Meatable’s meaty milestone: Dutch food tech startup slashes cultivated meat production to 4 days

Delft-based Meatable, a food tech company, announced on Friday that it has achieved a breakthrough in the production of cultivated meat at scale.

The company unveiled its ability to transform pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) into high-quality fat and muscle tissue in just four days, down from eight days.

The announcement comes eight months after raising €31M led by Agronomics to accelerate commercial launch.

Through its core patented Opti-Ox technology, Meatable can now produce cultivated meat faster and at lower costs than industry norms. 

By reducing cell differentiation time in half, Meatable’s process now requires nearly half as many bioreactors at scale, cutting CAPEX costs and enabling more efficient use of production space.

“This is truly a remarkable moment for Meatable and the cultivated meat industry as a whole, as we just made the fastest process in the industry that much faster,” says Daan Luining, Co-founder and CTO of Meatable. 

“Achieving the ability to produce cultivated meat at scale and efficiency has been our goal from day one, and this step moves us significantly forward in fulfilling our promise. Meatable remains intensely focused on providing the world with a real meat solution without harming animals or the environment, and I’m proud to say that the reduction in cell differentiation time puts us on path to delivering our products cost-efficiently at scale,” adds Luining.

In addition to accelerating the production of cultivated meat, Meatable claims to ensure a superior flavour and texture profile. 

The process transforms cells into fully matured fat and muscle tissues within four days, boasting optimal fibre formation, protein content, fat accumulation, and essential meat flavours.

At a recent tasting event in Singapore, Meatable showcased its pork sausage with the intention of introducing cultivated meat products to the mass market.

With plans for a restaurant launch later this year, the company aims to revolutionise the culinary landscape.

Meatable is the first cultivated meat company to submit a dossier to the Dutch government for potential tastings in Europe. 

The company is also eyeing expansion into the United States by 2025 to solidify its position as a leader in the cultivated meat industry.

Meatable: Developing cultivated meat 

Founded in 2018 by Krijn de Nood, Daan Luining, and Dr Mark Kotter, Meatable uses proprietary technology to cultivate pork and beef. 

The Dutch food company aims to deliver “at scale, the new natural, cultivated meat that looks like, tastes like, and has the nutritional profile of traditional meat”.