New Partnership Will Bring the First Cultivated Wagyu Beef to Europe

A collaboration between U.S.-based cultivated meat company Orbillion Bio and Luiten Food, a European leader in premium meat, will bring cell-based wagyu beef to Europe, pending regulatory approval.

Aiming to bring sustainable premium cultivated meat to the European market, the Orbillion and Luiten partnership will see opportunities across Luiten’s 1,200 distribution channels in food service, specialty retailers, and butchers, the companies said in a joint statement.

Market-ready

The goal of the collaboration is to co-manage regulatory approval processes—currently, Singapore is the only country that has approved cultivated meat for sale. The collaboration will also see the development of manufacturing facilities in Europe. With Luiten Food’s global network, the partnership is angling the companies toward global distribution.

Orbillion is currently the only company to develop cell-cultured Wagyu beef. It has also developed elk and lamb meat through unique partnerships with farmers to help develop a modern spin on farm-to-table cuisine.

Luiten managed director Lennert Luiten said there was “no better partner” than Orbillion to develop a Wagyu beef that meets its strict quality standards. “We’re excited to bring our strengths in brokering the highest quality meats to a category that will be a big part of how we feed the future,” Luiten said.

“At Orbillion, we have always inspired to produce and bring to market the highest quality cell-cultured meats,” Orbillion CEO Patricia Bubner said in a statement.

Heritage breeds, legacy brand

“We take great pride in being the only cell-cultured meat company focused on quality throughout the full-development process—from the heritage breeds where our cells originate to the final product that diners will enjoy, and with Luiten Food, we’ll be able to bring this new farm-to-table experience to Europe,” she said.

“Together, we’ll go beyond a scientific concept, to a tangible, delicious, and enjoyable meat that is more humane to animals, kinder to the planet, and has a more desirable and consistent nutrition profile.”

Luiten Food says the new partnership deepens its sustainability commitment and reinforces its 80-year track record of innovation. Luiten is a leader in developing top-quality cell lines, which it says has helped make it a leader in the legacy meat category.

“We’ve been successful for more than 84 years because we’ve focused on what’s ahead,” Luiten said. “And now, that’s sustainable meat. That’s high-quality meat. That’s cell-cultured meat.”

Lead image courtesy of Orbillion.