Accelerating lab-grown beef: Bell Food Group increases stake in Mosa Meat

10 Jul 2020 --- Dutch start-up Mosa Meat is another step closer to the commercial production of cultured beef following a new financing round that has seen the Bell Food Group invest a further €5 million (US$5.6 million). With this investment, the meat processor and manufacturer of convenience products in Switzerland reinforces its strategy to get a foothold in the booming market for alternatives to meat, and proactively shape new trends in the convenience food sector.

The aim of this latest financing round is to raise money for the construction of an industrial production plant and drive forward the development and scaling-up of technology. 

“Mosa Meat has developed very well since the first investment and we are confident that the first burgers made from cultivated meat will soon be on the market. By participating in a further round of investments, Bell Food Group is supporting Mosa Meat in its goal of being the first company with a licence for a cultivated meat product in Europe,” Fabian Vetsch, Project Manager Corporate Communication, at Bell, tells FoodIngredientsFirst. 

“The Bell Food Group has taken a leading role in the booming market for meat alternatives in recent years and intends to expand this role further. The Group remains convinced that cultivated meat is an interesting technology with future potential in this area. In a first step, cultivated beef will only be available in small quantities. Mosa Meat plans to commission a large-volume production plant within five years. We assume that in a few years other suppliers with similar products will also come onto the market,” he says.

Bell Food had already taken a €2 million (US$2.2 million) share in Mosa Meat in 2018 when it initially began supporting the start-up’s development and research work with its expertise and know-how as one of the leading producers and marketers of meat and charcuterie products in Europe. 

The Bell Food Group also has a strong foothold in the development of innovative nutrition concepts, and it invests constantly in new production technologies and trends for customer-specific solutions, according to the company. 

Lab-grown meat by Mosa Meat sizzles on the pan.Mosa Meat’s objective is to be the first company to launch a cultured meat product on the European market. Once commercial products are on the shelves, they will provide an alternative to consumers who are re-evaluating their consumption of meat for ethical reasons and make it possible to meet the growing demand for meat in a sustainable manner. 

Pioneers in cultured meat, Mosa Meat, is a spin-off company from Maastricht University which was behind the world’s first hamburger made directly from cow cells rather than raising and slaughtering an animal, back in 2013. 

The scientific milestones for bringing the product to market have been achieved on schedule over the past years, and the first pilot production plant will commence operation in 2021. 

Over the course of 2022, the first industrial production line will start and the first products will be launched on a small scale in selected restaurants in test markets in and possibly outside Europe. In addition, plans are in place to commission the first high-volume production plant by 2025.

Earlier this year, Mosa Meat began a strategic partnership with Nutreco, a global leader in animal nutrition and aquafeed, and with Lowercarbon Capital, a new US-based venture capital fund led by Chris Sacca, investing in planet healing technologies.

Consumer acceptance of cell-based meat is growing 
While companies like Mosa Meat press ahead with cell-based meat, consumers are warming up to the idea of eating it, with a growing willingness to consume cultured meat, in general. 

In April, Mosa Meat conducted a study alongside Maastricht University, in the Netherlands, into the consumer acceptance of cultured meat, finding that some participants were willing to pay almost 40 percent more for cell-cultured meat than regular meat. 

Participants sampled animal-based meat believing it was “cultured,” indicating that having been informed on the environmental benefits of lab-grown meat, consumers were more encouraged to try it. Mosa Meat also emphasizes how the COVID-19 pandemic could potentially shine a light on cultured meat, eliminating the need to use antibiotics in food production in the future. 

“It is encouraging that all the participants were willing to try meat labeled as cultured, this is a step further than verbally accepting it,” Hannah Tait, at Mosa Meat, told FoodIngredientsFirst, in an exclusive interview.

Scaling cultured meat production
“The Plant-Based Revolution” trend is pushing up demand for non-animal meat sources in 2020, according to Innova Market Insights. While there continues to be huge NPD and further opportunities in meat- and dairy-free products, the booming market is on the verge of seeing new and exciting products enter the fray as lab-grown products get closer and closer to commercialization. Cultured meat is expected to be a major disruptor, as long as consumers take to it.

The Bell Group notes that global meat consumption will rise significantly by around 3 percent per year up to 2030 and that current production methods will no longer be able to sustainably meet this increase in demand. Some predict that cultured meat may achieve a market share of 10 percent by 2030. 

“It is planned that Mosa Meat will complete the first pilot production plant in 2022 and that the first products will be available in selected restaurants during the course of the year,” Vetsch adds. “This will initially be the case in a few test markets. However, the launch date will also depend on approval procedures, which can take some time with new technologies.

Investments, research and development and lab-grown innovation will continue at pace as the race towards commercialization presses forward. Meanwhile, this is happening against a backdrop of growing consumer interest in ethics. In fact a growing segment of consumers are concerned about the environmental and ethical issues impacting today’s world. According to research by Innova Market Insights, air pollution, animal cruelty and ocean pollution are the three most important concerns, with response rates of more than 60 percent. 

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is flagged by the market researcher as fueling consumer sentiments that unified action is required across global communities, which is having a knock-on effect on product development in the F&B industry.

Moving toward a slaughter-free world, producing food that is sustainable, nutritious and good for the health of consumers and the planet will be a growing theme throughout this year and next. 

By Gaynor Selby