The inside story of how the Silicon Valley burger startup Impossible Foods is going global after its sizzling Burger King debut

When the veggie-burger startup Impossible Foods tried to pitch its  "bleeding" patties to Burger King last year, the restaurant chain told the company it had a problem. Its system of cooking burgers — which involves broiling them over an open flame — didn't work with the Impossible Burger. Instead of browning like a meat burger, the Impossible patties crumbled. So Pat Brown, Impossible Foods' founder and CEO, charged the staff at his Silicon Valley startup with creating the Impossible Burger 2.0: a second version of the patty that more closely mirrored beef. While they were at it, he challenged them to make the patties juicier, healthier, cheaper to make, and even more environmentally friendly. That was a year and a half ago. Today, the team has surpassed every part of Brown's request, he told Business Insider in a recent interview. The new Impossible Burger is gluten-free, lower in fat, saturated fat, and sodium, and cheaper to make than the original — changes that allowed the company to launch the Impossible Whopper in Burger King chains in St. Louis, Missouri, at the end of last month. Burger King said it plans to roll out the veggie option in 7,200 restaurants nationwide by the end of 2019. "We've left the cow in the dust," Brown said. Here's the inside story of how a Silicon Valley startup went from tempting Bay Area techies with the first high-end "bleeding" veggie patty to replacing meat burgers at fast-food chains like Burger King across the nation...MORE