Singapore-based cultivated seafood startup Umami Meats is set to host a private launch event showcasing the company’s first cultivated fish structured prototypes developed in partnership with US-based food solutions company Ingredion.
Thai-style fish cakes and battered fish fillets made with cultivated fish cells using Umami’s proprietary technology will debut at the event.
Products for high-end restaurants
Mihir Pershad, Umami Meats’ founder and CEO, said: “We’re excited to be able to showcase our first structured prototypes. With this product showcase, our goal is to demonstrate the versatility of our cultivated fish and the wide range of desirable, structured products that we plan to supply via high-end restaurants as progressive regulatory changes occur in each of our target launch markets.”
The partnership with Ingredion, which was announced during the Singapore 2022 Agri-food Week, will help Umami grow its cultivated fish products using scaffolding structures developed by Ingredion. Rohit Tipnis, Ingredion’s senior director of sales and technical services, said: “The collaboration will enhance the quality of Umami’s products.”
Strategic steps for cultivated fish
After revealing the company’s cultivated fish ball laksa in August and recently announcing a patent for its cell-cultured seafood technology, Umami Meats is taking strategic steps in the cultivated cell space.
In March, Umami raised $2.4 million in a pre-seed round, using the funds to develop further the company’s plant and algae-derived growth media and its single-cell stem process for establishing cells. Umami’s promise of supplying the market with its no-catch, no microplastics, no mercury, and no environmental impacts seafood could arrive soon. Pending regulatory approvals, Umami plans to launch both products by August 2023
“Innovation is at the heart of our partnership with Umami Meats. Working with cultivated seafood and meat presents the next step towards sustainable innovation,” Rohit Tipnis said. “Through this collaboration, Ingredion introduced a functional system that provides the ideal texture and structure to the Thai-style fish cakes. Umami Meats successfully leveraged Ingredion’s formulation expertise and extensive portfolio of sustainable solutions to launch a product with consumer-preferred taste, texture, and flavour in the market,” he added.
