Bene Meat Technologies (BMT), a Czech startup developing cultivated meat for food and feed, has introduced its cultivated meat pet food product publicly for the first time.
Claimed as a “world premiere,” BMT’s cultivated pet food for cats and dogs was presented at the latest Interzoo trade fair in Nuremberg, where BMT handed attendees samples of its “revolutionary” pet food (it has not been specified which type of meat).
“Owners are increasingly concerned with the idea of feeding their pet animal protein so that another animal doesn’t have to die because of it”
Last November, the startup received a license from the European Feed Materials Register to commercialize a cultivated ingredient in the European market, becoming the first to obtain such registration. (Animal feed materials do not require pre-market approval from the EU novel food system.)
After this commercial milestone, BMT says it has scaled its production capabilities to ensure sufficient volumes of the cultivated meat ingredient to launch a product by the end of the year.
Novel pet food ingredients
BTM also announced that it is working to optimize its cultivated meat product and collaborating with producers to develop other high-quality pet food offerings. According to BMT, pet food manufacturers are interested in including alternative proteins to expand their product range with ethical and sustainable options. Meanwhile, according to various surveys, many people are willing to feed their pets with feed made from cultivated meat.
The Prague-based startup, founded in 2020, is led by a team of 80 international biotechnologists and food scientists, cultivating meat cost-efficiently for the food and feed industries at an industrial scale without using fetal bovine serum.
With only four years in business and a sole investor, the medical devices BTL group, the startup has developed technologies and products that were not its primary focus but have new applications for pet food ingredients.
By manufacturing an alternative protein source for pets, BMT aligns with broader market trends identified by Grand View Research, which projects the global pet food market to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.4% from 2024 to 2030, potentially reaching a market $139.29 billion by the end of the decade.
Alt proteins for pets
This year’s Interzoo also saw other pioneering pet products: Micro Harvest and VEGDOG presented a dog treat crafted from a unique microbial protein while Dr. Clauder’s showcased the world’s first dog treats made with FeedKindPet, an air-based protein-derived ingredient developed by the biotech Calysta.
Vendula Kučerová, Head of Sales and Marketing Strategy at BMT, notes, “There is a growing demand among dog and cat owners for personalized, premium, and natural pet foods that are in line with human nutrition trends. However, owners are increasingly concerned with the idea of feeding their pet animal protein so that another animal doesn’t have to die because of it.”
