Nizel Pradhan
The Bay Area company whose R&D is the first to drastically reduce the cost of cell based beef is now finalizing & testing the plant-based portion of its first product
SCiFi Foods, the cell based meat startup which has risen to the top of a crowded space since emerging from stealth in June, announced today it is forging ahead on its path to commercialization with another important milestone: a partnership with Michigan State University’s Food Processing and Innovation Center as well as its Center for Research on Ingredient Safety. The news comes just two months after announcing it is the first company to grow edible beef cell lines that grow in single-cell suspension—a massive breakthrough validating both the company’s strategy and platform, while also allowing it to reduce the cost of growing its beef cells at scale by at least one thousand times.
SCiFi Foods has already announced that its first product will be a burger that combines both cultivated beef and plant-based beef. For the plant-based portion, the company has leveraged the renowned Food Processing and Innovation Center at MSU to conduct its initial pilot runs—an important step in the product development process which will help edge them closer to regulatory approval. While SCiFi Foods has already formulated the ingredients and process for creating the burger, the pilot runs will ensure that at scale, the products will be delicious, as cost effective, safe, and as nutritionally balanced as possible. Once product formulation is finalized and numerous test runs to scale completed, it will (eventually) be added to beef cells from SCiFi Foods’ lab to ensure both blend well together for a supreme finished product.
“We are in a race against the clock—not just to bring a product to market, but as a mission driven company, the faster we finish crucial aspects of R&D like pilot runs, the faster we can make an impact,” said Co-founder and CEO, Joshua March. Without hesitation, he continued, “Price, taste, and health are all imperative for us when it comes to our first and any future products, too. And working with partners like MSU gives us the confidence that it will not only be done quickly, but done well.”
Given the vast expertise of MSU’s FPIC, the startup will not only be able to move much more rapidly, but will also gain valuable insights during the entire manufacturing and scaling process of such a novel product. MSU has garnered a name for itself in the space, partnering with some of the leading names in food over the years. From government organizations including the USDA and FDA, to private companies such as Bumble Bee Foods, Cargill, The Coca-Cola Company, ConAgra, and even Hershey. And now—SCiFi Foods as well.
Added Mollie Woods, the Director of Michigan State University Product Center, “We’ve had some incredible companies test products here at MSU over the years. But we’re especially excited to work with SCiFi Foods. I think after this summer and the record temperatures around the world, to be a part of a startup that’s using science to create such revolutionary change in food is exciting for our whole team.”
While MSU’s FPIC is based in East Lansing, Michigan, SCiFi Foods’ lab and headquarters will remain in San Leandro, California. It has not announced yet where its first pilot plant will be at this time.
For more information, company updates, and job openings, please visit: http://www.scififoods.com, or email: [email protected].
About SciFi Foods
SCiFi Foods is working to be the first in the world to bring cultivated beef to market. Already, it has successfully grown cells in suspension, which at scale will reduce their cost of production by 1000x—a massive milestone. The company will first launch a blended plant-based and cell-based meat burger with a drastically realistic, meaty taste. SCiFi Foods leverages cutting-edge bioengineering technologies, such as CRISPR, to solve the primary obstacles currently keeping cultivated meat from reaching price parity with conventional meat. It was co-founded by CEO Joshua March, who previously co-founded and led both Conversocial and iPlatform, and CTO Kasia Gora, PhD., who, while at Zymergen, pioneered a high-throughput approach to engineering cells. To date, it has raised $29M from leading investors including Andreesseen Horowitz, Valor Siren Ventures, BoxGroup, Entree Capital, and Prelude Ventures, amongst others.
