We live in a world where it is entirely possible to print your food. As bizarre as that sounds, startups are already making strides to research and develop ways for you to eat printed meat. Let’s take a look at why this might be more than just a futurist’s fantasy cuisine.
The Current Meat Printing Scene
It’s safe to say that, compared to other spheres, 3D meat printing may be a little niche. However, there are a variety of companies willing to try and change this for the better. For example, ventures such as NovaMeat, Redefine Meat, and Shiyin are working hard to prove that you don’t have to slaughter animals to get access to fresh meat.
There are already large venture pushes surrounding veganism on a broader scale. In theory, 3D printed meat and lab-grown meat may not need the presence of animals at all in the production process. Veganism is big business, too, with the alternative meat sphere supposedly worth more than $700 million.
Who’s Leading the Way?
As mentioned, there are a handful of 3D printing startups who are helping to bring a meat dish creation home. At least, they are striving to take animals out of the equation.
Redefine Meat is a venture worth considering in the first instance. This company, based in Israel, is only in a fledgling state, but their public offerings are neither just the meat nor templates – rather, the 3D printers that you’ll need alongside.
The company plans to help small butcher and meat delivery businesses print their own steaks, for example, in-house. It’s thought that their printers may be able to produce more than 10kg of meat in the space of an hour.
The company is said to have received a funding boost of at least $6 million in 2019. The source of this funding round was largely CPT Capital.
CPT has also helped to fund Impossible Foods. It is possibly the poster child for the sphere, having helped to create plant-based food which, reportedly, tastes just like meat. People are sitting up and listening, however, as the company is now worth more than $2 billion.
Room to Grow?
What’s interesting is that multiple ventures look at the same concept in different ways. For example, Impossible’s modus operandi has always been to create meat from plant protein. Redefine Meat wants to sell printers. Meatless, too, takes a different strategy – producing and selling ingredients to manufacture meat-free meat that tastes like the real thing.
Ultimately, society is waking up to the impact that meat-eating and production is having on our environment. Around 3% of people in the US are vegan. That amounts to approximately 9.6 million people, and if this number increases, meat printing without animal slaughter can only become more lucrative.
It’s entirely possible for investors to look for 3D meat printers in startups databases. Fundz, for example, offers a variety of data for funded companies across multiple spheres. Could we all be printing our steaks and burgers this decade?
SOURCES
https://vegannews.press/2020/03/06/vegan-america-study
https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/22/the-foodtech-investment-opportunity-present-and-future/
https://sifted.eu/articles/plant-based-meat-startups/
https://sifted.eu/articles/3d-printed-steaks-novameat/
https://3dprint.com/271217/3d-printing-a-meatless-world-ersatz-in-3d-printed-food/
https://thespoon.tech/isreali-startup-meatech-prints-carpaccio-like-meat/
