Market Trends

Collaboration is the key among the players in Japan’s cultivated meat industry

Discussions have been growing in recent years on cellular agriculture’s potential role in improving food security as well as addressing consumer concerns, such as animal welfare and sustainability. In the last two years, Meros has been digging deeply into topics including novel and alternative protein sources. We continue to monitor developments in this industry and our researcher Sachika Onaka has used this to create a snapshot series of Japan’s cultivated meat industry in 2024. To start, in this first installment, we’ll explore Japan’s major domestic players!

So, what is cultivated meat?

Cultivated meat, including seafood, is ‘real’ meat created by cultivating animal cells in a bioreactor (in vitro). Cell culture mediums, growth factors and other proteins are added to provide the necessary nutrients for the development of the cells. Cultivated meat is also referred to as cell-cultured meat, and various products, from chicken, beef, and pork to foie gras, eel, and tuna, are being developed by startups, universities, and major food manufacturers around the world.

The cultivated meat industry in Japan

Japan’s cultivated meat and seafood market has attracted significant interest from international governments as well as startups, including France’s Gourmey, Singapore’s Umami Bioworks and Isreal’s Forsea Foods, all of which are interested in expanding into Japan. While globally there was a decrease in investment into the cultivated meat industry in 2024, Japan does not yet seem to be slowing down.

Domestically, research and development are prolific, but unlike in overseas markets where there has been more focus on growing ground meat products such as burgers and meatballs, in Japan, R&D is slightly skewed towards creating structured cultivated meat (i.e. steaks). This is likely due to the fact that early corporate movers, both in terms of joint R&D initiatives and investment into cultivated meat, are companies from the traditional meat industry, such as Nippon Ham and Itoham Yonekyu, both major meat processing and food manufacturing companies. Furthermore, many cultivated meat researchers have established roots in regenerative medicine and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) research, so Japan’s initial focus on cultivated meat instead of seafood was a logical conclusion.

This is not to say that there is no R&D being conducted on cultivated seafood; in fact, there is significant research and media attention on seafood is increasing. We will cover cultivated seafood in a later post in this series.

The Japanese cultivated meat players and their characteristics

Cultivated meat startups, companies, universities and industry associations have all been key in the development of the Japanese cultivated meat industry.

The heavyweight that has propelled the Japanese cultivated meat market forward is IntegriCulture, a cellular agriculture biotech startup. IntegriCulture focuses on not only producing products that use cultured cells but also working towards forming a cellular agriculture network and value chain.

Other startups and subsidiary companies focusing on cultivated meat include NU Protein, Diverse Farm, Organoid Farm and Hyperion FoodTech. These companies are notable in that they are diverse in their operations and are not solely pursuing the creation of a final cultivated meat product. Some produce inputs such as culture mediums and serums, while others produce cultured cells for cosmetic products.

Universities are key in the technological advances of the industry, and two notable examples of cultivated meat research are the Takeuchi lab at the University of Tokyo and the Graduate School of Engineering at Osaka University. These two research labs focus on structured cultivated meat and have partnered with corporations to form public-private partnerships. The University of Tokyo and Nissin Corporation, a major Japanese food manufacturing company, most famous for their instant noodles, are working towards their goal of developing a 100 gm cultivated steak.

Osaka University is working with several major corporations and has formed the Future Creation Consortium for Cultivated Meat with them to develop 3D-printing technology to create cultivated wagyu steak.

One trend we see in Japan, besides the pioneering efforts from meat processing and food manufacturing corporations, is that large, established companies with no background in the food market have also ventured into cultivated meat R&D. These corporations are not only investing in startups and conducting in-house research and development, but also forming partnerships with each other. An example is the partnership between ZACROS (a film manufacturer), Toppan (a printing company) and Shimadzu (a high-tech manufacturing company), which aims to develop, commercialize and facilitate consumer acceptance of cultivated wagyu steak.

The three-way partnership was awarded approximately 1 billion yen in funding as part of the Japanese government’s Bio Manufacturing Revolution Promotion Project Research and Development Plan. This partnership will also collaborate with key universities conducting cultivated meat research, including Osaka University, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo Women’s Medical University, and Tokyo University of Agriculture, as well as the Japan Association for Cellular Agriculture (JACA)

JACA is an industry association focused on policy making and advocacy for cellular agriculture technology. JACA communicates with Japanese government ministries and provides information on regulatory developments in both Japanese and English. Other industry organizations such as the Cellular Agriculture Institute of the Commons (CAIC) and the Japan Bioindustry Association (JBA) focus on facilitating collaboration and information sharing among the industry, along with consumer education and awareness building of cultivated meat.

As we can see, collaboration among and between a wide array of stakeholders is gaining traction in Japan. Stay tuned for the next installment in this series, where we’ll focus on cultivated seafood and its potential in Japan! For further insights on cultivated meat, food tech and biotech for food and agriculture, please reach out to inquiries@merosconsulting.com

21 Dec

What are the hot topics in Japanese foodtech closing out 2023?

Posted by Team Meros in Market Trends

As 2023 draws to an end, three major foodtech topics Meros followed this year: the growing interest in circular economy, sustainability and Japan’s emerging cultivated meat sector, were all still front and center at the annual Foodtech Japan, Drink Japan and the Smart Restaurant EXPO at Tokyo Big Sight this month. Not only could we glean insights into where the Japanese market is focusing now, but we could also get a sense of what issues may be the hot food industry topics of 2024.

Circular economy and food loss

Initiatives and technologies utilizing ‘non-standard’ or discarded fresh produce are increasing. Projects are being seen everywhere, from large companies to start-ups. Meros has been working closely on food loss projects in the Japanese fresh food industry this year and so of particular interest to us was Astra Food Plan.

Astra Food Plan is a Japanese Series A start-up that uses superheated steam technology to dry food waste rapidly into powder. Astra Food Plan offers a range of examples, including lemons, onions, eggshells, and green tea leaves. Upon smelling the lemon vials, we were pleasantly surprised to discover a very strong smell of lemons, even in this powdered form, suggesting clear commercial applications.

A noticeable difference between Astra Food Plan’s idea and other circular economy-based products focusing on compost was that this is one of the dew start-ups focusing on upcycling and re-commercialization. Each dry food waste powder has tailored individual usages, taking into consideration their characteristics: the lemons for baking, the eggshells for high-end beauty products and green tea to mix with plastic, potentially to create rubbish bags that prevent odor. This diversity of potential commercial applications makes Astra Food Plan one we will continue to watch.

DX & the Japanese Labor Crisis

The reoccurring theme across all the events at the EXPO was DX (digital transformation), with many companies displaying AI-based products aimed at alleviating the strain placed on the food and beverage industry from Japan’s growing labor shortage.

There were certainly samples of the now-familiar delivery robots found in many Japanese restaurant chains – new prototypes of these ever cuter delivery robots were delivering boxed lunches to customers in the food court area of the event. However the more interesting innovation targeted automation for food manufacturing and central kitchens. For example, machines that automate the task of stir-frying were on display and may soon be found in industrial kitchens in Japan. Add the ingredients into this machine and it will then stir-fry the dish with no human help.

Sustainability: Including human rights and labor issues

Meros attended a number of seminars and a top topic was sustainability. For example, Ms Shihumi Takamori from Asahi Holdings Japan, producer of Japan’s #1 beer, presented on their domestic sustainability initiatives and policies and also discussed some of their challenges in this space. Seeing such major Japanese food companies taking center stage to speak bluntly about sustainability issues would have been rare just two years ago. But there is a growing movement among the major Japanese manufacturers to take global sustainability issues more seriously.

A few takeaways from this seminar were:

The five pillars of Asahi’s sustainability global policy are environment, communities, responsible drinking, health and human rights.
Asahi has initiatives covering each sustainability pillar at each stage of their supply chain (sourcing, distribution, manufacturing and retail). For example, one of the issues of concern under human rights is the working conditions of truck drivers in their distribution system. An example initiative to address this is collaboration between Asahi, Kirin (Japan’s other giant brewery), and Japan Rail (JR) train services for distributing their beers. This kind of collaboration between companies (even rivals!) as well as effective use of the Japanese train system is likely to be of increasing importance, as the industry anticipates the shortage of truck drivers in Japan to become a ‘very hot’ topic in 2024.
However, Asahi Holdings feels there is still big differences between Asahi Japan and their international companies in terms of sustainability progress. Asahi has purchased numerous major beer brands in Europe, Australia and elsewhere in recent years and Takamori admitted that differences in sustainability policies and the progress towards sustainability goals within the Japan parent company and their international business is something they continue to tackle.

Cultivated meat in Japan

This has been a major area of interest to Meros this year, as we worked on several market assessments for international clients interested in Japan’s cultivated meat industry and also mentored the award-winning cultivated seafood start-up Forsea, as they explore Asian markets.

We were particularly interested in a seminar featuring the CEOs of two of the four main Japanese cultivated meat startups: Diverse Farm and Organoid Farm.

The key takeaways from Mr Jiro Ono, CEO of Diverse Farm and Ms Taeko Yamaki, CEO of Organoid Farm, included:

Cultivated meat is not yet commercially available in Japan but to create solid legislation for the manufacture and sale of cultivated meat, safety requirements, providing a sense of security (to consumers and stakeholders), licensing and labeling are the critical areas that must be agreed on.
There is still debate about the different factors and perspectives to consider when choosing which animal cell to cultivate. They cited research that suggests cultivated chicken meat actually has a carbon footprint 4% higher than conventional chicken, compared to the significant decrease in the carbon foodprint of cultivated beef (down by 92%) and pork (down by 52%). However when considering animal welfare, cultivated chicken has arguably the biggest improvement compared to conventional chicken.
The Japanese industry has a goal of harvesting over 1 ton of cultivated meat, but still faces significant challenges in scaling up.

Looking ahead

In 2024 Meros will continue to track the topics of circular economy, sustainability and the emerging cultivated meat industry in Japan.

We also expect to keep an eye out on the issue of shortage of truck drivers and other labor issues in the supply chain as well as follow the growing discussions on biodiversity as a critical aspect of sustainability initiatives. Meros, a co-founder of the Japan Impact Investing Network (J-IIN) will be holding a series of webinars on natural capital, including biodiversity in 2024 and we invite you to follow our page and the J-IIN page on LinkedIn for updates.

05 Sep

Improving seafood freshness at the port markets of Phu Quoc, Vietnam with Japanese seafood technology pilot

Posted by Lucia Vancura in Market Trends, News

For three weeks in July and August, Meros senior analyst Hiroki Seki dove into the Vietnamese seafood industry, moving from Phu Quoc Island, the largest island in Vietnam and a part of Kien Giang province, to Rach Gia, the capital city of Kien Giang province, to Ho Chi Minh City, interviewing seafood experts, visiting fish markets and discussing the growing market for premium fresh fish. This research is all part of an on-going pilot project funded by JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) to increase the incomes of fishermen and reduce food-loss by improving the freshness of the fish sold in Phu Quoc. The project is led by three fishery companies from Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture, the westernmost tip of Japan’s main island. The three companies, Yutaka, Fujimitsu and Nishi-F, aim to introduce Japanese technologies for maintaining fresh fish quality into Phu Quoc’s main seafood market, and Meros is supporting by investigating the regional market demand for fresh seafood among seafood end users in Phu Quoc, Rach Gia and Ho Chi Minh.

Seafood today is mostly sold at markets on the streets in Phu Quoc and is rarely sold at supermarkets. Seafood is sold by fishmongers who sell many kinds of locally sourced seafood such as horse mackerel, squid and octopus. These markets are visited by not only by general consumers but also buyers from the local restaurants. Therefore, the markets can get extremely crowded during busy times of day.

Fishmongers selling fish on the streets of Phu Quoc.

Two challenges dominated the struggle to maintain seafood freshness along the supply chain in Phu Quoc

1. After the seafood is caught, proper refrigeration measures are not taken on the boat, causing an immediate decrease in quality

2. After seafood is landed, the freshness deteriorates during the distribution process before reaching the end-users due to inadequate refrigeration.

As a result of these cold chain weaknesses, much of the seafood arriving at the Phu Quoc market does not end up sold for human consumption, but instead ends up as feed for farmed fish or discarded. To address these challenge, we are conducting a pilot project between January 2022 to August 2024 to introduce several Japanese technologies that may be able to increase incomes of the fishermen as well as decrease food-loss and maintain good prices for high quality fresh seafood.

Specifically, we are:

1. Manufacturing and installing a machine to produce slurry ice at the port in Phu Quoc

Slurry ice is a sherbet-like ice that can penetrate the fish, cooling its body temperature quickly. The machine was designed by Japanese companies Remice and Yutaka and manufactured in Japan. It will soon be shipped and installed at Phu Quoc port.

2. Converting existing ships’ wooden tanks to FRP fish tanks

FRP (fiber-reinforced plastic) fish tanks have a higher tolerance to heat than wooden fish tanks.

3. Bringing cold storage boxes from Japan

These boxes are made of styrofoam with a special coating and have enhanced heat-resistance. By putting the rem ice inside these boxes, fish can be transported from the harbor to end-users without a decrease in freshness.

*Here is an example of bonito kept fresh using slurry ice in Amami Oshima, an island in Japan*.

Over the next months, our partners will monitor the boats, like those pictures below, which installed FRP fish tanks filled with slurry ice to see whether this has improved the freshness of fish compared with fish caught by conventional methods. We also use the cold storage boxes to see whether the fish can maintain freshness all the way to the end users, such as restaurants and supermarkets.

But to make these cold chain investments sustainable long-term, it is critical to know- is there really demand from Vietnamese end users for fresher fish?

This was Meros mission. We investigated the interest in fresh fish among Vietnamese end users through interviews and visits with over 30 restaurants, hotels, and fish processing companies in Phu Quoc, Rach Gia, and Ho Chi Minh City.

And indeed, we found out that there’s very high demand for fresher fish, driven both by the growing hotel and restaurant industry, as well as the fish processing industry.

Development on Phu Quoc island is advancing rapidly, with many luxury hotels and an increasing number of tourists coming to enjoy its beaches and seafood delicacies. Hotels and restaurants are seeking fresher fish to meet the demand of tourists who are willing and interested in paying for premium seafood.

In Rach Gia, there are many fish processing companies and they too are looking for fresher fish. In particular they process squid in a large volumes into ready-to-eat forms, mainly for export. They are looking for fresher squid in order to produce higher quality products that they can sell at higher prices.

In Ho Chi Minh City, with rising incomes and a boom in Japanese cuisine, the demand for raw fish dishes like sashimi and sushi continues to grow. While Vietnamese consumers can already eat raw fish dishes at many restaurants in Ho Chih Minh City, this fish is often imported from overseas, such as salmon from Norway.

We visited a Japanese restaurant in Rach Gia that serves a variety of sushi and sashimi, mostly sourced from overseas. Japanese cuisine such as sashimi and sushi is increasingly popular in Vietnam, and demand for raw seafood ingredients sourced from Vietnam is growing

The pilot fishing expeditions in Phu Quoc using the new technologies are expected to be completed by the end of this year. If we can demonstrate capacity to maintain greater freshness in domestically caught seafood compared to conventionally caught seafood, along with strong market demand for fresh seafood at restaurants, hotels and processors, similar initiatives may begin in other regions of Vietnam. If all goes well, in the near future, it might be possible to enjoy delicious sashimi and sushi from domestic Vietnamese fish in many restaurants and hotels across the country.

We were so appreciative to the dozens of Vietnamese seafood end-users who shared their views and experience, including a fish freezer manufacturer in Ho Chi Minh City (left) and the chef of a Japanese restaurant in Phu Quoc (right).

If you are interested in learning more out this project or Meros’ wide range of other experience in Vietnam and in global seafood and fisheries, please don’t hesitate to reach out!