Lab-grown meat start-up halts operations due to insufficient funding
What's the story
SCiFi Foods, a well-known start-up in the lab-grown meat industry, has announced its closure.
The California-based company was known for its innovative approach to creating "hybrid" burgers, blending plant-based ingredients with lab-grown beef.
This decision comes just six months after the firm's first meat-growing facility was completed.
The co-founders, Joshua March and Kasia Gora, confirmed the news via a LinkedIn post, revealing that the company had not been able to bring any meat products to market.
Funding issues
Funding challenges cited as primary reason for closure
In their post, March and Gora cited difficulties in securing necessary funding as the primary reason for the company's closure.
They stated, "Unfortunately, in this funding environment, we could not raise the capital that we needed to commercialize the SCiFi burger, and SCiFi Foods ran out of time."
The co-founders also noted that their struggle "reflects the challenges that the cultivated meat and general meat alternative markets are facing today."
Industry hurdles
Cost and regulatory obstacles
The lab-grown meat industry has been grappling with significant challenges, including high production costs and regulatory hurdles.
When SCiFi Foods was established in 2019, it cost $20,000 to produce a single burger.
Over five years, this cost was only reduced to $15,000, highlighting the persistent financial challenges faced by companies in this sector.
Despite these obstacles, the potential benefits of lab-grown meat as an ethical and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional meat production remain significant.
Political hurdles
Political landscape adds to lab-grown meat industry's challenges
The lab-grown meat industry has also been impacted by political decisions.
Last month, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis prohibited the lab-grown meat industry from operating in his state, with Alabama following suit two weeks later.
However, federal regulators have shown support. Last year, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved two firms, Upside Foods and Good Meat, to sell cultivated chicken products.
Despite approval, Upside Foods has encountered obstacles, including halt on facility expansion and public scrutiny over its production methods.