Meat Alternatives: The Rise of Startup Innovation

Companies creating cultivated meat and meat alternatives are experiencing growth and attracting investment across the globe, mirroring the increasing support for food technology businesses within the United States.

Recent collaborations with major international chains such as McDonald’s in Hong Kong, the establishment of testing facilities in Israel, and new funding rounds for startups based in Sydney and Singapore demonstrate the significant potential present in global markets for alternative protein sources.

In Hong Kong, Green Monday Holdings’ OmniFoods division, recently securing $70 million in funding, has been selected by McDonald’s to supply a plant-based spam alternative at restaurants throughout the city.

This limited-time offering of OmniFoods’ pork substitutes indicates the fast-food chain’s continued willingness to provide customers with vegetarian and vegan options—specifically in locations outside of the U.S. Within its domestic market, McDonald’s has not yet initiated substantial efforts to introduce lab-grown meat or meat replacements to consumers.

Regarding lab-grown meat, consumers in Tel Aviv can now sample chicken produced in a laboratory at The Chicken, a new pop-up restaurant located within the former test kitchen of SuperMeat, the lab-grown meat producer.

This unique dining experience is offered at no cost to customers who wish to try the company’s hybrid chicken patties, which combine lab-cultivated chicken cells with soy, pea protein, or whey, as stated by the company.

SuperMeat, which has received funding from investors including Stray Dog Capital, New Crop Capital, and Starlight Ventures in the U.S., as well as European investors like PHW Group, Blue Horizon, CPT Capital, BackBone Ventures, Seier Capital and Good Seed Ventures, and Asia’s The Sirius Group, declined to disclose the production cost of its meat but affirmed that its products will be competitively priced with premium restaurant offerings. The company anticipates launching its first commercially available product within the next year-and-a-half to two years, and achieving full-scale production at its facilities within five years.  

In Sydney, Australia, Goldman Sachs, a leading financial services and investment banking firm, and Temasek, a Singaporean state-owned investment company, have participated in a $55 million funding round for V2food, as reported by Bloomberg last month.

This investment establishes a competitive landscape between V2food, Omnifood, and established brands like Nestlé, alongside well-funded American meat substitute manufacturers such as Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, all of which have a presence in Asia. Yum China Holdings, the operator of Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut franchises in mainland China, entered into an agreement with Beyond Meat in June to feature the company’s products on their restaurant menus, as reported by The Street over the summer.

Asian companies specializing in lab-grown meat are also making considerable progress. Shiok Meats, a company focused on cultivating shrimp meat, has secured $12.6 million in new funding to further develop its product.

With plans to introduce its initial minced shrimp product in 2022, Shiok intends to utilize the funds for its first commercial pilot plant.

The funding was provided by investors from Japan, Korea, Singapore, and the United States, including SEEDS Capital (the investment division of Enterprise Singapore), Real Tech Fund, Irongrey, Yellowdog Empowers Fund, Ilshin Holdings, Toyo Seikan Group Holdings, Ltd, Veg Invest Trust, Makana Ventures and AiiM Partners.

Shiok is not only developing its own lab-grown meat but is also utilizing in-house cell culture techniques while collaborating with Integriculture for cell culture provision. The company, a graduate of Y Combinator’s accelerator program in 2019, is also partnering with an unnamed entity to develop the tissue scaffolding necessary to provide the shrimp meat with its texture.

According to Shiok chief executive Sandhya Sriram, the company is also in the process of developing crab and lobster meat, with pilot programs planned for these products soon.

The increased activity and investment in international markets demonstrate that U.S.-based technology companies are not the sole entities recognizing the potential of cultured meat and protein alternatives. In fact, these types of meat replacements have been prevalent in Asia for a number of years.

Investors continue to be willing to support companies exploring alternative meats and other consumer products that leverage synthetic biology for production.

“I am keen on investing in companies that employ unconventional ingredients or processes to precisely replicate the final product,” stated Tess Hatch, a vice president at Bessemer Venture Partners.