Aleph Farms partners with Enzymit to develop insulin proteins for cell growth in cultivated meat

Image courtesy of Aleph Farms

Cultivated Meat

Aleph Farms & Enzymit Develop Insulin Proteins for Cheaper Animal-Free Serum

Cultivated meat company Aleph Farms and biotech company Enzymit announce the successful development of new processing aids for animal-free serum in the form of insulin-like proteins, to support cell growth. This breakthrough will enable cost-efficiency in cultivating meat at scale. The cultivated meat industry is rapidly growing but relies on expensive and low-scale pharmaceutical inputs that often do not meet the requirements for cell growth in bioreactors. Aleph Farms, poised to reduce growth media costs to launch its petit steak at scale, explains that insulin proteins are not widely available in quantity, quality, and cost for large-scale production. Therefore, cell ag companies looking to grow slaughter-free meat must develop non-animal-derived processing aids to advance their operations, says Aleph Farms. Developing processing aids “Developing more suitable processing …

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Cultivated meat by Aleph Farms

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Cultivated Meat

Aleph Farms and Thermo Fisher Scientific Forge Growth Media Solution for Cultivated Meat Industry

Cultivated meat pioneer Aleph Farms has announced a long-term agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific, a world leader in scientific materials, instruments, and services, to establish a supply chain for growth media. The partnership will make the production of cultivated meat cost-efficient since feed is essential for the proliferation and growth of cells. “Across cellular agriculture, there is a pervasive need for predictable, cost-effective supply of growth media,” said Noa Avigdor, head of global supply chain & manufacturing at Aleph Farms.  Lowering costs The commercialization of cultivated meat is hindered by the costly production expenses of specialized growth media for cell culture, posing a significant challenge for the industry. The new agreement will allow Thermo Fisher Scientific to produce some of Aleph Farms’ formulations for growth media at scale …

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Aleph Farms launches Aleph Cuts brand ahead of commercialization

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Company News

Aleph Farms Launches Aleph Cuts Brand Ahead of Commercialization, Readies for Angus Steak Launch

Cultivated meat pioneer Aleph Farms announces the launch of its first product brand, Aleph Cuts; a branding initiative that aims to distinguish Aleph Farms’ products and build momentum ahead of commercialization.   The company, which uses cellular agriculture to create animal-free meat products, is working closely with regulatory agencies worldwide to prepare for the commercial launch of its first product, a premium Angus-style thin steak due to be marketed as the Petit Steak. It will be Aleph Cuts’ first product, expected to launch in Singapore and Israel later this year. “With the launch of Aleph Cuts, we are introducing our product through an epicurean lens to connect people to our incredible ‘new take on steak,’ sharing what this choice means in an engaging and authentic …

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Aleph Farms' commercial cultivated beef steak prototype

© Aleph Farms

Cultivated Meat

Aleph Farms Expands Production Capacity in Israel and Singapore for Cultivated Beef Steaks

Aleph Farms, which claims to be the first company to grow cultivated meat from non-modified cells, has announced strategic manufacturing agreements that will allow the company to scale and further commercialize its cultivated beef steaks in Israel and Singapore. “Israel and Singapore are the first two markets where we intend to launch our cultivated thin-cut steak. Building up production capacity quickly in those locations while keeping capital investment lean provides a clear roadmap to scalability,” said Didier Toubia, CEO and co-founder of Aleph Farms. Both countries are motivated by similar concerns around sustainability, food security, and animal welfare and have been actively fomenting the development and growth of their alt protein industry. Producing in Israel Aleph Farms has announced acquiring a manufacturing facility in Modi’in, Israel, …

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vegan 2023

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Market & Trends

Industry Leaders Reveal Their 2023 Food Trend Predictions, Part 1

As an eventful 2022 draws to a close, leaders across various sectors in the food industry share with vegconomist their food industry predictions for 2023. In the first part of this series, gimme Snacks, Aleph Farms, Stray Dog Capital and Tastewise predict what will happen in the plant-based food and alternative protein spaces. We offer you their thoughts and insights classified by sectors to contextualize each leader’s unique perspective on what’s coming in 2023. Plant-based foods gimme Snacks: Diego Norris, CMO Foods with low environmental footprints: Norris, a marketing expert at gimme Snacks, considers climate change’s effects undeniable. “In 2023, we expect to see a step-change in demand for brands and products that are produced in sustainable ways or that significantly reduce their carbon footprints by …

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Aleph Farms New CEO

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Company News

Israel’s Aleph Farms Appoints Kevin Benmoussa as Executive VP and CFO, Opens 1st Office in New York City

Cultivated meat company Aleph Farms announces it has appointed food industry veteran Kevin Benmoussa as its Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Benmoussa will lead the company’s global growth agenda and operational expansion in the US from the company’s new headquarters in NYC.  According to Aleph Farms, Benmoussa brings extensive food industry experience, having served as CFO of The Vita Coco Company, where he was responsible for expanding the brand’s global finance functions ahead of its IPO in 2021. Benmoussa also previously held corporate leadership positions with Nestlé Waters North America, Inc. and PepsiCo. “Kevin is a veteran of the food and beverage industry, and brings invaluable expertise in defining and executing winning strategies for achieving growth and profitability,” said Didier Toubia, CEO and …

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Cultivated Beef Steak

© Aleph Farms

Cultivated Meat

Aleph Farms Joins $40M AIM for Climate Innovation Sprint to Advance Cell Ag

Aleph Farms, the world’s first company to produce steaks from animal cells, announced today that will join the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) as an Innovation Sprint Partner. Aleph Farms sees cellular agriculture as a practical solution to the world’s most urgent issues and is working on developing affordable cell growth media for cultivated meat production, as well as conducting groundbreaking experiments on cultivated meat in space. At the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of Parties (commonly known as COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland in 2021, the United States and the United Arab Emirates, along with 39 other nations and more than 180 non-governmental partners, formally launched the AIM for Climate program. $40 million Innovation Sprint The innovation sprint on cellular agriculture …

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Credit Aleph Farms Technion  Israel Institue of Technology

Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

SpaceX, Axiom and Aleph Farms Prepare to Test Cultivated Meat in Space

This week, four SpaceX crew members will conduct groundbreaking experiments on cultivated meat in space. The historic Axiom-1 mission is the first fully private spaceflight to the International Space Station, and among other experiments, will test the effects of microgravity on the formation of muscle tissue cultivated by Aleph Farms. Sending cells to space Scheduled to launch on April 8, the SpaceX Dragon crew includes Israeli philanthropist Eytan Stibbe, who will transport Aleph’s “Lab-on-a-Chip” device aboard the ISS and connect it to the station’s power and monitoring systems, which will be overseen by researchers on Earth. Lab-on-a-Chip is described as a microfluidic device that carries living cells in a nutrient-rich growth medium, and was co-developed with SpacePharma. Through the experiment, Aleph researchers hope to discover …

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cultivated collagen

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Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Aleph Farms Develops Cultivated Collagen to “Replace the Whole Cow”

Israeli cultivated meat company Aleph Farms has revealed it will be expanding with a new platform for cultivated collagen production. Collagen is normally derived from cow hides and bones, meaning its production relies on the animal agriculture industry. But with the help of some of the components used for its cultivated steaks, such as bovine cell sources and animal-free growth medium, Aleph Farms has discovered how to produce collagen without the cow. The company can now make several types of collagen, all identical to those found in nature. According to Aleph, the products outperform plant-based and fermented collagen, which the company says can’t match the attributes of the conventional variety. The cultivated collagen is the first product to emerge from Aleph’s incubator, following 18 months …

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Aleph Farms opens a 65,000 square foot facility, located at Stratasys building in Rehovot, Israel. Photography Amit Goren

Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Aleph Farms’ Space Program Has Lift Off as the Cultivated Steak Leader Reveals New HQ

Aleph Farms – the cultivated meat pioneer – has moved into new headquarters in Rehovot, Israel’s biotech hub. The new facility will include a pilot production facility and state-of-the-art R&D center, as the cell-cultured steak leader progresses towards global commercialization. The company’s space program – Aleph Zero – has also revealed its launch date as part of the Rakia Mission.  Speaking to vegconomist, Didier Toubia, Co-Founder and CEO of Aleph Farms explained: “As part of our space program Aleph Zero, at the end of March 2022 we will be part of the historic Rakia Mission, led by the Ramon Foundation and the Israeli Space Agency. The mission is historic because it is part of Axiom Space’s Ax-1 Mission, operated by SpaceX, and is the first-ever …

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Thai Union OMG Meat

OMG Meat ©Thai Union

Investments & Finance

Thai Union’s $30M Venture Fund and $9M Innovation Center Will Usher in Tuna Giant ‘s Alt Protein Future

Thai Union Group – one of the biggest producers of tuna in the world – has set up a Global Innovation Center in Thailand to create an alt protein future for the multinational company. Based in Bangkok, the $9 million facility employs over 100 food scientists and engineers working on alt meat and seafood. As well as the new Global Innovation Center, Thai Union has also partnered with several companies through a venture fund aimed at the production of cell cultivated seafood. The $30 million fund has seen agreements with companies including US cultivated seafood leader BlueNalu and Israeli cultivated meat pioneer Aleph Farms.  Pursuing both plant-based as well as cellular agriculture innovation, Thai Union’s alt protein strategy includes its OMG Meat brand, launched in …

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Cultivated Beef Steak

© Aleph Farms

Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Aleph Farms Partners With WACKER to Make Affordable Cell Growth Media Widely Available

Aleph Farms has announced a partnership with protein production technologies supplier WACKER to develop affordable cell growth media for cultivated meat production. The partnership will streamline the production processes for growth medium proteins in order to bring down costs. The proteins produced will be animal-free, acting as a substitute for the fetal bovine serum (FBS) currently most commonly used in the sector. FBS is extremely expensive, accounting for the majority of the cost of cultivated meat, and often has issues with contamination and variable quality. Non exclusive agreement Perhaps most importantly, the new agreement will be non-exclusive, meaning other cultivated meat companies will also be able to access the affordable cell growth media. This could make it possible to bring down costs across the board, …

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Aleph Farms and The Technion Reveal Worlds First Cultivated Ribeye Steak

© Aleph Farms

Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

2021 Declared Year of Cultivated Meat by FAIRR Report With $506M Invested So Far

Analysis by the FAIRR Initiative shows that 2021 is “the year of cultivated meat,” with $506 million invested so far this year into cultivated meat firms, already far surpassing previous years.  The report has also found consumer demand for alt protein products in North America is exploding, with 39% of US households now buying plant-based milk and plant-based food sales rising to nearly twice as much as overall US retail food sales last year. FAIRR’s research shows how cultivated meat – a genuine slaughter-free animal protein source – experienced a sixfold increase of investment to reach $366 million in 2020, but that total has already been exceeded in 2021, which so far has seen investment of $506 million into cultivated meat firms.  Eat Just’s GOOD …

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Cultivated Beef Steak

© Aleph Farms

Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Seafood Giant Thai Union Partners with Aleph Farms as 97% of Thais Say Yes to Cell-Cultured Meat

After recently partnering with actor and activist Leonardo DiCaprio, cell-cultured meat pioneer Aleph Farms has now signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with two of Asia’s largest food companies, including the world’s largest tuna producer Thai Union.  Famed for growing steaks directly from animal cells, Aleph Farms has penned MOUs with Thai Union and global food and lifestyle company CJ CheilJedang, to accelerate Aleph’s scale-up, go-to-market activities, and elevate distribution of cell-cultured meat in existing marketing channels across the APAC region. Aleph Farms announced a similar agreement with Mitsubishi in Japan this year. Backed by its recent $105 million Series B funding round – which included the participation of both Thai Union and CJ CheilJedang – Israel’s Aleph Farms is planning an initial market launch in …

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