Simple Planet, a biotech company based in South Korea that produces cell-based food ingredients, has revealed plans to venture into the global market by establishing branches in North America in the second half of 2023.
Instead of growing pieces of meat or seafood, Simple Planet produces cultivated meat powder and cultivated unsaturated fat. Its products are designed to improve the nutritional profile of foods while enhancing their flavor. They can be used in multiple F&B applications, including senior and infant foods. This versatility will allow these ingredients to enter the market more easily than cultivated finished products.
The company says that its latest progress in scaling its cell culture platform and cell organization technology has led to this overseas expansion plan. Additionally, the recent approvals to sell cultivated chicken in the USA are attracting companies ready for commercialization.
Reducing costs and scaling
Simple Planet has a facility where the company can produce at scale raw materials using its cell line development platform. To date, It has successfully established thirteen different cell lines to produce different kinds of animal proteins and fats. Furthermore, the company has created a serum-free culture medium that is food-grade and low-cost to replace the controversial and expensive fetal bovine serum.
The company argues that this cost reduction success and its plans to establish branches in the US and Canada will accelerate the commercialization of innovative cell-based foods. As part of its efforts to accelerate product commercialization in South Korea, Simple Planet recently partnered with Pulmuone, a plant-based food manufacturing company, to co-develop cell-based foods.
Simple Planet’s technology and innovation have garnered international recognition. The company was among the 2022 Food-Tech 500 presented by Food Forwarding in the UK. Additionally, Simple Planet was the only Asia-based finalist in MassChallenge Switzerland 2023, an early-stage startup accelerator.
Ildoo Jeong, CEO of Simple Planet, says: “Simple Planet’s cell-based food ingredients will be supplied diversely as target materials in the global cultivated meat market, and we are preparing for commercialization and global market entry starting with the establishment of our North American branches in the second half of 2023.”
