Israel: SuperMeat opens production-to-fork cultured meat manufacturing facility

  • 18 March 2021
  • Cell-based
The cell-based chicken company reduces production costs by 50%, bringing a cultured chicken burger down to $30

Foodtech company SuperMeat has opened the world’s first production-to-fork cultured meat manufacturing facility. The site was introduced to the public at a live event held during the Future Food-Tech summit last week. The company demonstrated its manufacturing process from chicken cell to chicken burger for the first time.

During the event, the company announced that it has cut down production costs by 50%, bringing a 100% cultured meat burger down to $30.

The facility has been designed to showcase SuperMeat’s production-to-fork meat manufacturing model, enabling transparency for meat consumers. It provides clients with an unprecedented opportunity to observe the meat manufacturing process while dining on a menu based on cultured chicken.

SuperMeat’s indoor production-to-fork facility can produce hundreds of kilograms of meat every week, eliminating transportation, shortening the supply chain, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, saving land and providing high levels of transparency, increasing trust for poultry consumers.

Transparency for consumers

SuperMeat was founded by Ido Savir, Koby Barak, and Shir Friedman in 2015. The entrepreneurial trio wanted to revolutionise the meat industry from its core, aspiring to secure a better future for humans and animals alike.

The company developed technology to produce meat grown in a controlled, sterile environment without the use of antibiotics and without any possibility of contamination.

SuperMeat’s production process requires 99% less land use and 90% less water than traditional animal agriculture.

Tel Aviv-based foodtech company SuperMeat believes that providing high transparency and traceability should be a cornerstone of food production. The launch of the production-to-fork facility showcases its commitment in that direction and the potential that cellular agriculture technologies can bring to the meat industry.

SuperMeat’s production-to-fork facility

The move to transparency is one that has been already highlighted by an Innova Market Insights report. It was mentioned as one of the top trends for the food and drink industry in 2021.

This strive for transparency is becoming more important as according to NielsenIQ’s survey, 67% of consumers want to know everything that goes into the food they buy.

SuperMeat chief executive Ido Savir revealed the company is working closely with local industries in the US, EU and UAE, to launch facilities similar to The Chicken around the world in 2022.

The company has raised $4.2 million in venture capital over two rounds, attracting 7 investors, including Stray Dog Capital and Unovis’s New Crop Capital.