UPSIDE Foods Announces Cultivated Chicken Sandwiches, Sausage, and Dumplings As It Waits for Regulatory Approval

California-based UPSIDE Foods has announced a new range of cultivated ground meat products and a breakthrough in chicken cell lines.

With its “No Questions” letter from the FDA last year, USPIDE Foods is closer than ever to regulatory approval for its cultivated meat. And it’s gearing up for market launch with the debut of ground chicken for use in a range of products including chicken sausages, chicken sandwiches, and dumplings.

“For us to realize the impact that we want to have, we’ve always known that we need to provide a portfolio that matches the diversity of formats and forms that consumers expect,” Dr. Uma Valeti, CEO and Founder of USPIDE Foods, said in a statement.

‘More complex and textured meat product’

“Our first consumer product, a cultivated chicken filet, demonstrates our ability to deliver the experience of eating a more complex and textured meat product. On the other hand, our ground products are extremely versatile and enable us to explore a range of exciting formats and flavor experiences, while also allowing us to scale faster and make cultivated meat more accessible. Both are exquisite and equally delicious, and we can’t wait for people to try them,” Valeti said.

In addition, USPIDE has announced that it has developed a breakthrough chicken cell line for use in suspension cell culture that could substantially reduce the cost of production, bringing the cultivated meat closer to price parity with conventional.

“Our breakthrough in developing a PDGF-independent cell line represents a major scientific achievement in the production of cultivated meat,” said Kevin Kayser, SVP of Research and Development at USPIDE Foods. “By eliminating the most expensive growth factor in our process, we’re able to dramatically reduce cost and increase scale. We look forward to leveraging the insights gained to drive future innovations and continue to work towards making all of our products more delicious, affordable, humane, and sustainable.”

Scaling up to meet demand

The company, which landed a $1 billion valuation following its $400 million Series C raise last spring, operates one of the largest cultivated meat production facilities in the world. Its EPIC factory in Emeryville, California, is capable of producing 400,000 pounds of cultivated chicken per year.

USPIDE says it will launch initially with its cultivated chicken filet, followed by the next-gen products just announced.

While there have been no announcements on its final step of regulatory approval — a process that involves USDA inspections — industry experts estimate it will happen soon. Fellow California cultivated meat producer Eat Just also received a “No Questions” letter on its cultivated chicken earlier this year. It’s currently the only cultivated meat producer with approval anywhere in the world. Singapore’s Food Agency gave it the green light in 2020.