Singapore’s Meatiply Debuts Asia’s First Cultivated Smoked Duck Breast

Singapore-based cultivated meat startup Meatiply, has revealed three structured meat prototypes as proof of concept, including the first smoked duck breast meat in Asia.

The three new cultivated meat offerings include kampong chicken yakitori, chicken katsu bites, and Asia’s first smoked duck breast meat. The company says the meat is a combination of cells and plant-based ingredients.

‘Just the beginning’

“We developed a versatile platform that allows us to isolate and cultivate a variety of cells from different species. To date, we have developed prototypes with 3 different species, with at least 2 more in the pipeline. These 3 prototypes are just the beginning,” Dr. Jason Chua, Chief Scientific Officer & Co-founder of Meatiply, said in a statement.

According to the company, the prototypes are structured, not minced, which Meatiply says will allow it to offer a wider range of products. The cell-based meat is made from multiple cell types including muscle and fat, which it says allows it to better resemble the taste and texture of conventional meat.

“Given the depth of our experience in cultivating stem cells and optimizing for their growth and maturation, we felt we had a lot to offer in the realm of cultivated meat,” said Dr. Elwin Tan, CEO and Co-founder of Meatiply.

Tan and Chua co-founded Meatiply in 2021 alongside Dr. Benjamin Chua and Prof. Teh Bin Tean— the former three were studying stem cell biology at the National University of Singapore.

“From the very first meeting, we have been impressed with the strong scientific background and entrepreneurial spirit of the co-founders. Their prototypes are one of the most advanced we have seen to be developed in such a short time. They also have a clear roadmap for tackling challenges around scalability and cost,” said Michal Klar, founding partner at Better Bite Ventures, an early backer of the startup.

Meatiply announced a pre-seed funding round in early 2022 that also included participation from Wavemaker Partners and Genedant.

“By 2050, the global population is estimated to hit almost 10 billion people and 56 percent more food will need to be produced to sustain this increase. Moreover, the meat industry is also plagued with systemic problems that needed to be addressed. By shifting our focus from biomedical research to developing advanced food technologies, we felt that we could deliver significant impact on these pressing issues.” said Dr. Benjamin Chua, Chief Product Officer & Co-founder of Meatiply.

Cultivated meat in Singapore

The company says establishing Meatiply in Singapore was “an easy decision” due in large part to the Singapore government’s 30-by-30 goal, as well as the team’s well-established networks within the scientific community, the presence of international non-profit think tanks like the Good Food Institute Asia Pacific (GFI APAC), and a healthy start-up and biotech ecosystem in Singapore, “we felt that we would be well supported on multiple fronts,” Tan said.

Singapore is also the only nation in the world that has approved the sale of cultivated meat. Meatiply says this will help it grow the alternative protein category.

“As a living laboratory and launch pad for global climate and food security solutions, Singapore’s innovation ecosystem is central to scaling up cultivated meat production and driving down costs,” says Mirte Gosker, Managing Director of the Good Food Institute APAC.

“Consumer demand for sustainable protein continues to soar across Asia, and the need for additional technological optimisation is immense, so every promising new entrant into the Lion City’s fast-growing food tech sector has the potential to be a game-changer,” she says.

Meatiply is currently raising a seed round to further develop and scale its production, cost optimization, and explore regulatory approval.

Lead image Cultivated Duck Breast / Courtesy Meatiply