(Reuters) - Impossible Foods said on Tuesday it would cut the prices of its faux meat patties by 20% at U.S. grocery stores as the plant-based protein maker ramps up production with a larger plan to eventually undercut ground beef prices.

Impossible Foods, the maker of the plant-based Impossible Burger, and rival Beyond Meat Inc have been the leaders in plant-based alternatives over the past two years as consumers, worried about their health, environmental impact and animal welfare, look to broaden or shift from chicken, pork and beef-based diets.

Demand for plant-based meat also rose during the pandemic after beef and pork producers shut many meat plants to curb the rapid spread of the coronavirus outbreak.

California-based Impossible Foods, which has already cut prices for food distributors twice in one year, said it would keep lowering prices of their products.

The suggested retail prices for Impossible Burger would drop to $5.49 in about 17,000 U.S. grocery stores, the company said in a statement, adding that it will introduce similar price cuts at retail stores in Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong.

(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)