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By Agroempresario.com
Dutch cultivated meat startup Meatable is taking a major step forward in its mission to make lab-grown meat accessible and affordable. The company recently announced plans to partner with TruMeat, a newly formed enterprise in Singapore, to build a pilot-scale cultivated meat production facility. Construction is expected to begin later this year, contingent upon the successful completion of a new financing round.
TruMeat, led by seasoned executives from the biomanufacturing and cell culture media sectors, will spearhead the development of the facility utilizing Meatable’s innovative technology. According to a joint press release, this will be the first facility in Singapore capable of producing cultivated meat at cost levels and volumes sufficient to support commercial partners in product formulation, testing, and market launch.
"This is the next step in our journey to make cultivated meat accessible and affordable," said Jeff Tripician, CEO of Meatable. A spokesperson added that further details about the facility — including the bioreactor size and production capacity — would be released closer to the start of construction.
Meatable has already submitted a regulatory dossier in Singapore and plans to file applications in several other countries over the coming months. The move aligns with Singapore's proactive stance on alternative proteins and cultivated meat, having already approved the commercial sale of cultivated chicken by other companies.
Tripician, a U.S. meat industry veteran who took over leadership at Meatable in 2024, acknowledged that the sector can no longer rely on venture capital to finance large-scale commercial plants, as it did during the investment boom of 2021. Speaking in a recent interview, he emphasized that success will come to companies that combine superior science with strategic partnerships.
"The companies that will win will have the best science, and they will partner with established meat companies to build large-scale plants," Tripician said. Rather than directly selling branded cultivated meat, Meatable envisions its future role as a "raw material supplier" — providing cultivated muscle and fat cells to established meat producers, who will then incorporate these materials into their own products.
While this "unsexy" role may not capture public imagination, it positions Meatable as a critical player in the future of sustainable protein. Tripician added, "Cultivated meat can be made to order, without the challenges of land use, water scarcity, disease outbreaks like avian flu, or the ethical concerns around animal welfare. Consumers have already shown they are willing to pay extra for products that address these issues."
Meatable’s scientific edge lies in its rapid production process. Over the past two years, the company has slashed the time required to cultivate pork muscle and fat cells from 45 days to just four days. This acceleration dramatically improves unit economics, making cultivated meat production more commercially viable.
At the heart of this breakthrough is Meatable’s use of pluripotent stem cells extracted from the umbilical cords of animals — not adult cells that must be reprogrammed. Pluripotent stem cells naturally have the ability to differentiate into multiple cell types, including fat and muscle. They also divide rapidly, making them ideal for large-scale cultivated meat production.
Yet the true "secret sauce," according to cofounder Daan Luining, lies in Meatable’s patented Opti-Ox technology. Developed by cofounder Dr. Mark Kotter, Opti-Ox allows Meatable to activate specific transcription factors with unprecedented precision. These transcription factors determine how stem cells differentiate into specialized cells like muscle or fat.
"We're using cells' natural ability to turn into muscle or fat by pressing the right biological buttons," said Luining. "This is a major breakthrough in stem cell biology. We went from 45 days to 21, then eight, and now just four days to differentiate the cells."
Speed is not the only advantage. Because Meatable's harvested cells are fully differentiated, they offer significant nutritional value — an important factor for consumers and regulators alike. "We’re not making a steak yet, but we are making high-quality fat and muscle," Luining emphasized.
Despite the scientific progress, the cultivated meat industry has been going through a tough cycle. Following the hype of 2020–2021, the sector has experienced stagnation, investor caution, and consolidation. Many startups have struggled to secure new funding, while others have been forced to pivot or close.
However, Luining remains optimistic. "What we're seeing is a natural innovation cycle," he said. "First comes hype, then stagnation, then consolidation, and finally redirection. The companies with real, differentiated value — those with something truly unique — will survive and thrive."
Meatable’s successful $35 million Series B raise in 2023, the largest in the cultivated meat sector that year, demonstrates that investors still see promise where there is genuine technological progress.
The upcoming pilot facility in Singapore represents a pivotal moment for Meatable. If successful, the project could validate a new model for scaling cultivated meat: one focused on scientific excellence, operational partnerships, and raw material supply rather than brand-building alone.
By leveraging the expertise of TruMeat and Singapore's favorable regulatory environment, Meatable hopes to attract large commercial partners from the meat industry, accelerating the path to widespread market adoption.
As global demand for sustainable protein solutions continues to grow, Meatable is betting that its precision-driven, partnership-first approach will position it as a leader in the next phase of the alternative protein revolution.
