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Tracking the cell-based meat space

efinocchio@pinnaclefoodsales.com

A look at the latest investments, partnerships and developments in the race to change the way the world gets its meat.

Updated December 8, 2021 • By Megan Poinski

ell-based meat once sounded like an idea out of science fiction. Now, it’s a reality.

At the end of 2020, there were more than 70 startups across the globe working on making meat, seafood, and animal fat and organs from cells, according to the Good Food Institute. As of the end of last year, these companies, which all aim to serve meat without slaughtering animals, received more than $350 million from investors to work on R&D, build facilities, hire employees and expand their reach.

 

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Consumers in Singapore can even eat cell-based chicken. Eat Just received the world’s first regulatory approval for a cultivated meat product from the government of the Asian island nation in November 2020.

Meanwhile, governments across the globe are working to develop their own rules and regulations for this new segment, determining how products can be safely made and distributed, as well as figuring out how they should be labeled. Companies are working with regulators to ensure they are ready to apply for approval as soon as possible.

These companies are also making prototypes, working to improve technology and decrease costs and scale up. They’re partnering with food companies around the world so that once they receive regulatory approval, they have a pathway to market — and to making a difference in the industry.

Aleph Farms partners with Wacker to create open-source growth medium proteins

The partnership will make non-animal-sourced proteins used for growth medium readily available to any company. Growth medium is one of the most expensive components for cultivated meat, and Aleph Farms says the agreement will help bring the cost to parity with animal meat.

Meat-Tech 3D creates 3.67 ounce cultivated steak

The steak, the largest cell-based one produced to date, was made through 3D printing of stem-cell-infused bioinks, which differentiated into muscle and fat components.

JBS to acquire BioTech Foods, invest $100M in plant construction

This is the first Big Food acquisition in the space. The global meat leader plans to build a new plant for Spain-based BioTech Foods, as well as construct a R&D center for cultivated meat in its home country of Brazil.

Shiok Meats adds to its bridge funding round

Cultured Seafood Investors LLC and Yi Sung Yong, CEO of Singapore-based cloud kitchen Grain added to the oversubscribed round. The amount was not disclosed, but the company says it has raised $30 million to date.

Upside Foods opens pilot facility and innovation center

The 53,000-square-foot campus in California can make 50,000 pounds of cultivated meat per year.

Nutreco and Mosa Meat receive nearly 2M euros from the REACT-EU program

The grant will be used to further decrease the cost of cell growth medium, using food-grade items from Nutreco’s supply chain.

Mission Barns enters agreement with Silva Sausage for plant-based sausage with cell-based fat

The companies produced a run at scale of Mission Chorizo Sausage to show the partnership. No target launch date has been set yet.

Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary enter strategic partnership with Meat-Tech 3D

The actor and investor and the Israel-based influencer have partnered with the publicly traded company to accelerate its growth and commercialize its products. They will serve in advisory roles to the company.

Aleph Farms partners with Thai Union and CJ CheilJedang for cell-based meat sales in Asia

The companies signed memoranda of understanding to accelerate Aleph’s scale-up and go-to-market activities, as well as use their existing distribution channels for cultivated meat.

New Age Meats raises $25M Series A round

The California company making cell-based sausage plans to double the size of its workforce, build a 20,000-square-foot pilot manufacturing facility and improve product taste. Pending regulatory approval, New Age Meats is aiming for a 2022 launch.

Leonardo DiCaprio invests in Aleph Farms and Mosa Meat

The Academy Award-winning actor said he supports ways to transform the food system, and cultivated beef can solve some of the pressing environmental issues of industrial beef production.

Eat Just gets additional $97M for Good Meat

Combined with the funding round announced four months ago, this $267 million represents the largest single investment round in the cell-based meat space. The company also announced former USDA Secretary Dan Glickman joined its advisory board.

 

Peace of Meat makes 700 grams cultured chicken fat in a single production run

This is the largest quantity of non-animal fat made at once, and demonstrates capabilities for a product parent company Meat-Tech 3D hopes to bring to market in 2022.

Meatable and DSM enter development agreement for growth medium and products

The ingredients and biotech producer will work to make a less expensive solution in which cells are grown, as well as work on mouthfeel and texture of finished products. DSM Venturing participated in Meatable’s most recent funding round.

BlueNalu partners with Nomad Foods to bring cell-based seafood to Europe

The agreement between Europe’s leading frozen food company and the California-based cultured seafood company is the first of its kind in Europe.

USDA asks for comments on labeling for cell-based meat

A 60-day comment period opened to gather input on how cell-based products should be labeled, how they fit into existing standards of identity, how they should appear on product labels, and what aspects will attract consumers.

Seawith plans launch of steak costing $3 per kilogram by 2024

The South Korean company uses ocean-based materials — scaffolding from seaweed and a growth medium from microalgae — for its Welldone cultured steaks.

Meat-Tech 3D applies for patent to use stem cells for cultured fat

The company differentiates embryonic stem cells so that some will produce fat, allowing for intra-muscular fat development like in animal-based meat. The technology could also be used for cultured fat.

Eat Just announces plans to build pilot plant in Qatar

The plant, which could cost around $200M, is being built as part of a partnership with Doha Venture Capital and Qatar Free Zones Authority, with the venture firm bearing much of the cost, CEO Josh Tetrick said. Completion is expected in 2023.

Shiok Meats holds tasting of cell-based crab meat

The world’s first cultured crab tasting was at a Singapore restaurant and featured crab cakes and chili crab.

Vow partners with Nourish Ingredients to make cell-based meat with animal-free fat

The two Australian companies will join forces to create final products that have a mouthfeel and texture more similar to animal meat.

Upside Foods partners with Dominique Crenn to serve cell-based chicken

The Michelin-starred chef will serve Upside’s cell-based chicken at Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, and she will provide the company with culinary counsel and recipe development assistance.

 

Shiok Meats buys Gaia Foods

The seafood company bought a 90% stake in the company concentrating on cell-based red meats and also headquartered in Singapore.

Shiok Meats raises about $10M in bridge round

Investors include South Korean food delivery giant Woowa Brothers, food manufacturer CJ CheilJedang, Vietnamese seafood exporter Vinh Hoan, Japan’s Toyo Seikan; Australia’s Twynam Investments; Switzerland’s Beyond Impact; the UAE’s Mindshift Capital; South Korea’s Irongrey; Monde Nissin CEO Henry Soesanto; and Big Idea Ventures, Boom Capital, and The Alexander Payne Living Trust.

Nestlé is working with Future Meat Technologies on cell-based meat

This is the first partnership disclosed between a cell-based meat company and traditional food company. Sources close to Nestlé say the company wants to develop alternative meat products that blend plant-based ingredients and cell-based meat

Meat-Tech 3D signs a letter of intent to develop cell-based products with Tiv Ta’am Holdings Group

The cell-based meat maker plans to cooperate with the Israeli grocer and food company on R&D, work together on establishing a cultivated meat facility and work together on marketing and licensing.

Aleph Farms closes $105M funding round

The Israel-based company will use the money to prepare for a 2022 launch to scale up manufacturing, grow internal operations and expand product lines and tech.

 

SuperMeat unveils its poultry manufacturing platform

The Israel company showcased a variety of products it can make from cultivated chicken cells — both for humans and pets — at an event at its tasting restaurant and pilot plant.

Wildtype’s pilot plant begins operation

The cell-based seafood company began operating its combination pilot plant, tasting room and educational center in San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood. The demonstration-scale plant is about 7,700 square feet.

Future Meat Technologies’ pilot plant comes online

The industrial-scale pilot plant in Rehovot, Israel, can produce 500 kilograms of cultured meat a day, which is the equivalent of 5,000 hamburgers.

Eat Just gets $170M investment for cultured meat

The new investment comes from funds managed by entities including UBS O’Connor, Graphene Ventures and K3 Ventures. It will be used to increase capacity and accelerate R&D for cultured meat.

Memphis Meats changes name to Upside Foods

The company rebrands to a more consumer-focused name that it says spotlights the positive aspects of cell-based meat. Upside Foods also announced its first product will be cell-based chicken.

Aleph Farms selected for the ‘Rakia’ Mission to space

The company’s Aleph Zero project, focusing on growing cultivated meat in microgravity, is one of the 44 experiments that will be launched to the International Space Station in early 2022.

BlueNalu signs MOUs with Thai Union and Mitsubishi

These agreements will assess market development strategies to bring cultured seafood to Asia.

Orbillion Bio closes $5M seed round

The Silicon Valley company will cultivate heritage meats, including wagyu beef, elk, sheep and American bison.

Meatable gets $47M investment

The funds will be used to develop a small-scale production facility at the Biotech Campus Delft in the Netherlands, as well as to add beef to Meatable’s product offerings.

 

Eat Just gets $200M investment

The funding round was led by the Qatar Investment Authority, which is the sovereign wealth fund of the Middle Eastern nation. The company will use the money to build capacity, accelerate R&D and grow its brands in international markets.

SuperMeat opens “The Chicken,” a restaurant for testing cultured meat

Guests can apply for a table at the Tel Aviv-based testing kitchen, which allows diners to see work ongoing in the company’s plant.

Meat-Tech 3D makes its IPO on Nasdaq

U.S. trading of the cell-based meat company opened at $10.30.

Aleph Farms partners with BRF to bring cultivated meat to Brazil

Under the memorandum of understanding, these two companies will develop and co-produce cultivated meat using Aleph’s BioFarm platform. BRF will distribute Aleph-backed cultivated beef products in the South American nation.

Mosa Meat raises $10M to scale cell-based meat

The company plans to use the funds to extend its pilot plant, develop an industrial-sized production line, expand its team and introduce cultured beef to consumers. Investors include Nutreco and Just Eat Takeaway.com CEO Jitse Groen.

Aleph Farms unveils world’s first cell-based ribeye steak

The steak was made by Aleph Farms and biomedical researchers at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology through 3D bioprinting. Living cells were printed into a shape, and were then incubated to grow, interact and differentiate, allowing the cell-based meat to take on more of the characteristics of a conventional steak.

Future Meat Technologies lowers cost to $7.50 and gets $26.75M in funds

The breakthrough, achieved through partnerships and a reusable plant-based growth medium, brings the cost of a cell-based chicken breast within striking distance of price parity with animal-based chicken. The funding will be used to grow the company.

Novameat creates world’s largest cell-based meat piece

The Spanish company’s piece of meat on a plant-based scaffold is 22,500 cubic millimeters in volume.

BlueNalu gets $60M in debt financing

The company will use the funds to open a 40,000-square-foot headquarters and pilot plant in San Diego, California, where it will be able to make enough mahi-mahi to appear on restaurant menus soon after it gets approval from the FDA.

Aleph Farms partners with Mitsubishi to bring cultivated meat to Japan

The Israel-based company signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitsubishi Corporation’s Food Industry Group to bring cultivated meat to Japan.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the first head of state to taste cell-based meat

Netanyahu tried Aleph Farms’ cell-based steak at an event co-sponsored by the company and GFI Israel. “It’s delicious and guilt-free, I can’t taste the difference,” he said.

Mosa Meat raises $19.7M

Blue Horizon Ventures led the round, which had participation from Mitsubishi Corp., ArcTern Ventures and Rubio Impact Ventures. Mitsubishi will work with Mosa Meat on developing better growth media.

Eat Just gets world’s first regulatory approval for cell-based chicken in Singapore

The U.S. company plans to sell its Good Meat-branded chicken bites in restaurants in the Asian island nation.

Aleph Farms debuts prototype of thin-cut beef steak

The company debuted the prototype of its first commercial product at a cooking demo at the Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit in Singapore.

Aleph Farms launches ‘Aleph Zero’ program to establish meat cultivation in space

The company is working to secure partnerships with tech companies and space agencies for long-term collaborative research.

Shiok Meats raises $12.6M

The investment was led by Aqua-Spark, and will go toward construction of a pilot plant.

Mosa Meat raises $55M

The Dutch company plans to use the funds to extend its pilot plant, develop an industrial-sized production line, expand its team and work toward a product launch.

Meat-Tech 3D creates daughter company Chick&Tech

The Meat-Tech 3D-affiliated company will be dedicated to producing plant-based chicken.

Meat-Tech 3D prints first piece of tissue from stem cells

The successful completion of “Project Carpaccio” came from 3D printing several types of cells, followed by a growth process in which they joined into a single thin piece of meat.

 

July 2020

3D Bioprinting Solutions announces it will bring cell-based meat to KFC in Russia

The Russian company, which had previously used 3D printing to make glands, organs and tissues for medical uses, plans to have products for internal testing in the fall. July 2020

Mosa Meat reduces the cost of growth medium by 88 times

The newly developed growth medium is from plants and does not use fetal bovine serum.

BlueNalu partners with Pulmuone

The South Korean food company, which previously invested in BlueNalu, will work with the cell-based seafood maker on market, regulatory, operations and distribution issues with an eye on bringing BlueNalu’s products to its market.

BlueNalu partners with Griffith Foods on product development

The science-based food ingredients company will help the cultivated seafood maker in aspects of food science, culinary arts, market insights and sensory optimization.

Mosa Meat gets the keys to its pilot plant

The small-scale factory in Maastricht, in the Netherlands, is where the company plans to produce some of its first products for market.

BlueNalu gets $20M investment

The funding round was co-led by Stray Dog Capital, CPT Capital, New Crop Capital and Clear Current Capital, and will be used to move the Southern California company into a larger facility for R&D and a production facility that could make hundreds of pounds of seafood a week. The company plans to produce cell-based mahi mahi for a test market by 2021 January 2020

Memphis Meats raises $161M to build a pilot plant

In this largest-to-date investment round in the space, the California-based company received funds from SoftBank Group, Norwest and Temasek, but also meat giants Cargill and Tyson Foods, and celebrity business leaders Richard Branson and Bill Gates. The plant, which will be in the San Francisco Bay area, is slated to be operational in about two years. The oversubscribed funding round eventually closed at $186 million. January 2020

BlueNalu enters partnership with Nutreco

Nutreco will bring its animal feed and supply chain expertise to help BlueNalu produce cell-based seafood.

Mosa Meat gets investments and partnerships from Nutreco and Lowercarbon Capital

The investment amounts were not disclosed, but Nutreco will help with production of growth medium for cells. January 2020

New Age Meats gets $2.7M investment

The cell-based pork sausage maker will use the funds to grow its team and get more equipment. December 2019

BlueNalu demonstrates cultivated yellowtail amberjack

The California company prepared fish tacos, seafood bisque, poke and kimchi dishes made with the cultivated white fish.

Meatable raises $10M for cell-based pork

The Dutch company is developing meat using a technology built on 2012 Nobel Prize-winning research on how cells develop. It’s been said this technology can produce large batches of cells to make meat in a matter of days to weeks. November 2019

Avant Meats has taste test of cultured fish maw

The Hong Kong startup cultivated the cells for the Chinese delicacy from croaker fish.

Shiok Meats gets $500K investment

Animal product alternative investors Agronomics, gave the company a loan that will convert to approximately a 2.3% share in the company.

Future Meat Technologies gets $14M investment

The Israel-based company plans to use this funding to build a pilot plant that can produce an amount of meat equivalent to 1,500 chickens or five cows each month in a vessel the size of a refrigerator.

Meat-Tech 3D goes public in Israel through SPAC acquisition

The Israel-based company became the world’s first cell-based meat company to be publicly traded.

Aleph Farms and 3D Bioprinting Solutions produce cell-based meat in space

The companies used a specialized bioprinter to create muscle tissue on the International Space Station.

Cell-based meat and seafood producers form alliance

Memphis Meats, Eat Just, Fork & Goode, BlueNalu and Finless Foods are charter members of the Alliance for Meat, Poultry and Seafood Innovation. The organization will lobby lawmakers, educate consumers about cell-based meat and serve as a marketplace of ideas for members. August 2019

Integriculture has taste test of cell-based foie gras

The Japanese company had a private taste test of its liver-based delicacy.

Wildtype hosts cell-based salmon tasting

The company prepared its cultivated salmon several ways at a Portland, Oregon event.

Cargill invests in Aleph Farms

The $12 million investment round for the Israel-based company was led by VisVires New Protein. Strauss Group and other venture capitalists also participated.

Shiok Meats raises $4.6M and tests cell-based shrimp

Funds came from Monde Nissin Corp. CEO Henry Soesanto, Y Combinator and Tyson Foods-backed Big Idea Ventures, and the company had a tasting of cell-based shrimp in steamed dumplings. The company says it can produce a kilogram of shrimp for $5,000.

FDA and USDA issue formal agreement on joint regulation

The formal agreement codifies the agencies’ regulatory announcement from November 2018.

Cubiq Foods raises 12M euros

The Spanish cell-based fat producer will use 5 million euros to build an R&D laboratory and pilot plant that can produce 5.6 million tons of fat a year.

Shiok Meats is founded

The Singapore-based company, which hopes to replicate crab, lobster and shrimp, is the first company of its kind to start in Southeast Asia.

Aleph Farms produces cell-based minute steak

The thin cut delivers “the full experience of meat with the appearance, shape and texture of beef cuts,” the company said.

Just announces partnership with Toriyama to produce wagyu beef

Under the terms of the partnership, Eat Just will grow the renowned beef from Toriyama cell lines. The partnership intends to make the exclusive beef available to more restaurants and at more price points.

FDA and USDA will jointly regulate cell-based meat

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will have oversight on cell collection, banks and growth and differentiation. When cells are harvested, oversight will transfer to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which will regulate production and labeling of the resulting food products. FDA will have sole jurisdiction over cell-based seafood.

Mosa Meat gets $8.8M investment

The Dutch company’s funding round was led by Merck’s venture capital arm M Ventures and Switzerland’s Bell Food Group.

Finless Foods gets $3.5M investment

The seed round was led by Draper Associates, and funds will be used for R&D and increasing scale.

BlueNalu emerges from stealth

The San Diego-based cell-based seafood company comes public with a “significant” investment from New Crop Capital.

Future Meat Technologies is established, gets $2.2M in a round led by Tyson

The investment in the cultured meat company is Tyson’s first in Israel. Other investors in this round include Neto Group, S2G Ventures, BitsXBites, HB Ventures and Agrinnovation.

Aleph Farms develops tech to improve composition of cultivated meat

The Israel-based company uses a combination of four different cell types and grows them on a three-dimensional platform.

Wildtype closes $3.5M investment round

Funders in this round include Spark Capital, Root Ventures and Mission Bay Capital.

Finless Foods cuts production costs by 50%

The California cell-based seafood company says it hopes to achieve price parity with bluefin tuna by 2019. Read more ➔

SuperMeat raises $3M

The Israel-based company’s seed round was led by New Crop Capital and Stray Dog Capital. Sirius Ventures and PHW also participated.

Finless Foods creates first cell-based fish cakes

The cell-based carp and potato fish cakes were produced at a cost of $19,000 per pound of fish.

Cargill invests in Memphis Meats

The investment, the size of which was not revealed, is the first made in the cell-based space by a traditional meat company. It’s part of a $17 million Series A funding round. Read more ➔

Hampton Creek announces entry into cell-based meat

The California company best known for its plant-based condiments plans to use its protein discovery platform to find plant-based cell growth nutrients. It plans a 2018 launch. Read more ➔

Memphis Meats creates first cell-based chicken strips

Tasters said the strip, which was breaded and deep-fried, got the flavor just right. The company also announced it had made cultivated duck meat.

Aleph Farms founded

The company, initially called Meat-The-Future, was co-founded through Strauss Group’s food tech incubator The Kitchen and Shulamit Levenberg, a faculty member at Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.

Memphis Meats makes its debut

After presenting its video of its first tasting, the company made a presentation to investors at the biotech accelerator IndieBio.

Memphis Meats creates first cultivated beef meatball

The meatball was prepared by a chef and the tasting was broadcast on a YouTube video.

World’s first cell-based hamburger is cooked and tasted

Mark Post, a researcher at the University of Maastricht, spent two years making the burger. The patty cost roughly $325,000.

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