Netherlands-based cultivated pork producer Meatable announces the appointments of Lorne Abony and Patricia Malarkey to its Board of Directors.
The Duch startup utilises pluripotent stem cells with patented opti-ox™ technology, enabling cells to multiply and differentiate into mature muscle and fat cells. Meatable says that this technology allows cells to be differentiated in just 8 days and claims this is the fastest process in the world.
After raising $35M in August last year, Meatable went on to inaugurate a new pilot facility to expand the production capacity of its cultivated pork platform, and this January announced it had submitted a dossier to hold the country’s first legally sanctioned cultivated meat tasting.
An exciting juncture
Says Krijn de Nood, co-founder and CEO, “Meatable is at an exciting juncture in our growth trajectory as we prepare to launch our consumer products in Singapore and host our first tasting in the EU. We look forward to tapping into the strategic industry expertise that Lorne and Trish add to our Board to help guide us through this next stage in our commercialization roadmap.
He adds, “Following a successful launch in Singapore, our team is looking forward to bringing our delicious and environmentally sustainable meat products to the U.S. We are confident Lorne and Trish will help accelerate and enhance our efforts to effectively enter this important market.”
Lorne Abony
Lorne Abony is a US-based entrepreneur whose many successful ventures include the 2001 founding of FUN Technologies, which he sold in 2006 to Liberty Media for $484 million. He was the founding shareholder and Executive Chairman of wellness player Emmac, which was sold in 2021 to Curaleaf for $407 million. Prior to Emmac, Mr. Abony was the CEO and founder of NuuVera, a Canadian wellness organization listed on the TSX, which was sold to Aphria in 2018 for CAD $826 million. Previously, Mr. Abony was the founder and CEO of Mood Media Corporation, the world’s largest in-store media company. Mr. Abony has significant capital markets experience having raised more than $1.7 billion through the public and private debt and equity markets. On the Meatable Board, Mr. Abony will support the company’s management team by advising on commercial development initiatives in the U.S. as well as future transactions.
“The Meatable vision is extremely compelling, as is their leadership in producing high-quality, delicious meat cost-effectively and at unprecedented speed,” said Mr. Abony. “Compared to others in its category, Meatable is highly differentiated through its industry-first technology and phased approach. I look forward to contributing to Meatable’s growth journey as the company continues to execute on its methodical and transparent strategy of product development and commercialization that has led to the development of proven technology and industrial processes.”
Trish Malarkey
Patricia (Trish) Malarkey, previously Chief Innovation Officer at DSM, was responsible for accelerating innovation across the company and focused on valorizing science. She is a non-executive director and innovation advisor to a number of established and startup Food and AgTech organizations. On the Meatable Board, Ms. Malarkey will help guide and support the management team in delivering its scientific, technological, regulatory and marketing goals to the U.S. market. Ms. Malarkey earned her Master of Science, Toxicology from the University of Surrey and her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Glasgow.
“Meatable is working at the forefront of food technology and is a clear-cut leader in the cultivated meat space,” said Ms. Malarkey. “I firmly believe in Meatable’s mission to mitigate the environmental impact of meat production and address concerns in animal welfare, food security and human health. I look forward to leveraging my expertise in innovation efforts and scaling sustainable food companies to help the Meatable team continue to build upon its core technological advantages and expand into the U.S. market and beyond.”
Meatable’s Board of Directors is led by Chairman of the Board Cees de Jong, Chairman of Novonesis (recent merger of Novozymes and Chr. Hansen) and former President and CEO of Chr. Hansen, the Board of Directors includes Anthony Chow, co-founder of Agronomics Limited and an early investor in the company, Jason Whitmire, General Partner at BlueYard Capital and the lead investor in Meatable’s seed investment round, and co-founders Mr. de Nood and Daan Luining, CTO of Meatable.
“We are thrilled to welcome Lorne and Trish, whose careers have established them as key innovators and leaders across a wide array of verticals throughout the finance and food ecosystem, to the Meatable team,” said Krijn de Nood, co-founder and CEO at Meatable.
