Israel-based SuperMeat is spotlighting its process for producing cultivated chicken, alongside its goal to offer the protein cost effectively at scale.
"Current sentiment around cultivated meat includes skepticism regarding its scalability and market readiness, with concerns that cultivated meat may be more hype than a viable alternative," says Ido Savir, CEO and co-founder of SuperMeat. "Our new report provides proof that with the right technology there is a commercially viable path to market. We see a tremendous opportunity for affordable cultivated chicken meat that supplies the same delicious taste and nutrition as premium chicken, which is a path for consumer and market acceptance and long-term adoption."
The company says it has developed a cell line that reaches densities of 80 million cells per milliliter in nine days, without genetic modifications or animal components. This culture is maintained over extended periods, ensuring a continuous production cycle that enables consistent high yields.
SuperMeat also reports it has reduced media costs to under $0.50 per liter by replacing animal-based ingredients, such as serum and albumin, with animal-free alternatives. After six days in culture, the cells independently produce essential growth actors, allowing for a reduced feeding regimen of 1.5 vessel volumes per day.
SuperMeat says its ability to increase cell weight lies in its use of embryonic stem cells, enabling the production of both muscle and fat tissues directly from animal cells. Muscle and fat cells are nearly double in size, cutting costs by almost 50%. Fat is produced within 24 hours and muscle in four days. This approach delivers the full sensory experience of chicken, providing the texture, taste and nutrition consumers expect from real meat, while advancing cost efficiency at scale.
SuperMeat's process begins with a nine-day cell growth phase to reach high cell densities, followed by a 45-day period where meat mass is harvested daily while the remaining cells continue to grow. In a 10-liter bioreactor run, this continuous process produces approximately 66 lbs. of cultivated chicken. Once the continuous process is established, SuperMeat can produce 3 lbs. of meat in two days, compared to the 42 days it takes to raise and process a traditional chicken.
When scaled to an industrial plant, SuperMeat's process is projected to produce 3 million kilograms (6.7 million pounds) of cultivated chicken per year, equivalent to around 2.7 million chickens.