Impossible Foods partners with yeast protein start-up Equii
Under the partnership, Impossible Foods will work with Equii to develop grain-based products to add to its portfolio.
USA – Impossible Foods, the pioneering plant-based meat innovator, announced a strategic partnership with Equii, a California-based food tech start-up specializing in yeast-derived protein, aiming to accelerating innovation in sustainable protein solutions amid booming demand for high-protein diets.
Equii aims to enable a range of nutrition-boosted food solutions using its yeast protein solution – a complete, vegan-friendly protein containing all nine essential amino acids and offering a neutral flavour.
CEO Peter McGuinness highlighted the collaboration in a LinkedIn post, noting it expands Impossible’s portfolio beyond burgers and sausages into complementary grain-based products like high-protein breads, pastas, and baking mixes, leveraging Equii’s fermentation technology that boosts complete protein by 20-30% without altering taste or texture.
It has developed a flour that rebalances the macros from high-carb to high-protein, adding 20-30% complete protein to everyday foods such as breads, pasta, and baking mixes.
This move responds to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which flipped the food pyramid to prioritise protein, capitalising on GLP-1 weight-loss drug trends that are driving 62% of consumers to seek macro-balanced foods.
Equii’s proprietary yeast protein, a vegan-complete source with all nine essential amino acids, rebalances high-carb staples into nutrient-dense options, enabling Impossible patties on protein-enriched buns or sausages with fibre-packed pasta for fully stacked meals delivering 50+ grams per serving.
Impossible’s entry into the baked goods category marks a milestone for the company as its first foray outside of plant-based meat alternatives.
Founded in 2021, Equii’s neutral-flavour flour integrates seamlessly into Impossible’s heme-powered products, addressing category slowdowns in which plant-based meat sales dipped in 2025 due to economic pressures and processed-food scepticism.
Equii co-founder Monica Bhatia, now accelerating Impossible’s grain innovations, emphasized best-in-class formulations that maintain craveable mouthfeel, positioning the duo against Beyond Meat and emerging rivals in the growing functional foods market.
The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Together, Impossible Foods and Equii aim to redefine the boundaries of plant-based nutrition, offering consumers more diverse, protein-rich options while advancing the global transition toward sustainable diets.
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