Naturally, interest was piqued a few years ago when a handful of startups emerged from laboratories promising cultured meat: meat from animals that didn’t require mass slaughter, water-intensive processes, or climate-change-driving emissions.
At the time, a new era in meat production, developed through a process of cultivating extracted animal cells with the right nutrients and hormones, promised a product indistinguishable from animal meat, without the taste and nutritional compromises that weighed heavily on plant-based alternatives.
However, cultured meat companies have also been hit hard as rising interest rates have stalled global investment in startups, with funding for the sector dropping by 75.5% between 2022 and 2023. Steadying out of this carnage are two local startups. Magic Valley and Oath — are hoping that new technology and different go-to-market strategies will help them differentiate. Their approaches are quite different, with one aiming to grab attention on fine-dining restaurant menus and the other going after everyday supermarkets, competing on price and taste.
“There are many different ways to make cultured meat, and we use very different technologies. [to Vow]Founder and CEO of Magic Valley Paul Bevan Said Capital Brief“We’re targeting a completely different market and producing a completely different product.”
Founded four years ago, Melbourne-based Magic Valley is currently focused on making mincemeat products from cultured lamb and pork, and Bevan hopes it can build a more cost-effective and scalable platform than the first generation of cultured meat companies, while partnerships with big-name brands and retailers will help change consumer behavior.
