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
