Steakholder Foods Continues To Lay Groundwork In The Asian Market

Steakholder Foods Ltd. (NASDAQ: STKH), formerly MeaTech3D, uses cutting-edge cell cultivation and advanced 3D bioprinting to produce meat sustainably. The company announced in a recent press release the receipt of the registered trademark from Japan.

The move from Steakholder Foods follows initiatory discussions earlier this year from Japan's Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry to develop possible regulatory framework and guidelines for future production and sale of cultivated meat in the country. The trademark granted to Steakholder Foods gives the company a solid foothold as a leader in the industry as Japan moves toward embracing a sustainable alternative to traditional meat production and commercialization.

As an innovator in facility-grown beef, pork and poultry, the international deep-tech company, formerly MeaTech 3D, also partnered recently with Singapore's Umami Meats to add cultured seafood and fish products, which are popular food choices in Japan as well as other Asian markets. The companies plan to work together to create cultured species of endangered seafood and fish.

The seafood and fish market is a proven lucrative industry already estimated at $110 billion and expected to increased 3.6% annually over the next decade. Arik Kaufman, founder and CEO of Steakholder Foods, said the partnership with Umami Meats opens new doors in the Asian sector and around the world for the firm.

"We are very pleased about this new agreement, which reflects our commercialization strategy on industry collaboration using our unique 3D printing capabilities," he said in the release.

The company's latest developments follow a rapid succession of growth since Steakholder Foods began in 2019. By 2021, the company acquired the Belgian cultured poultry company Peace of Meat. Later that year, Steakholder Foods made headlines after producing the largest cultivated steak, weighing in at 3.67 ounces.

By March of 2022, the company expanded into the United States, securing a patent for its technology in creating a cultured meat product that best emulates the texture of traditionally harvested meat. During that time, the firm began an expert-led research and development facility in Belgium led by top mechanical engineers and cellular biologists. A few months later, Steakholder Foods was granted a patent in Australia for its methods of producing muscle fiber in meat, enhancing the quality of the product, as well as another in New Zealand.

Steakholder Foods' process involves first selecting the most optimal stem cells. The company's 3D bioprinting technology includes ink formulated from cell lines and an advanced 3D printer that can cut based on a detailed digital design. Through the use of the firm's breakthrough multiple-nozzle modular printing head technology, meat products can be produced with pinpoint precision on a larger scale, without impacting cell viability. The product is then incubated until muscle fibers are formed and the desired density and thickness of the meat is achieved.

The cultured meat industry has grown substantially over the last decade. McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting and research firm, predicts that by 2030, cultivated meat could provide half of a percent or billions of pounds of the world's meat supply. Advancements in technology, like the bioprinting capabilities of Steakholder Foods, are the backbone to achieving more consistency in taste and texture and lowering the costs of cultured meat products, further increasing consumer demand.

In addition to the taste and cost of associated with the industry, sustainability has been a driving force in the production of cultured meat, as companies like Steakholder Foods combat the environmental and social impacts of traditional meat production and commercialization. In conjunction with their own mission, in May 2022, the company joined the United Nations Global Compact, an organization that encourages business to work together to achieve corporate sustainability based on a set of principles the agency has outlined.

Steakholder Foods officials said they have remained committed to doing their part in engaging in innovative business that reduces air pollution and the use of freshwater and land as well as contributes to slaughter-free food production and safer nutrition.

"Not only are these principles in line with our own specific business goals as a leading cultured meat company, but we also believe that it is incumbent on all businesses and organizations to act ambitiously as a global community to solve the sustainable development challenges facing our planet," Kaufman said.