Orbillion Bio Joins AMPS Coalition Bringing Cell-Cultured Proteins To U.S. Market

Orbillion Bio, the Silicon Valley food tech dedicated to culturing premium heritage meats, has joined the Alliance for Meat, Poultry & Seafood Innovation (AMPS Innovation). The coalition is made up of seven other U.S.-based members, including players like cell-cultured seafood maker BlueNalu and cultivated chicken startup Upside Foods, who are working together to educate consumers and stakeholders about the emerging industry and accelerate the path to market for novel cell-based proteins. 

Orbillion Bio has joined AMPS Innovation as its eighth member, the company announced on Tuesday (June 15). The group was created in 2019 by five U.S. cultivated protein startups including BlueNalu, Finless Foods, Fork & Goode, Eat Just, and Upside Foods, formerly known as Memphis Meats, and has since its inception welcomed additional members Artemys Foods and New Age Meats. 

AMPS Innovation seeks to educate and communicate to consumers about the emerging cultivated protein sector through education, as well as work with stakeholders and government regulatory bodies to inform new policy, rules and help draft frameworks that will accelerate the path to market for cell-cultured proteins in the U.S. 

“With the addition of Orbillion Bio, AMPS Innovation will continue coordinated efforts to engage key policymakers and stakeholders to educate them on their products and work with Congress, the USDA and FDA as they continue to build out a regulatory framework for cell-cultured meat, poultry and seafood,” said the coalition in a statement. 

As a member of the coalition, we’re thrilled to work with industry partners to communicate with consumers, educate industry stakeholders, and inform a clear path to market.

Samet Yildirim, Co-Founder & COO, Orbillion Bio

Female-founded and Y Combinator-backed Orbillion Bio stands out from other cultivated startups in the space with its laser focus on developing slaughter-free and sustainable alternatives to premium heritage meat species such as elk, lamb and wagyu beef. 

Samet Yildirim, co-founder and COO of the startup, says that it has decided to join AMPS Innovation because of their “commitment to crafting cell-cultured meat that consumers trust and feel good about.” 

“As a member of the coalition, we’re thrilled to work with industry partners to communicate with consumers, educate industry stakeholders, and inform a clear path to market.” 

In addition to engaging with policymakers and the USDA and FDA, AMPS Innovation says that it has been working with big meat and seafood groups such as the North American Meat Institute and the National Fisheries Institute to include them into the rule-making process for labelling and guidelines for novel cell-cultured protein products to enter the U.S. market. 

The potential of cell-cultured meat is only potential until eaters choose it again and again and again.

Patricia Bubner, Co-Founder & CEO, Orbillion Bio

So far, Singapore stands as the only country to have approved the sale of cultured meat, giving San Francisco-based Eat Just, a founding member of AMPS Innovation, the go-ahead to sell its cell-based chicken bites in December 2020.  

Patricia Bubner, co-founder and CEO of Orbillion Bio, says that the alliance’s work is key to build consumer confidence and trust in the U.S. market, which is vital if the sector is to achieve mass adoption and ultimately make an impact on sustainable protein production. 

“The potential of cell-cultured meat is only potential until eaters choose it again and again and again,” said Bubner. 

Currently, on the heels of its US$5 million seed funding and tasting event showcasing its cultivated wagyu beef, wild elk and lamb meat prototypes, Orbillion Bio is focused on scaling up its technology with the view to launch in the U.S. market first, initially in high-end restaurants and retailers. 

“We know that consumer demand for more flavorful and sustainable meats is soaring,” commented Yildirim. “In joining AMPS Innovation and through our recent product presentations, Orbillion is moving quickly to respond to this consumer demand.”

All images courtesy of Orbillion Bio.