Last week, an upscale sushi bar in New York hosted a launch party for Australian cultivated meat firm Vow. The event, catered by renowned sushi chef Masa Takayama, featured a menu of sushi rolls, Peking duck tapas, and mushroom salad, all made with foie gras made from quail cells brewed in a bioreactor. This unique ingredient was the highlight of the meal, showcasing the potential of cultivated meat in the luxury food market.
Vow’s CEO, George Peppou, is positioning cultivated meat as a high-end product, a departure from the industry’s usual focus on animal welfare and competing with mass-produced meat. Despite the challenges facing the industry, including bans and lack of funding, Peppou is determined to turn the technology’s high production costs into an advantage.
The main obstacle for cultivated meat is the cost of growing animal cells in bioreactors. While startups claim to have significantly reduced production costs, prices are still much higher than traditional meat. The two leading companies in the space, Eat Just and Upside Foods, have focused on creating cultivated chicken products. However, Peppou argues that this approach is not feasible, as the fundamentals of cultivated meat are expensive.
The major cost in producing cultivated meat is cell media, the liquid broth that provides nutrients and growth factors to the cells. The standard cell media, Essential 8, costs over $400 per liter, making it unsustainable for large-scale production. This is where Vow differentiates itself, as they have developed their own proprietary cell media that is significantly cheaper and more efficient.
Despite the challenges and skepticism surrounding the industry, Peppou remains optimistic about the future of cultivated meat. He believes that with innovation and determination, the industry can overcome its obstacles and make cultivated meat a viable and sustainable option for consumers. The launch of Vow’s foie gras in Singapore and Hong Kong is just the beginning, and the potential for cultivated meat to revolutionize the food industry is immense.
