UPSIDE Foods, formerly known as Memphis Meats, has acquired cultivated seafood startup Cultured Decadence, which specializes in cell-cultured lobster.
The startup will adopt the UPSIDE brand while remaining in Wisconsin as part of UPSIDE’s midwestern technology hub.
The acquisition follows the recent opening of UPSIDE’s $50 million Engineering, Production & Innovation Center (EPIC) in California last year, the world’s most advanced facility for producing cultivated meat, poultry and seafood. According to a press release, EPIC’s technology platform will be capable of producing UPSIDE’s existing products and Cultured Decadence’s full species portfolio.
Founded in 2020, Cultured Decadence is developing a wide array of high-value seafood products using proprietary cell lines and cell feed, including lobster meat. The acquisition will allow the startup to expand and complement UPSIDE’s offerings, while accelerating research and commercialization of cultivated seafood products.
A Big Tent mentality
“Seafood has a rich and delicious culinary tradition that makes it a favorite across the globe. Cultivated seafood also has a tremendous potential to benefit the world,” said Dr. Uma Valeti, Founder and CEO of UPSIDE Foods.
He added, “Cultured Decadence’s technology is incredibly promising, and their team is filled with passionate, smart individuals who want to make our favorite food a force for good. We’re thrilled to welcome the Cultured Decadence team to the UPSIDE family and are excited that the scientific, technological, and production infrastructure we have built over many years can help accelerate the mission impact of this team.”
“We’ve long admired UPSIDE’s innovation and leadership in the cultivated meat industry,” said John Pattison and Ian Johnson, co-founders of Cultured Decadence. “UPSIDE’s unparalleled R&D and scale up capabilities will significantly accelerate the commercialization of cultivated delicious, sustainable and humane seafood. Uma and his team’s “Big Tent” mentality resonates deeply with our team, and we are incredibly proud and humbled to be joining such a talented group with a deep shared sense of mission, purpose and commitment to doing the right thing. There’s nobody else we’d rather join to build the future of food.”
