Cultivated protein (aka lab-grown, cultured or in vitro) has generated a lot of hype over the past several years. How could it not? The concept of scientists creating meat- or fish-like substances in a lab setting from just a cell or two of an actual animal is pretty intriguing (or horrifying, depending on your point of view).
Yet even in the human food industry, where cultivated protein first gained attention, it has seemed more in the realm of science fiction, not least because of the prohibitively high costs of creating the protein, particularly at scale. Consider that when one of the first burgers made of cultured meat was taste-tested in 2013 — wait, was it really 11 years ago? — the cost for a full pound of the stuff would have reached US$30. (It took an investment of nearly US$330,000 just to create that first burger.)
Even as research has advanced and cultivated protein has started earning regulatory approval in various countries (as early as 2020 in Singapore and late 2022 in the U.S., both with lab-grown chicken), hurdles remain. Though the cost isn’t quite as high now, it still remains out of reach for many consumers, especially in inflationary times. (In fact, it’s been reported that some lab-grown burgers include a fair amount of plant-based ingredients, likely due to lingering cost and scale factors.)
Also, even as more consumers seem concerned about the environmental impact of raising and eating livestock animals, are they anywhere close to accepting protein created in a lab? Meanwhile, animal-based protein industries and government entities are pushing back hard on this type of protein being marketed as meat or specific meat products, including beef, burger or chicken.
Interestingly, cultivated protein seems to be making more progress in pet food these days, perhaps leading the way for the nascent category.
Making news fast and furious
One of the true pioneers in cultivated protein for pet food was BioCraft Pet Nutrition, which launched a cat treat with a protein cultured from mouse cells in 2019. (The company was known as Because Animals then.) In May 2024, BioCraft announced its cultivated mouse protein had reached price parity with animal-based meat protein in premium pet foods, at about US$2 to 2.50 a pound. In between the two announcements, the company also introduced a cultivated chicken protein slurry for pet food, after deciding to base its business strategy on becoming a supplier to the industry.
Since 2019, more companies have entered the cultivated protein space in pet food, with the announcements and news headlines coming fast and furious over the past six months or so. A recent sampling:
- Meatly, a U.K.-based supplier, earns regulatory authorization to sell its cultivated protein (July 2024)
- Friends and Family Pet Food and Umami Bioworks partner to launch cultivated fish cat treats (July 2024)
- Further Foods announces expected completion of feeding trials necessary for regulatory approval of dog foods containing cultivated chicken (July 2024)
- Omni, a U.K. vegan pet food company, launches a cat food with cultivated chicken (May 2024)
What do pet owners think?
Cultivated protein is not the only type of alternative protein making headlines, of course, in pet food or human food. For example, insect protein continues to grow commercially and in gaining regulatory approval for pet food. In another subcategory, fermented protein, Bond Pet Foods made news this year by shipping its first two metric tons of the protein to Hill’s Pet Nutrition (February 2024).
During Petfood Forum 2024, Rich Kelleman, CEO of Bond, presented results of a consumer survey conducted by his company in 2023. The number of consumers included was small (only 127) and, according to the company, “over-indexed” to younger female consumers (26 to 44 years old) with a college education and high incomes (US$150,000 a year or more). In other words, not necessarily a representative or robust sample, but the results still might provide some clues as to what consumers believe about cultivated and other alternative proteins.
Likely due to all the hype, awareness of cultivated protein was fairly high, with 38.6% of respondents saying they had heard of it, second only behind cricket protein (40.9% awareness). Interestingly, black soldier fly larvae ranked lowest in terms of awareness, at only 6.3%; considering it is much farther along the pet food regulatory approval path in the U.S. and has more market presence, perhaps these consumers are more aware of cricket protein because it has received more attention in human food?
Regardless, it’s telling that 31.5% of these consumers said they had never heard of any of the alternative protein types named (which also included microalgae, brewer’s yeast, mycelium and brewed animal protein, Bond’s specialty). A similar percentage, 30.7%, said they would not consider feeding any of these alternatives to their pets, though again, cricket protein and cultivated protein scored better, at 37.8% and 34.6%, respectively. (Microalgae also scored the same as cricket protein.)
Cultivated and other alternative proteins are definitely making in-roads into pet food, but they may still be considered only a novelty, reserved for more affluent pet owners. Yet, as Kelleman said during his presentation, “Nascent concepts often start here. Many ideas over the past half century that transformed everything from how we cook, move around, work, watch, listen — were wholly dismissed in consumer research.”
