Novelty food item still existing after a few years is a groundbreaking success, not a flop. The real mistake is treating food as a tech startup. People are unde

Novelty food item still existing after a few years is a groundbreaking success, not a flop. The real mistake is treating food as a tech startup. People are understandably cautious about what they put in their bodies and also associate food with their cultural identity. Widespread acceptance would require patient cultivation of each segment of the market and tweaking product to suit different needs and sensibilities. Now that burger composition can be altered rather than being whatever comes out of the cow, diet burger that still tastes meaty / fatty would not be a bad start, that's where people will overlook preservatives so long as they get results. Next, consider if plant burgers can fulfil various religious restrictions when real meat would not. Create ads and mascots for different cultures. Then wait a decade and you might be getting somewhere.