06 Apr

Cellular Ag Series: Beyond cultivated meat – seafood, fat and chocolate

Posted by Team Meros in Market Trends

In this final installment of the cellular agriculture series, Meros analyst Sachika Onaka turns to cultivated seafood and other emerging applications of cellular agriculture, including cultivated fat and cultivated chocolate. In earlier articles, we explored the development of the cultivated meat industry in Japan, focusing on startups and partnerships that are shaping the sector.

Cultivated seafood: Focusing on premium species

In the latter half of 2024, cultivated seafood and cellular agriculture as a whole started to receive increased media coverage, as featured in a NHK segment and this Nikkei article. This momentum continued into 2025 with a major Japan-first milestone: on February 18th, Israeli startup Forsea Foods unveiled its cultivated eel (unagi) at the Israeli Embassy in Tokyo.

Much like the cultivated meat sector, collaboration between startups and established industry players is a key driver of cultivated seafood development in Japan. A notable example is the long-term partnership between Japanese cellular agricultural startup IntegriCulture, major seafood company Maruha Nichiro and food manufacturer Ichimasa Kamaboko. Since announcing their partnership in 2022, they have continued research into fish cell culture. Maruha Nichiro, one of the world’s largest seafood companies, is also collaborating with Singapore-based startup Umami Bioworks to develop and commercialise cell-cultivated seafood products.

Japanese trading houses have also invested in cultivated seafood. Sumitomo Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation have invested in Blue Nalu, a US-based cultivated seafood company. Blue Nalu has also partnered with Food & Life Companies, the parent company of Sushiro, one of Japan’s leading conveyor belt sushi chains.

Although academic research on cultivated seafood is not as prolific as that on cultivated meat, key contributors, such as Associate Professor Ikeda from Kitasano University, continue to conduct vital scientific research, including experimenting with different seafood species and cell types. While industry collaboration is a major driver of the cultivated seafood market in Japan, academic research also plays a crucial role in advancing the sector.

Foreign cultivated seafood startups in Japan

Despite the lack of a clear regulatory framework, foreign-based cultivated seafood companies have started to establish a presence in Japan, anticipating its potential as a key market. Forsea Foods and Umami Bioworks have both been active in Japan for several years now, and Umami Bioworks opened a Tokyo office in August 2024.

Foreign startups in this sector often enter the Japanese market by first hiring local representatives, forming partnerships with domestic players, and joining supportive foodtech ecosystems in prefectures such as Fukuoka, Kyoto, and Kobe. These startup ecosystems may provide foundations for establishing local R&D centres. These leading cultivated seafood companies are focusing on high-margin, premium products that are increasingly scarce due to overfishing. For this reason, Japanese eel (Forsea Foods and Umami Bioworks) and yellowfin tuna (Umami Bioworks and Blue Nalu) are key species of interest.

Japanese consumer’s attitudes towards cultivated seafood

Focusing on seafood products familiar to Japanese consumers appears to be a strategic approach. A survey conducted by Forsea Foods found that 35% of Japanese respondents were willing to try cultivated eel. As Meros noted in the cultivated meat installments, safety and price remain top concerns for consumers. However, the willingness of respondents to not only want to try but also be ready to purchase cultivated eel is a promising initial indicator of consumer acceptance.

Consumer attitudes towards seafood in Japan can evolve. This was seen, for example, with aquaculture, which initially faced resistance among Japanese consumers but is now widely accepted. Originally, when aquaculture products began to be introduced to the Japanese market, there was strong consumer opposition due to a belief that wild-caught fish were of higher quality.

However, the lack of a regulatory framework continues to limit progress for cultivated seafood. For example, Forsea’s recent product unveiling in Tokyo was limited to a visual demonstration, with no tastings due to the absence of regulations explicitly permitting public tasting events.

New Areas: Cultivated Fat and Cultivated Chocolate

The applications of cellular agricultural technology extend beyond cultivated meat and seafood. Cultivated fat and cultivated chocolate are two other innovations that have attracted recent investments from Japanese players.

In an exciting development, UK-based startup Hoxton Farms, which specialises in cultivated pork fat, announced in March 2025 a strategic partnership with Sumitomo Corporation, one of Japan’s largest trading companies. Hoxton Farms’ technology enables precise control over the fatty acid composition, including the ratios of omega-3, omega-6, and omega-9, as well as the saturated fat content, resulting in potentially healthier versions of animal fat.

Meiji, Japan’s largest chocolate company, invested in California Cultured, a US-based cellular agriculture startup that produces cultured chocolate and coffee, in 2021. Meiji followed up with an additional investment in February 2024 and announced a 10-year supply agreement for California Cultured’s cocoa powder.

These examples reflect Japanese companies’ diversification strategies and efforts to “future-proof” their food supply chains. Japanese trading houses and major food corporations operate globally and their partnerships in cellular agriculture are not solely focused on the Japanese domestic market; in many cases, the aim is actually often to establish these emerging technologies abroad before considering expansion into Japan.

As cultivated seafood and other cellular products move past the conceptual stage, Japan’s global food companies appear ready to play a significant role, both as investors and as potential scale-up partners. The next step will depend on regulatory clarity and consumer acceptance.

Meros will continue to stay up-to-date with the developments in the Japanese cellular agriculture landscape. For further insights on cellular agriculture, foodtech and biotech for food and agriculture, please reach out to inquiries@merosconsulting.com

30 Jan

Cellular Ag Series: Private funding declining, but optimism remains for other models of support

Posted by Lucia Vancura in Market Trends

Meros co-founder Lucia Vancura kicked off January at the Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA) Cellular Agriculture Innovation Day in Boston, eager to understand how investors were thinking about the cellular agriculture sector for 2025 and if it was really as pessimistic as it seemed. In this installment, we take a look at the global funding dynamics for cellular agriculture.

Private investments in cultivated meat startups are down dramatically from a peak of $1 billion in 2021 to just $177 million in 2023 and even further down in 2024. Early data does not show a rebound in 2025.

From the various panels and talks with participants, it was clear that the science behind cellular agriculture has made huge advances over the past couple of years. The enthusiasm for the basic research and all its potential uses was everywhere at the conference but the funding?

Four Takeaways:

1. The Private Funding Drought is Real: Investors are pulling back as valuations plummet, making it harder for early-stage companies to secure capital. Steve Simitzis from Solvable Syndicate was a panelist and remarked that “The science is much further along, but the ecosystem and financial support are lagging.”

2. Public Funding, such as Research Universities is Now Key:
To keep the momentum in the basic science research, more public funding will probably be necessary. Tufts University itself is an example of university and public money focusing on the science and early stage commercialization of cellular agriculture with 90 researchers now at their center. The University of North Carolina and the National University of Singapore were also there to give perspectives on their research hubs.

3. Better Strategic Partnerships:
Private investors noted that it’s time for the cultivated meat sector to pivot from aiming at flashy consumer-facing products to partnerships with traditional meat companies. Startups will need to integrate cultivated meat into existing supply chain, such as blending small amounts into fast food or pet food products, to gain traction. Companies need to focus on getting offtake agreements. When we see the first one of these agreements for cultivated meat, we will know the sector has reached the next level.

4. Governments are Seeing the Opportunities to be Industry Leaders:
Despite the challenges, there are governments worldwide leaning into cellular agriculture. India, Israel, and Brazil are integrating alternative proteins into their national plans and South Korea has created a special economic zone for the development of cultivated meat.

Investors still seemed enthusiastic about the long-term potential, but they’re still looking for that clear path forward that includes public support, strategic partnerships, and de-risked investments.

(Photo from a great discussion with Natalie Rubio, Steve Simitzis from Solvable Syndicate, Bill Shaw, Steven Finn from Siddhi Capital, and Meghan McGill from Breakthrough Energy Ventures)

15 Jan

Cellular Ag Series: Regulatory uncertainty still a challenge for Japan’s cultivated meat industry

Posted by Team Meros in Market Trends

With the new year underway, we continue our snapshot series on Japan’s cultivated meat industry. In this installment, Meros analyst Sachika Onaka focuses on the overseas and Japanese regulatory landscape and reflect on key regulatory developments in 2024.

Overseas regulatory landscape

Singapore is the world leader in terms of implementing cultivated meat regulation. In 2020, it became the first country to approve the sale of cultivated meat when it approved Eat Just’s GOOD Meat, a cultivated chicken product. In 2023, the US followed suit by approving the sale of cell-cultivated chicken products from GOOD Meat and UPSIDE Foods, and in January 2024, Israel approved the sale of Aleph Farm’s cultivated beef.

In a first for the EU, the Netherlands established a code of practice in 2023 to allow for the tasting of cultivated meat, which had previously been illegal, even for researchers. Under the code, approved companies can conduct tasting events for up to 30 people in controlled and safe conditions.

Global legislative momentum continued in 2024, with the Korean government announcing the creation of a regulation-free zone to promote the R&D, production, and commercialization of cultivated meat in May. Similarly, in October, the UK government announced its intention to create a cultivated meat regulatory sandbox – an experimental space where companies can test their products under relaxed rules.

On the other hand, we have seen regulation move in the opposite direction in some places, with some states in the US and Italy taking steps to ban cultivated meat. In 2024, Florida and Alabama in the US signed into law legislation banning the manufacture, sale or distribution of cultivated meat. This reflects the mixed responses and concerns to cellular agriculture technology.

Japanese regulation on cellular agriculture – a regulatory grey zone

Currently, there is no explicit regulatory reference that either restricts or legalizes the sale of cultivated meat and seafood in Japan. This regulatory uncertainty is arguably the biggest hurdle for both domestic and foreign startups and companies wanting to continue R&D, conduct consumer tests, and develop manufacturing plants in Japan. As it is not illegal to conduct tastings, research labs and industry associations have organized private and restricted tastings. However, within the Japanese industry, there is a tacit understanding not to conduct public tastings or sell products until there is legal clarity. If public tastings of cultivated meat are conducted before regulatory approval, there is concern that the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) could invoke the Food Sanitation Act Article 7, effectively banning cultivated meat and seafood, creating an uphill battle for the industry.

The Consumers Affairs Agency (CAA), the Food Safety Commission of the Cabinet Office, and the MHLW are the key agencies responsible for developing the safety regulations and approval process of cultivated meat in Japan. They continue to monitor legislative developments abroad while continuing discussions around the formation of an approval process. For example, the Food Safety Standards Council of the CAA, which oversees the creation of food safety standard for cultivated met, is discussing and examining safety considerations at each stage of the production, including cells, inputs, processing and contamination risks. The council most recently met in November 2024 with the key takeaways from this meeting can be found on the CAA website or here in Japanese.

Although discussions on safety guidelines for manufacturing cultivated meat have begun, it remains unclear when Japan will finalize the approval framework and relevant legislation. Nevertheless, there have been developments. On October 21st, 2024, the Japan Association for Cellular Agriculture (JACA) – the industry association that advocates for and advises the Japanese government on regulations related to cellular agriculture – submitted proposals to both the CAA and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF). The proposal contained two key recommendations: the establishment of a ‘consultation service’ and the clarification of the legal procedures required for market entry.

One factor often attributed to the slow progress in Japan’s cultivated meat approval process is the deadlock between the lack of a finished product available for testing by agencies and the companies’ preference for a clear regulatory framework before investing further into product development. JACA’s proposed consultation service would be established by the relevant agencies as an information hub and helpdesk to assist companies in identifying potential regulatory or safety issues as they develop products. It would also allow the government to collect manufacturing and production data from companies, which could help facilitate the formation of an approval process. JACA hopes that this exchange of information will allow both sides to move forward without stalling technological innovation.  

Other challenges & recent developments

Legal clarity is the first of many challenges facing the cultivated meat industry. Other key issues include scaling production, lowering costs to reach price parity and increasing consumer awareness to create demand for cell-cultured products.

In Japan, achieving price parity will be critical to grow consumer demand, as the majority of consumers base their food purchasing decisions on safety and cost. This lack of consumer demand and unclear regulatory time frame has resulted in many domestic players focusing on establishing a global presence before turning their attention back to the Japanese market.

Having said this, some other developments in the latter half of 2024 could accelerate the change within the domestic industry. On October 1, 2024, the Good Food Institute (GFI) established a Japan office. GFI is a non-profit think tank that works to accelerate alternative protein innovation, with a focus on plant-based meat, cultivated meat and fermentation technology.

October seemed to be a key month for cultivated meat and seafood, with mainstream media coverage increasing. On October 25th, Japan’s leading business newspaper, the Nikkei published an article comparing Japan’s lack of regulation to other countries and highlighted concerns among the Japanese industry of the lag in progress. The following day Japan’s public broadcaster NHK ran a feature focused on cultivated seafood researchers and startups. With the establishment of GFI Japan and the ongoing efforts of domestic industry associations, we expect increasing coverage of the technological advances in the field.

Another factor in the mix is the upcoming Osaka Kansai World EXPO, running from April 13th to October 13th, 2025. The “Consortium for Future Innovation by Cultured Meat,” consisting of five corporations and Osaka University, is a participant in the Osaka Healthcare Pavillion. The consortium plans to display its 3D printing technology of cultivated wagyu at the pavilion.

Initially, there was some hope among the industry that legislation would be created allowing for tasting events to take place at the Expo. However, the reality is that public tastings are still far away. Regardless, displaying the 3D-printed cultivated wagyu meat will generate increased media coverage and consumer interest, creating a golden opportunity to increase awareness and understanding of cellular agriculture technology.

As the cultivated meat industry evolves, Team Meros will continue to monitor these developments in 2025. Please stay tuned for the next installment, where we’ll focus on cultivated seafood and its potential in Japan!

For further insights on cultivated meat, foodtech and biotech for food and agriculture, please reach out to inquiries@merosconsulting.com