Vow and Nourish team up to make cell-based meat with animal-free fat
Dive Brief:
- Cell-based meat company Vow is partnering with Nourish Ingredients, a company that makes animal fats through precision fermentation. The two Australian companies will blend their products together, adding fats to cell-based meat so the end product more accurately reflects the taste and mouthfeel of meat from an animal.
- Vow co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer Tim Noakesmith said in a written statement that fat is “part of what makes meat irresistible,” and it has been missing from many alternative proteins. “We’re committed to including a fat profile in our food that outperforms even the best animal fats we eat today,” he said.
- While there is only one place where cell-based meat is currently on the market — Singapore, which has given regulatory approval to Eat Just’s cultured chicken bites — many companies are working on cell-based meat products so they could be ready for the market once they are federally approved.
Dive Insight:
Fat is vital to meat’s taste, juiciness and mouthfeel, but it isn’t talked about much by cell-based meat companies at this point in time. While many of them are likely working on culturing fat cells or discussing partnerships with companies specializing in producing animal-free fat, Vow is one of the first to come to the forefront with this kind of plan.
The motivation behind the partnership is producing a better product. According to the statement announcing the two companies’ partnership, Vow and Nourish have the end goal of making something that is superior to meat