Following a “selective role elimination” (read layoffs) in February, Upside Foods has now terminated an unspecified number of employees at their sole Emeryville, CA. facility. Since 2015 the company has raised $608 million from venture capital investors. To date Upside Foods along with competitors has been unable to transition from pilot level cell culture in roller bottles to commercial production in bioreactors.
In a recent presentation, Dr. Uma Valeti trotted out the usual homilies regarding enhanced sustainability and limiting greenhouse gas emissions that are in any event widely disputed, as justification for the future of cell-cultured meat. Valeti appears to ascribe lack of progress in consumer interest and commercialization to legislative action either as outright banning on sale of cell cultured meat in specific states or onerous labeling requirements. The problem facing the aspirant manufacturers of cell-cultured meat relate to their collective inability to produce at scale. Projections of cost, failed promises following unsubstantiated hype over availability and questions concerning quality have created skepticism among potential consumers. Recent studies conducted by Purdue University suggest that consumers are satisfied with their present diets and although there is some curiosity, wide-scale replacement of beef, pork and chicken with cell-cultured alternatives is unlikely even if price and availability were not negative attributes.
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Despite previous hype and subsequently proven misinformation, Upside Foods acknowledges that it is not ready for “prime time” and is considering a hybrid product combining some cell cultured meat with plant-based protein. Dr. Valeti claims that the Company will be adding additional cultivators at the Emeryville plant “for larger and more efficient scale by maintaining the taste, quality and safety that we’ve been able to consistently achieve at the 2,000-liter scale.” This claim is contradicted by ex-employees who maintain that the company has never achieved consistent production using bioreactors. Valeti confirmed that Upside Foods is still using 2-liter plastic flasks and has failed to market other than hand-processed product in limited quantities for a gourmet restaurant.
Good Meat, an iteration of entrepreneur Josh Tetrick, is facing large claims for non-payment of debt associated with orders for bioreactors. Companies operated by Tetrick are “developing new cell lines to enable more efficient large-scale production.” This statement suggests that the Company has drawn in its horns and is apparently not contemplating large-scale cultivated meat production, presumably based on an inability to raise funds.
It remains to be seen whether Believer Meats, a company that originated in Israel and is building a production facility in North Carolina will achieve commercial production following anticipated regulatory approval.
After committing as much as $3 billion to developing cell-cultured meat technology neither venture capitalists nor aspirant producers have anything remotely commercial to show for their investment. Cell-cultured meat has a great future behind it.