Umami United

© Umami United

Investments & Finance

Japanese Government Backs Alt Protein Innovators with Millions for Plant-Based Eggs and Cultivated Meat

The Japanese government has awarded $27.7 million in funding to two alternative protein startups: Umami United, a producer of plant-based eggs, and IntegriCulture, a cultivated meat biotechnology company, to support the nation’s economy and enhance food security. The Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Innovation Promotion Fund Project organized by Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries selected the startups. Since 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture has established a plan to diversify protein sources, labeling alternative proteins an important sector, which includes cultivated meat. Japan ranks as the second-largest market size for meat alternatives, valued at USD 247.5 million, according to the latest Food Frontier report on alternative proteins in Asia. However, its projected growth rate of 9% (CAGR 2022–27) is relatively low. This slower growth is driven by …

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alternative protein market company Upside Foods serves a cultivated chicken burger

© UPSIDE Foods

Business Wire

Global Cultured Meat Markets Report – By 2040, a Projected 60% of Meat will be Created from Cells Grown Within Bioreactors and Sold Across Grocery Stores and Restaurants Worldwide

DUBLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The “The Global Market for Cultured Meat – Market Size, Trends, Competitors, and Forecasts (2022)” report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering. By 2040, a projected 60% of the meat will be created from cells grown within bioreactors and sold across grocery stores and restaurants worldwide. The rise of the cultured meat market will be supported by the sustainability of the process, as well as the industry’s ability to provide “tailor-made nutrition” through its meat and seafood products. Recent surveys indicate that nearly 50% of the consumers do not have any reservations about cultured meat. Over the next 10 to 20 years, the cultured meat market is projected to act as a major disruptor to the conventional meat market. The number of startups focused …

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Cultivated foie gras IntegriCulture

Cultivated foie gras ©IntegriCulture

Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

IntegriCulture Becomes First to Cultivate Cells Without Animal Serum at 1/60th of Cost 

IntegriCulture Inc. claims to have performed the first successful cultivation of chicken and duck liver-derived cells in an animal serum-free basal medium. Using the company’s proprietary CulNet system the cost has been estimated to be just 1/60th compared to when using a conventional animal serum.  IntegriCulture claims to have successfully replaced all research-grade materials with food materials to achieve functional equivalence at such a reduced cost. The Japanese biotech also claims to be the first in the world to implement a cell culture with a serum-free basal medium. The CulNet system, which emulates natural inter-organ interactions, is key to recent developments.  Animal serum, normally used as a medium to cultivate cells for meat, is prohibitively expensive and comes with its own ethical issues. The CulNet …

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IntegriCulture cell cultivated meat

© IntegriCulture

Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Japan: IntegriCulture Raises $7M for Universal Cultivated Meat Platform

IntegriCulture – the Japanese cultivated meat commercialization specialist – has raised $7 million in Series A-plus funding. The company will use the funds in its development of affordable growth media and other tech solutions for the cellular agriculture sector.  Striving to bring down costs for emerging cultivated meat companies, IntegriCulture is developing ‘outside-factor-free’ cellular agriculture tech, which could even one day be used in the home. The recent $7 million in Series A-plus funding brings IntegriCulture’s total funding to date to $16.4 million. Although cultivated meat production costs are falling rapidly, it remains prohibitively expensive as a commercial enterprise. IntegriCulture addresses that with its CulNet System – a universally accessible platform for growth media production. In an interview with vegconomist, IntegriCulture founder Yuki Hanyu explained …

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Shiok Meats’ cell-grown “shrimp“ dumplings. CREDIT Shiok Meats.jpg

Shiok Meats’ cell-grown “shrimp“ dumplings. CREDIT Shiok Meats.jpg

Company News

BREAKING NEWS: IntegriCulture Inc Collaborates With Shiok Meats to Upscale Cell-Based Shrimp & Reduce Costs

It has been revealed to vegconomist that IntegriCulture Inc. and Shiok Meats Ltd have officially entered into a collaboration to upscale Shiok Meat’s cell-based shrimp utilising IntegriCulture’s inexpensive cell culture technology which will effectively make the shrimp more affordable and removes the necessity of the use of serum.

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