06.20.22
GOOD Meat, a cultivated meat division of Eat Just, Inc., broke ground on what will be the largest cultivated meat production center in Asia. The complex, scheduled to open in Q1 2023 at JTC Bedok Food City in Singapore, will have the capacity to produce tens of thousands of pounds of meat from cells, without the need to slaughter a single animal.
The buildout will house the single-largest bioreactor in the cultivated meat industry to date, according to the company. The local production will help Good Meat meet growing consumer demand for its cultured chicken products, which have been available for purchase in Singapore since December 2020. The facility will also house 50 researchers, scientists, and engineers.
This production site is a major step for the industry, according to Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO, who said that the company is considering future operations to expand large-scale production, add research and development initiatives, and export Good Meat products across Asia depending on regulatory approval.
“Less than two years ago, Singapore made history, and since that moment, consumers have enjoyed the world’s first and only commercially available slaughter-free meat at high-end restaurants, hawker stalls and in their own homes,” Tetrick said. “We view Singapore as vital in our plans to build this new approach to making meat. We’ll launch new products here, distribute to other countries in Asia from here and learn from consumers here who have proven themselves to be at the cutting edge of what’s next.”
Leadership from various segments of Singapore’s government sang the praises of the facility, and were enthused that Singapore was chosen as a location.
“As consumer trends and technology evolve, alternative proteins such as plant-based, microbial, and cultured meat could contribute meaningfully to the ’30 by 30’ goal [a regulatory initiative to designate 30% of Earth’s land and ocean area as protected areas by 2030],” said Chan Hian Lim, deputy CEO of the Singapore Food Agency (SFA). “SFA will continue to work closely with the industry and research entities to grow its capacity to produce a wide variety of food, including our protein needs, locally.”
“We are excited to welcome GOOD Meat to JTC Bedok Food City, where there’s a growing ecosystem of food companies pursuing sustainable food innovation and manufacturing. As an industrial developer, JTC sees the importance of curating industry ecosystems in our estates to accelerate business growth. We are seeing a growing number of companies exploring innovative food solutions and believe that GOOD Meat’s presence will help catalyze new partnerships and synergies in alternative protein and other emerging innovative areas,” said Alvin Tan, assistant CEO of JTC’s Industry Cluster Group, a government agency which promotes sustainable development in Singapore.
“Eat Just’s new facility will boost Singapore’s ability to develop critical scale-up processes in novel urban food solutions such as cell-cultured meat and support our interest in food resilience. This facility will also provide many good job opportunities for Singaporeans to be at the cutting edge of novel food technologies. We look forward to working closely with such like-minded companies to develop Singapore into a hub where innovative agri-food solutions can be developed to feed the world,” said Damian Chan, executive vice president of the Singapore Economic Development Board.
This latest development comes on the heels of GOOD Meat’s partnership announcement with ABEC Inc., which will design, manufacture, install, and commission the largest known bioreactors for avian and mammalian cell culture. GOOD Meat also unveiled a partnership with ADM last month, aiming to decrease costs related to cultivated meat production.
The buildout will house the single-largest bioreactor in the cultivated meat industry to date, according to the company. The local production will help Good Meat meet growing consumer demand for its cultured chicken products, which have been available for purchase in Singapore since December 2020. The facility will also house 50 researchers, scientists, and engineers.
This production site is a major step for the industry, according to Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO, who said that the company is considering future operations to expand large-scale production, add research and development initiatives, and export Good Meat products across Asia depending on regulatory approval.
“Less than two years ago, Singapore made history, and since that moment, consumers have enjoyed the world’s first and only commercially available slaughter-free meat at high-end restaurants, hawker stalls and in their own homes,” Tetrick said. “We view Singapore as vital in our plans to build this new approach to making meat. We’ll launch new products here, distribute to other countries in Asia from here and learn from consumers here who have proven themselves to be at the cutting edge of what’s next.”
Leadership from various segments of Singapore’s government sang the praises of the facility, and were enthused that Singapore was chosen as a location.
“As consumer trends and technology evolve, alternative proteins such as plant-based, microbial, and cultured meat could contribute meaningfully to the ’30 by 30’ goal [a regulatory initiative to designate 30% of Earth’s land and ocean area as protected areas by 2030],” said Chan Hian Lim, deputy CEO of the Singapore Food Agency (SFA). “SFA will continue to work closely with the industry and research entities to grow its capacity to produce a wide variety of food, including our protein needs, locally.”
“We are excited to welcome GOOD Meat to JTC Bedok Food City, where there’s a growing ecosystem of food companies pursuing sustainable food innovation and manufacturing. As an industrial developer, JTC sees the importance of curating industry ecosystems in our estates to accelerate business growth. We are seeing a growing number of companies exploring innovative food solutions and believe that GOOD Meat’s presence will help catalyze new partnerships and synergies in alternative protein and other emerging innovative areas,” said Alvin Tan, assistant CEO of JTC’s Industry Cluster Group, a government agency which promotes sustainable development in Singapore.
“Eat Just’s new facility will boost Singapore’s ability to develop critical scale-up processes in novel urban food solutions such as cell-cultured meat and support our interest in food resilience. This facility will also provide many good job opportunities for Singaporeans to be at the cutting edge of novel food technologies. We look forward to working closely with such like-minded companies to develop Singapore into a hub where innovative agri-food solutions can be developed to feed the world,” said Damian Chan, executive vice president of the Singapore Economic Development Board.
This latest development comes on the heels of GOOD Meat’s partnership announcement with ABEC Inc., which will design, manufacture, install, and commission the largest known bioreactors for avian and mammalian cell culture. GOOD Meat also unveiled a partnership with ADM last month, aiming to decrease costs related to cultivated meat production.