of vegetarian meat-substitutes. They're probably the same people offended by the mere presence of EV chargers and who think "rolling coal" is a great way to stick it to those tree-hugging weirdos who ride their bikes on the road.

I personally don't care for meat substitutes. If I'm going to eat vegetarian I'll eat actual vegetarian dishes, not wanna-be meat that isn't as healthy or as tasty as naturally meat-free recipes. But I can't imagine how anyone can get themselves worked up over a menu option they're not going to order. I mean, I was shocked when a countrified down-home place like Cracker Barrel started serving thousand-calorie whipped cream-and-caramel coffee drinks worthy of a sugar-high Starbucks junkie, but I didn't go to the comment section to call for a boycott.

 

[HopperFan]

Now they have an option to substitute a meatless sausage patty in place of bacon or pork sausage. I’m kind of unclear on what the problem is. I mean - I’ve gone to a burger place where they had a veggie burger. Why does anyone get so offended?

https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture...sausage-ignites-comment-culture-war-rcna41443

https://www.facebook.com/crackerbarrel/photos/a.207628002620308/5288633637853027

Because these people have no life, nothing of value happening in their life ... so they are going to die on a hill that their coveted Cracker Barrel (once a very backwards business) is progressive and offering a wider menu to bring in more customers.

They don't want to sit next to those VEGANS!

If there is no meat in it, you shouldn't be able to call it sausage.

I can accept sausage and burger for non-meat things, but for heaven's sake there's no such thing as a vegetarian meatball.

I don't think they should be able to label anything "meat" "beef" "chicken" etc if there is none of that product in it. It's kinda fraudulent given all the rules on labeling food.

But apparently in modern times "sausage" can mean "mold into a sausage shape" and a "burger" is a "food patty" and a "ball" is a "ball" BUT they shouldn't use the word meat. It should be "plant sausage" "plant ball" "plant burger".

 

[DisneyOma]

My vegetarian daughter uses the impossible products so that she and her wife can eat the same meal at home. She's vegetarian for many reasons, both health-wise and environmental-wise, and she seems to have a better digestive system without eating red meat. When they travel, this means she can find an option at Cracker Barrel that might be better than a salad and some sides without bacon.

 

[bcla]

Is that the old "we lose money on every sale but make it up in volume".

Right now they're actually making money with high prices. But in the future it sounds like they're going to be in a marketplace where they'll have to compete based at least partially on price.

I don't think they're Pets.com or Webvan.

 

[Mysterian]

Impossible isn't going for healthy. They're trying to mimic meat with a hope that it is less resource intensive than real meat. The CEO also believes that at a point where they're making in large scale, it will be cheaper than real meat. Right now it isn't.

Deja Vu? I'm getting flashbacks to the KFC Beyond thread.

Then why bother with a Beyond/Impossible burger to begin with? They just prefer the taste over real meat?
If not for the disdain for factory farming, what else would be a fast food consumer's incentive for a Beyond burger?

By promoting the idea that these burgers are plant-based, there will no doubt be customers who mistake these as "healthier eating". Let's face it, Beyond/Impossible is just playing off of peoples' assumptions and selling them a product that isn't much healthier than the beef burger.

 

[Mysterian]

We're almost up to three pages and we're still not featured on NBC news?

 

[DL1WDW2]

When Bobs Burgers Movie premiered recently
AMC Disney Springs , Sponsor Impossible Foods set up a very fun & popular booth with gifts and everybody got an Impossible Foods burger with fresh tomatoes on a bun. They were pretty good plus everybody got a coupon valued up to $9.99 purchase.
Free makes everything taste better, I guess !
But I have tried Cracker Barrel once in my lifetime and now Fake food once. Anybody want my coupons?

 

[CGB]

We were traveling last weekend and discovered that change for ourselves (turkey sausage replaced with the impossible sausage). For us, it's about the sodium of the impossible products and being left with only red meat choices. The waitress said the change wasn't getting good reviews.

 

[Moliphino]

Let's say you love fast food, hot dogs wrapped in pancakes, sausages galore. Imagine you wanted to eat healthier, possibly on insistence of your doctor, you're likely going for fake sausage/burgers/hot dogs vs salads or most dishes that resemble vegetables.

Though it's debatable whether most of these meat substitutes are actually any healthier than meat.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I, too, am mystified by why this is a big deal. I'm a little surprised--"Cracker Barrel" and "healthy eating" aren't synonymous in my book. And if memory serves, there are other vegetarian choices on the CB menu, like oatmeal or yogurt or mac and cheese. Correct me if I'm wrong--we typically go to CB once a year, while travelling. That's often enough for me, their food is not to my taste. I wouldn't be getting the fake sausage, though--for the chemicals and calories, I'd go for the real thing on my annual trip.

 

[Moliphino]

I don't think they should be able to label anything "meat" "beef" "chicken" etc if there is none of that product in it. It's kinda fraudulent given all the rules on labeling food.

But apparently in modern times "sausage" can mean "mold into a sausage shape" and a "burger" is a "food patty" and a "ball" is a "ball" BUT they shouldn't use the word meat. It should be "plant sausage" "plant ball" "plant burger".

I agree with that. Impossible apparently also has "Impossible chicken nuggets" and "Impossible pork". Those bother me way more than calling something a veggie sausage or veggie burger. I got duped by "chikin" nuggets once in college and am still not over it. Gross cardboard when I was expecting delicious chicken nuggets.

 

[Mysterian]

Though it's debatable whether most of these meat substitutes are actually any healthier than meat.

Let's face it, Beyond/Impossible is just playing off of peoples' assumptions and selling them a product that isn't much healthier than the beef burger.

I agree. And yet, what would you say is the public perception of a vegan meat substitute?


And did anyone catch the name of the Twitter account in the article?

 

[Schneewittchen37]

Right now they're actually making money with high prices. But in the future it sounds like they're going to be in a marketplace where they'll have to compete based at least partially on price.

I don't think they're Pets.com or Webvan.

Impossible Foods is privately held and had to cancel their IPO. No telling if they'll actually profitable.

Beyond Meat isn't doing well. I think they call it "softening demand". And then higher operating costs and supply chain trouble. It wouldn't surprise me if both companies were dealing with the same issues.

 

[tvguy]

We're almost up to three pages and we're still not featured on NBC news?

Well, they don't do NBC Nightly News for another 2 hours, so we still could make it.

 

[tvguy]

My daughter is a vegetarian and it's great to have options. But as my daughter's Doctor......who is also a vegetarian says, most of those fake meats are things you shouldn't eat on a regular basis. Most are more processed than the meat they are imitating. So they fit right in at Cracker Barrell, found you shouldn't eat on a regular basis. Now I need to go to CB and get a fried Chicken Liver dinner. KFC used to have fried chicken livers but at least here they dropped them.

 

[JBRB828]

I don’t see the reason for the out cry. They are just trying to please everyone. Nobody says you have to order it. At least they’re keeping sausage and ground beef.

 

[HopperFan]

I, too, am mystified by why this is a big deal. I'm a little surprised--"Cracker Barrel" and "healthy eating" aren't synonymous in my book. And if memory serves, there are other vegetarian choices on the CB menu, like oatmeal or yogurt or mac and cheese. Correct me if I'm wrong--we typically go to CB once a year, while travelling. That's often enough for me, their food is not to my taste. I wouldn't be getting the fake sausage, though--for the chemicals and calories, I'd go for the real thing on my annual trip.

My guess is that they are in certain markets that have a demand for more Veg options and they are responding to customer feedback. I would guess they will roll it out in those markets first and see how it does. And there are certain markets it will sit in the freezer untouched, so why bother.

 

[bcla]

Impossible Foods is privately held and had to cancel their IPO. No telling if they'll actually profitable.

Beyond Meat isn't doing well. I think they call it "softening demand". And then higher operating costs and supply chain trouble. It wouldn't surprise me if both companies were dealing with the same issues.

But at the very least they're not positioning themselves as a loss leader hoping to get a favorable marketplace position for the future. That's kind of where Amazon.com was when they started branching into warehousing goods that they sold directly rather than just being a selling agent for book publishers.