Meatable, a Netherlands-based cultivated-meat company, said it has taken an important step towards commercialising its lab-grown pork products after opening a new facility in its home market.
The 3,300 sq m site at the Bio Science Park in Leiden doubles the size of its previous offices and lab space and means the company can increase its bioreactor capacity from 50 litres to 200l, and later to 500L, to step up testing and production.
The new facility follows Meatable’s $35m Series B funding round in the summer.
When Meatable launched in 2018, it started in a small office and lab space in Leiden, near the Bio Science Park. The following year, the company moved to the DSM Biotech Campus in Delft, where it has grown to more than 90 employees.
At Delft, Meatable unveiled its first cultivated pork products and claims to have achieved a world-first breakthrough with one of the fastest processes in the industry to make cultivated meat, taking only eight days to develop one single animal cell into pork.
Meatable is planning a commercial launch next year in Singapore, The island state is one of only two countries to have approved the sale of cultivated meat, alongside the US.
The company, which produces pork sausages and dumplings from pig cells, is aiming to get its products into Singapore restaurants next year after teaming up with local manufacturer Esco Aster.
Krijn de Nood, co-founder and CEO of Meatable, said: “It is fantastic to see how we have grown from an idea of two entrepreneurs five years ago into a mature company with a tangible product that can transform how we eat meat.
“In this new facility, we can further scale the company’s processes and accelerate commercial launch. This brings us one step closer to our mission to create delicious cultivated-meat products without harming people, animals or the planet.”
Meatable, founded by de Nood, CTO Daan Luining and Dr. Mark Kotter, has brought together a team of close to 100 experts with knowledge in fields including molecular biology, chemistry, tissue engineering, bioprocess development, food safety and food science.
In July, the Netherlands became the first EU member state to give the green light to enable cultivated meat tastings.
