Brief: Nestlé to enter cell-cultured meat market in partnership with Israeli startup

• Nestlé is planning to enter the cell-cultured protein market in a partnership with Israel startup Future Meat, Bloomberg has reported citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
• The Swiss multinational is reportedly designing a range of products that blend bioreactor-cultivated meat from Future Meat with its own plant-based protein technology.
• Timings for launching the products on the market will depend on gaining regulatory approvals, the sources said.

Why it matters:

Management consultancy Kearney has forecast that ‘slaughter-free’ meat — including both plant-based analogs and products cultivated from animal cells — will make up over a third of the global protein market by 2040. Nestlé and other large food corporates — such as are keen to get a foothold in this developing industry early so they can maintain their market share into the future.

In May, JBS — the world’s largest meatpacker — paid $409 million to acquire vegan meat replacement brand Vivera. Last week, food giants BRF, Cargill, CJ CheilJedang, and Thai Union joined the $105 million Series B raise for Israel’s Aleph Farms, which is developing cell-cultivated whole cuts.

Nestlé enters Asian plant-based protein market with $103m China investment – read more here

Aleph’s compatriot Future Meat, which is reported to be Nestlé’s partner, opened the “world’s first industrial cultured meat facility” last month. The new factory will initially produce 500 kilograms of cultured meat per day – the equivalent to 5,000 hamburgers.