Israeli cultivated meat manufacturer Aleph Farms has partnered with two companies to produce its cell-based meat at a new production facility in Thailand.
The group intends to work with bio-based goods producer BBGI and synthetic biology researcher and manufacturer Fermbox Bio to carry out the project.
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Information on the amount being invested in the site has not been disclosed.
The factory will be dedicated to developing “cellular agriculture applications”, according to a statement.
When asked by Just Food whether other cell-based products besides Aleph’s cultivated beef would be produced there, a spokesperson said: “The facility is designed as a mixed-scale project for commercial production rather than being solely a pilot project.
When asked by Just Food whether other cell-based products besides Aleph’s cultivated beef would be produced there, a spokesperson said: “The facility is designed as a mixed-scale project for commercial production rather than being solely a pilot project.
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By GlobalData“It will be constructed in stages to match our business strategy and the cultivated meat industry’s evolving demand for production capacity.”
Aleph expects to be able to produce just under 1,000 tons of cultivated beef in the first year of operations at the site.
With the project still in “the planning and development phase”, the exact size of the production site could not be revealed.
“The present plan includes multiple, 2,000-litre bioreactors”, the spokesperson said, adding the three companies were looking to “evaluate [the] feasibility of using larger bioreactors in due course”.
Aleph expects the overall construction of the site and “ramping up the first production batches” to take around 18 to 24 months.
The new site will allow the company to embrace and “asset-light strategy” with a “hub-and-spoke model centred in South East Asia and other key markets”.
When asked which markets it would look to target in the region, the company said its “immediate focus is on APAC and EMEA, which show clear signs of being the largest markets for cultivated meat”.
It added: “Both regions face food security challenges, witness increasing demand for animal products and support cellular agriculture through policy. At Aleph Farms, we see South East Asia as a strategic region full of high growth markets.”
The company said: “Over the next couple of quarters we will engage in technology transfer, scale-up studies, and preparing a capital expenditure and operational expenditure estimations.
“The effort is to build a model which solves for both scale and viability.”
The cultivated beef producer was unable to say how many new jobs the new facility might create.
Aleph Farms is in talks with the Thai Food and Drug Administration around regulatory frameworks for cultivated meat. It said it aims to submit its application for regulatory approval “soon”.
The group was granted the first global approval for cell-based beef in January by Israel’s Ministry of Health.
Speaking on the news in a statement, Didier Toubia, CEO and co-founder of Aleph Farms described the project as: “A prudent, capital-efficient scale-up”.
He added: “This strategy aligns with our commitment to scaling up responsibly, avoiding abrupt, extensive CAPEX investments in the process.
“Ultimately, this progression aligns with our overarching goal: ensuring food security through an equitable and inclusive transition to sustainable, resilient food systems.”
