CULT Food Science – vegconomist – the vegan business magazine

©CULT FOOD SCIENCE

Investor Marc Lustig Acquires 15% of CULT Food Science, Becomes Largest Individual Shareholder

March 16, 2023March 16, 2023

CULT Food Science (CSE: CULT) (OTC: CULTF), an investment platform focused on cellular agriculture, announces Canadian entrepreneur Marc Lustig has acquired 15% of the company through his family office L5 Capital Inc. The transaction makes Mr. Lustig the company’s largest individual shareholder. Described as an esteemed entrepreneur with a background in biotech, life sciences and cannabis, Lustig previously worked as an institutional investment banker across Canada and Europe, prior to founding his own ventures. Transaction details In a statement, CULT revealed that Lustig acquired an aggregate of 27,518,900 common shares and 30,725,000 common share purchase warrants of Cult Food Science in private transactions. Under the transactions, a company controlled by Lustig paid an aggregate of $752,335.81, representing a price of 2.5 cents per share and …

Topics:Cultivated meat Investments

People

CULT Food Science Hires Because, Animals Co-Founder Joshua Errett

November 7, 2022

CULT Food Science has appointed Joshua Errett — co-founder of cultivated and plant-based pet food brand Because, Animals — as its new vice president of product development. CULT is an investment platform focused on cellular agriculture. The Canadian firm has an impressive and fast-growing portfolio featuring companies such as Umami Meat, Novel Foods, and Ohayo Valley. “I am excited to add Joshua as a member of the CULT team,” said Lejjy Gafour, chief executive officer of CULT. “He will be pivotal in the expansion of CULT’s operations, new product development, and other company efforts. His extensive experience in both cellular agriculture and as an experienced operator are expected to be vital in exploring new ways CULT can build value and be on the leading edge …

©Novel Farms

Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Novel Farms Raises $1.4M in Pre-Seed Round for First Marbled Cultivated Pork Loin

August 11, 2022August 11, 2022

Novel Farms, a food technology startup, announces a $1.4M pre-seed funding round and reveals it has created the world’s first marbled cultivated pork loin. According to the startup, its loin showcases the marbling and texture of a real muscle cut, making it one of the few cell-based meat companies to successfully create a structured meat prototype. Founded in 2020 by Nieves Martinez Marshall, PhD and Michelle Lu, PhD, the company says its pork loin can scale more efficiently than other cultivated meats thanks to its edible and highly customizable scaffolds. Developed with Novel’s proprietary microbial fermentation, these lower-cost scaffolds provide a structure for the attachment of cultured meat cells, without the need for costlier biomaterials such as alginate, mycelium or cellulose. These newer scaffolds are …

Topics:Pork scaffolding

Opalia’s Cell-Based Milk to Be Produced at Pre-Pilot Scale by 2024

July 18, 2022

Opalia’s cell-based milk could be produced at pre-pilot scale as early as 2024, according to investment platform CULT Food Science. The Canadian alt-dairy company is currently searching for suitable commercial partners to make this possible. The news comes just a few months after Opalia announced it had developed a non-animal-derived cell culture medium to replace fetal bovine serum (FBS). The new medium is more ethical, affordable, and consistent in quality than FBS, as well as being less prone to contamination. Opalia first created a proof of concept in March of last year, when it successfully produced milk from an artificial mammary duct. The company claims to be the only one in Canada working on cell-based milk, and is said to be in the process of …

Topics:opalia

©CELL AG TECH

Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

CELL AG TECH Joins with Canadian Research Firm CCRM to Scale Cell-Based Fish Manufacturing

May 5, 2022

CULT Food Science, an alt-protein investment platform, announces its portfolio company CELL AG TECH is collaborating with the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM) to efficiently scale CELL AG’s cultured seafood manufacturing. CELL AG has also been named a winner in Canada’s AcCELLerate-ON competition for its work on scaling fish muscle stem cells in 2D and 3D. As part of the signed agreement, CELL AG and CCRM’s scientists will work on developing a cost-effective and efficient process for growing fish cells in bioreactors. A leader in regenerative medicine-based technologies, CCRM’s cell manufacturing knowledge and ability to apply regenerative medicine principles to cell culturing will accelerate CELL AG’s development processes and improve product quality, the startup says. Though the scaling of cell-based fish and seafood …

Lejjy Gafour ©CULT Food Science Co

Interviews

CULT Food Science: “We Will Be the Global Leader in Cell-Based Foods Through Investment & Tech Development”

April 5, 2022

Based in Canada and looking to be the global leader in cell-based foods, CULT Food Science boasts one of the most impressive portfolios not only in cellular agriculture but in all of alt protein. Featuring Eat Just Inc, MeaTech, MeliBio, and California Cultured to name but a few, CULT Food Science is a rapidly-expanding investment platform looking to advance the future of food with an exclusive focus on cultivated meat, cultured dairy, and cell-based foods. We talked in depth with Lejjy Gafour, the president of CULT Food Science, who has a fascinating personal story about his journey into the world of cell-based. How and why was CULT Food Science born? CULT Food Science was born out of a group of experienced operators and investors who …

©De Novo Dairy

Fermentation

CULT Invests in Africa’s First Precision Fermentation Company De Novo Dairy

March 4, 2022

Africa’s first precision fermentation company De Novo Dairy this week received an early-stage investment from Canadian cellular agriculture investment company CULT Food Science Corp. The investment strengthens the alt-protein space in Africa, as well as the ongoing investment boom in fermentation companies CULT Food Science claims that this net-new exposure to cell-based dairy continues to broaden its cell-based portfolio, in which well-established companies can be found, including Singapore cultivated seafood startup Umami Meats and cultured chocolate leader California Cultured Inc. Strengthening the food-tech industry in Africa Being the continent’s first precision fermentation company in the alternative protein space, De Novo Dairy is planning to bring nutritious dairy substitutes to the South African market. Founded in 2021, De Novo Dairy is focused on nutritious dairy products, …

Brendan Brazier, Founder ©Fiction Foods

Company News

Fiction Foods Reveals Cellular Agriculture Egg Alternative Launch

February 25, 2022February 16, 2022

Fiction Foods, a portfolio company of CULT Food Science, has announced significant developments in its novel cellular agriculture product pipeline, with the commercial launch of its first egg alternative product slated for the third quarter of 2022. The news comes at a busy time for Canadian cultivated food investment platform CULT Food Science, as it looks to establish its growing portfolio at the forefront of the cell ag revolution. “It’s not a fake egg, but a whole new culinary experience, that is made from a signal-cell organism called euglena that contains animal-like and high-quality protein, but without the animal” – Brendan Brazier Fiction Foods, the intelligent food design company founded by plant-based food pioneer Brendan Brazier, aims to reinvent the way nutrient-dense protein is produced. To …

Founder Stephanie Michelsen, image by Camilo F. Muñoz Segovia

Investments & Finance

Canada: CULT Announces Strategic Investment in Cultivated Collagen & Gelatin Pioneer Jellatech

February 1, 2022

Canadian investment company CULT Food Science Corp. announces it has completed a strategic investment in Jellatech Inc., the world’s first cell-based collagen and gelatin ingredient company. Jellatech also counts Ryan Bethencourt’s Sustainable Food Ventures as a prominent investor. Jellatech, founded in 2020 by Stephanie Michelsen, who has been included on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for 2022, closed a $2 million pre-seed fundraise last April. Stephanie’s sister Nikita is also operating in the cultivated arena, having recently launched new startup Pearlita, with a new research lab in Raleigh, NC to grow oysters from cellular agriculture. Impressive portfolio CULT has made several key investments in animal-free companies over the past six months, including cell-cultured meat company Novel Farms last August; into Biftek, producer of a …

Topics:Collagen Gelatin

©Vinicius Benedit on Unsplash

Cultivated Seafood

CULT Food Science Invests in Umami Meat, Will Produce Cultivated Japanese Eel, Yellowfin Tuna & Red Snapper

July 13, 2022December 14, 2021

CULT Food Science Corp., a Canadian investment platform, announces it has completed a strategic investment into Singapore cultivated seafood startup Umami Meats. Umami Meats, which was named a semi-finalist in the XPRIZE “Feed the Next Billion” competition, plans to leverage proprietary technology the startup has developed that is capable of lowering the costs of producing cellular growth serum. Cell growth serum is a critically important ingredient for cultivating cells into meat, but the product’s prohibitively high cost has consistently presented a major challenge to the cultivated meat industry. According to CULT, the production of growth serum for cultivated seafood accounts for 80% of total production costs. Lowering the price of cultivated seafood By focusing on reducing the price of serum, CULT says, Umami aims to …

Topics:Seafood

Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

CULT Food Science Portfolio Company Biftek to Commercialise Animal-Free Growth Medium

November 30, 2021

CULT Food Science has announced that one of its portfolio companies, Biftek, has made significant progress towards commercialising its animal-free growth medium. Biftek says it will soon transport its first sample to a Singapore-based cultivated meat company. Called “Lyophilized Biftek Growth Medium Supplement”, the medium has been developed to be suitable for global shipping without cold chain logistics. Unlike with animal-derived growth mediums, there is no variation between batches, meaning the quality is consistent. Another key advantage of animal-free mediums is the potential for lower costs. The expense of cultivated meat remains a problem, but 80-90% of production costs come from fetal bovine serum, currently the most widely-used growth medium. Biftek realised that if it could develop a cheaper alternative, cultivated meat costs could be …

Topics:Biftek growth medium

3D Technology

Canada’s CULT Food Science Corp Makes Strategic Investment into UK’s 3D Bio-Tissues Ltd

March 1, 2022November 9, 2021

Canadian investment platform CULT Food Science Corp announces that it has made a strategic investment into UK firm 3D Bio-Tissues Limited (3DBT). The move comes as the platform – with an exclusive focus on clean, lab-grown food – increases its stakes across the field. Based in the UK, 3DBT produces biological tissue material that can be used for cultivated meat, synthetic leather, and collagen production. A spin-off from Newcastle University, 3DBT’s patented technology also provides an alternative source of animal leather that is resilient to the global leather market’s supply chain and trade limitations. CULT Food’s investment in 3DBT furthers the platform’s exposure to cellular agriculture-focused intellectual property including innovative tissue templating and culture fluid technologies. CULT Food’s platform aims to advance the development of …

©Ohayo Valley

Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

A Strategic Stake in Steak: CULT Food Science Buys Into Wagyu Ribeye Producer Ohayo Valley

October 25, 2021

CULT Food Science Corp announces has completed a strategic investment into Berekely’s Ohayo Valley Inc., a cultivated meat science and cell biology company focused on developing and commercializing intellectual property to facilitate the sustainable production of A5-grade cultivated, wagyu ribeye beef. As we reported in August, food innovators around the world are beginning to get involved in alt wagyu across the plant-based, cell-based and even 3D printed spheres. Founder of Canada’s Top Tier Foods, Blair Bullus, noted in an interview with vegconomist that wagyu is hugely appealing to alt meat innovators because “Wagyu beef is widely considered the best beef in the world by meat-eaters and is renowned for its fat marbling and tender qualities.” Ohayo’s unique take on the steak: it claims to have …

Topics:Beef Ribs Steak Wagyu Beef Whole Cuts

Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Canada’s CULT FOODS Continues to Fund the Future of Food With Bistek Investment

August 31, 2021

CULT FOOD SCIENCE CORP, a Canadian-based investment platform focused exclusively on investments in cultured, lab-grown meat and dairy products, has completed the closing of a strategic investment in Biftek Inc. The news follows its very recent investment into Novel Farms, producer of whole cuts of gourmet cell-cultured meat such as Iberian pork and dry-cured Iberian ham. CULT Food Science states it “is an investment company focused on supporting and advancing the technology behind the future of food. We identify and make equity investments in global cultivated meat and dairy companies that are developing and commercializing innovative food technologies that enable a kinder, more secure, and more sustainable food supply chain.” Biftek plans to use CULT’s growth capital infusion to produce and distribute recipe samples to …

Topics:Biftek Turkey

©Novel Farms

Investments & Finance

CULT Food Science Corp. Invests in Novel Farms For Whole Cuts of Gourmet Cell-Cultured Meat

August 30, 2021August 30, 2021

Canadian investment platform CULT Food Science Corp. has completed a strategic investment in Novel Farms, a cell-cultured meat company based in California.

Topics:Whole Cuts

The vegconomist-newsletterinformation for decision-makers

The vegconomist-newsletter
information for decision-makers