SuperMeat, a foodtech company working to supply the world with high-quality cultivated meat, announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Switzerland’s largest retail supermarket chain and leading meat manufacturer, Migros, to expedite production and distribution of cultivated meat at a commercial scale. As part of the partnership, Migros has invested in SuperMeat, indicating that the industry sees a strong interest among consumers in alternative proteins.
Working together, the two hope to solidify an infrastructure to distribute and sell meat on a wide scale to meet the demand of the European consumer looking for more efficient and sustainable alternative products. With Migros’ direct consumer relationships, the companies will be better positioned to serve customers and provide product assortments that better match consumer needs.
“We are thrilled to be working with a prominent foodservice partner like Migros as we move toward our joint vision of producing cultivated meat on a mass scale,” said Ido Savir, CEO SuperMeat. “Their expertise and reach in food production and grocery paired with SuperMeat’s advancements in the industry will set the stage to bring cultivated meat to European consumers in the near future.”
Migros believes in supporting a future of alternative proteins in many forms. In addition to the work with SuperMeat, Migros has recently partnered with Swiss companies Givaudan and Bühler to establish The Cultured Food Innovation Hub, with the goal of building a pilot plant to further research and grow cultivated meat.
“As consumers demand more sustainable, healthier, and alternative protein products, Migros wants to ensure it is prepared to meet the needs of this growing customer base when the time comes,” said Matthew Robin, CEO ELSA-Mifroma, a Migros Group company. “Having the opportunity to taste SuperMeat’s cultivated chicken personally at their restaurant in Israel, I was very impressed with how similar this was to traditional chicken, confirming my conviction of the potential for this technology to change the meat industry.”
The announcement is part of several vital steps SuperMeat is taking to move forward with the commercialization of cultivated meat, including the development of the first open-source system aimed at identifying the most cost-effective cell feed, reducing production costs for the industry. Last year, SuperMeat also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with PHW Group, one of Europe's largest poultry producers and the only company from the meat industry to rank among the 50 Sustainability & Climate Leaders, to manufacture and distribute cultivated meat at a large scale for European consumers.
