US: Upside Foods buys cultivated seafood company Cultured Decadence
Acquisition will complement Upside product portfolio and accelerate commercialisation of cell-based seafood products
Berkeley, California-headquartered cultivated meat, poultry, and seafood company Upside Foods (formerly Memphis Meats), has acquired Cultured Decadence, a Madison, Wisconsin-based cultivated seafood company.
Cultured Decadence was founded in 2020 and has developed proprietary cell lines and cell feed for a variety of seafood products, including lobster and other crustaceans.
Upside stated that the acquisition will complement and expand its product portfolio and accelerate commercialisation of a range of seafood products grown directly from animal cells, without raising animals. Cultured Decadence will adopt Upside’s brand and remain in Wisconsin as Upside’s Midwest hub.
This acquisition follows the recent opening of Upside’s Engineering, Production, and Innovation Center (EPIC) in California, which it claims as the most advanced cultivated meat, poultry and seafood production facility in the world.
Cultivated meat, poultry and seafood is real meat produced directly by growing animal cells, without the need to raise and slaughter animals. It is not vegan, vegetarian or plant-based.
Dr Uma Valeti, founder and chief executive of Upside Foods, said: “Seafood has a rich and delicious culinary tradition that makes it a favourite across the globe. Cultivated seafood also has a tremendous potential to benefit the world. Cultured Decadence’s technology is incredibly promising, and their team is filled with passionate, smart individuals who want to make our favourite food a force for good. We’re thrilled to welcome the Cultured Decadence team to the Upside family and are excited that the scientific, technological, and production infrastructure we have built over many years can help accelerate the mission impact of this team.”
John Pattison and Ian Johnson, co-founders of Cultured Decadence, stated: “We’ve long admired Upside’s innovation and leadership in the cultivated meat industry. Upside’s unparalleled R&D and scale up capabilities will significantly accelerate the commercialisation of cultivated delicious, sustainable and humane seafood. Uma and his team’s ‘Big Tent’ mentality resonates deeply with our team, and we are incredibly proud and humbled to be joining such a talented group with a deep shared sense of mission, purpose and commitment to doing the right thing. There’s nobody else we’d rather join to build the future of food.”