Lab Grown Meat Market (2025-2035)

Factors such as technological advancements in the production of lab-grown meat, increasing venture investments in the lab-grown meat industry, growing focus on animal welfare, increasing demand for animal-based processed food products, and increasing demand for allergen-free foods are driving the growth of this market. However, the high demand for plant-based protein, a lack of a standardized regulatory framework for lab-grown meat, psychological barriers to consuming cultured meat as food, and the growing vegan population restrain the growth of this market to some extent. In addition, the increasing demand for alternative proteins and growing per capita meat consumption provide significant growth opportunities for lab-grown meat manufacturers. Key trends such as clean eating and sustainable foods are positively impacting the growth lab-grown meat market/cultured meat market.

In recent years, the global livestock industry has been subjected to immense scrutiny due to the scale of its environmental, ethical, and human health impacts. Nowadays, the advantages of lab-grown meat over farm meat products, such as lower greenhouse gas emissions, higher nutritional value, and slaughter-free production, have piqued consumers’ interest in lab-grown meat products. According to Good Food Institute, Inc., around 80% of people in the U.S. and the U.K. are more interested in lab-grown meat than in field/conventional meat. Moreover, with the rising demand for lab-grown meat, meat product manufacturers are investing heavily in the research & development of cultured meat. Companies across the food value chain, from producers to retailers, are also investing in the lab-grown meat industry. Some companies hedge against or prepare for the demand for animal products to decline and invest in companies that produce their alternatives. Market players have received investments or funding from several high-profile individuals, financial investors, and companies in the last few years. In 2020, the lab-grown meat industry contracted due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic; however, in 2021, the industry’s investor base grew by 62%, reaching 458 unique investors, and the total investment capital raised reached USD 1,930.0 million (Source: GFI Report). Most of the investment (more than one-third of the global investment) in lab-grown meat is concentrated in Israel.

Some of the investments and deals in the lab-grown meat industry are mentioned below:

In 2021, Future Meat Technologies Ltd. (Israel) announced that the funding received by the company would be used to construct overseas lab-grown meat production facilities.

In July 2021, Aleph Farms secured USD 100.0 million in a Series B funding round. The funding will be used to scale up manufacturing and grow operations.

In 2021, BlueNalu, Inc. (U.S.) raised USD 60.0 million to enable the completion of its commercial pilot facility for producing cell-based seafood.

In 2022, CellMEAT (South Korea) secured USD 8.1 million (KRW 10 billion) in a Series A funding round. The funding will help CellMEAT to continue the R&D of its lab-grown shrimp, ramp up the pilot production of its prototype shrimp to 10 kilograms/day from 5 kilograms/day, and expand its offerings to other cultivated seafood, including crustaceans, such as lobsters and crabs.

In April 2022, Upside Foods (U.S.) secured USD 400 million in a Series C funding round, which will be used for building a commercial-scale facility, educating consumers, and building robust & cost-effective supply chain infrastructure for cell feed (media) and other inputs.

Such investments are expected to drive the growth of the lab-grown meat market.