As an early sign of how Impossible Foods’ plant-based meat may fare in China, the placement of the company’s booth at the International Import Expo in Shanghai was not particularly auspicious.

Impossible Foods was relegated to the fringes of a cavernous convention center, surrounded by entrepreneurs with far less expansive ambitions than the transformation of the global meat industry. To one side of its booth in November was a company that sells sliding glass doors. Also nearby: a purveyor of Persian rugs.

“It was kind of obscure,” said Pat Brown, the chief executive of Impossible Foods. “Some far corner of this vast, insanely huge space.”

Over the last couple of years, Impossible Foods and its main rival, Beyond Meat, have gone from start-ups with niche followings to major American food companies. They have struck deals with fast-food chains like McDonald’s and Burger King, and earned plaudits for their efforts to replace animal products with plant-based substitutes that are healthier and less harmful to the environment.