Aleph Farms, the lab grown cell-cultured meat company, has signed a MoU in late September with 2 of Asia’s leading food companies – Thai Union (Thailand) and CJ CheilJedang (Korea). As part of the agreement, both these companies will help to accelerate Aleph’s scale-up, go-to-market activities and elevate distribution of cultivated meat in existing marketing channels across the APAC region. Aleph Farms announced a similar agreement with Mitsubishi in Japan.
Aleph recently raised US$105 million in Series B funding led by L Catterton, the largest global consumer-focused private equity firm, and DisruptAD, ADQ’s venture platform, and Temasek, amongst others.
According to Didier Toubia, CEO of Aleph Farms, “We are excited to partner with key players in the Asia market and establish a new category of meat products to address increasing consumption in the region. We carefully consider partnerships that reflect our core values and sustainability commitments, and both Thai Union and CJ share our resolutions for achieving carbon-neutrality and enhancing food security for all people of Asia and around the world. Temasek is an ideal investment partner with an intrinsic understanding of the Asian market.”
Singapore is the first country in the world to approve cultivated meat and to offer it on a restaurant menu. Cultured chicken had its global debut in Asia, a region of the world that, while vulnerable to food insecurity and struggling with scarcity of natural resources, is also seeing increased meat consumption thanks to rising income, growing populations and increased urbanisation.
Sze Cotte Tan, CTO of Food R&D at CJ Cheiljedang said, “We are highly excited to deepen the relationship with Aleph Farms to explore the market potential of alternative beef produced from cultured cells.”
Beef is Southeast Asia’s 2nd fastest growing meat category, with consumption expected to grow as much as 16% by 2022 in a region that, historically speaking, has primarily consumed fish and other seafood. Research from Thai Union and Aleph Farms reveals that 74% of Singaporeans and 97% of Thais are willing to try cultivated meat. In Singapore, a key motivator for trying cultivated meat is the environmental benefits, while in Thailand, diners favor the ability to trace the meat’s origins.
Thiraphong Chansiri, President and CEO of Thai Union said, “Following our investment, we are excited to work with Aleph Farms, which is already well known for its technological advancement and strong commitment to sustainability, to further explore collaboration opportunities in Asia.”
Aleph Farms unveiled the world’s first cultivated beef steak in 2018, and cultivated the world’s first ribeye steak earlier this year. The company is planning an initial market launch in 2022, pending regulatory approval.
Aleph Farms grows beef steaks, from non-genetically engineered and non-immortalised cells isolated from a living cow, without harming animals and with a significantly reduced impact to the environment. The company was co-founded in 2017 by Didier Toubia, The Kitchen Hub of the Strauss Group, and Professor Shulamit Levenberg from the Biomedical Engineering Faculty at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.
AFBR has recently interviewed Didier Toubia, CEO of Aleph Farms to gain further insights on the company’s future development plans as well as gain better understanding of its innovative products for Asian customers. The following are excerpts of the interview with him:
What are the latest developments for Aleph Farms with regards to cultivated meat in Asia after the MoUs with Thai Union and CheilJedang
The MoU Aleph Farms has signed with Thai Union, CJ CheilJedang and Mitsubishi for example, are the first phase of a long-term relationship it is building to bring cultivated meat to Asia. The strategy of Aleph Farms is to integrate into the existing ecosystem as part of its go-to-market plans, serving as the driver of an inclusive transition of the meat sector towards sustainability and resilience. Leveraging the expertise and infrastructure of leading food and meat companies will drive a faster scale-up of cultivated meat and eventually lead to a broader positive impact.
From extensive consumer research and regulatory assessment, Aleph’s activities during this phase play a role in designing effective go-to-market strategies, while establishing transparent communications with regulatory agencies in the area. Aleph values the regulators as its partners for building trust with consumers.
Through research it is currently conducting, Aleph Farms gains insights regarding its target demographic that will further inform its marketing strategy. Recent research from Thai Union and Aleph Farms revealed that 74% of Singaporeans and 97% of Thais are willing to try cultivated meat.
Singapore is the first country allowing the sale of cultivated meat (chicken) from Eat Just. How different (taste/texture/applications etc) is the product of Aleph Farms from its competitors ? Do they go around the same process in production ?
Compared to companies that develop minced products, Aleph’s first product line is a cultivated thin-cut beef steak. Aleph Farms thin-cut steaks will be available to diners by the end of 2022, pending regulatory approval. Aleph Farms has also been developing a new technological capability to enhance its versatility, enabling it to build a portfolio of diversified cultivated meat products intended to satisfy specific consumers’ preferences for fattier and thicker cuts of meat.
Aleph’s products mirror the sensory quality, texture, and flavor of conventionally produced steaks, and are cultivated from cells that are natural and non-genetically engineered. Aleph will not use any animal-based components in its production process except the cells themselves.
Are there any future plans – for eg. development of new brands, or moving beyond beef alternatives for example ?
Beef is Southeast Asia’s 2nd fastest growing meat category, with consumption expected to increase as much as 16% by 2022 in a region that, historically speaking, has primarily consumed fish and other seafood.
Aleph has a versatile production platform that enables it to produce meat from any species. Its first product is a steak, and it will expand its portfolio to other proteins as well. It focuses on beef and steak for 2 reasons:
(1) Aleph Farms is focused on creating quality products,
(2) Conventional beef involves the most resource-intensive production methods compared to other meat products and has the highest carbon footprint.
Aleph initial market launch plan is in 2022 – will its products be priced competitively and what type of meat products will be launched ?
Similar to other new food products, the cost of Aleph’s steaks for the initial market launch in 2022 will be more expensive than conventionally produced steaks. Aleph has developed a unique large-scale cultivation platform based on 5 proprietary modules that grant it with a clear path to price-parity with conventional meat, within 5 years from initial launch in 2022.
Aleph Farms is producing quality products; thus, the focus of its product-strategy is on steaks, and not meatballs or patties.
