UK-based biotech company 3D Bio-Tissues (3DBT), a subsidiary of BSF Enterprise PLC, has signed a commercial supply agreement with South Korean cultivated meat developer SeaWith. The deal will see 3DBT supply its proprietary cell culture supplement, City-Mix®, to support SeaWith’s cultivated beef production.
£300,000 deal to support scale-up
The agreement, valued at approximately £300,000, establishes a regular shipment of City-Mix® to SeaWith. The product is designed to improve cell growth and density while lowering the reliance on costly growth media. According to 3DBT, the use of City-Mix® can reduce growth media requirements by around 30%, a factor that could support lower production costs in large-scale cultivated meat manufacturing.
Heejae Lee, CTO and Co-founder of SeaWith, stated: “As Korea’s designated Regulatory Free Zone operator for cultivated meat, we are pleased to partner with an industry leader like 3D Bio-Tissues as we move toward regulatory approval. City-Mix® technology aligns exceptionally well with our high-performing Hanwoo-derived muscle stem cells, supporting both robustness and scalability in our production process.”
Seaweed-based innovation and a focus on beef
Founded in 2019, SeaWith is developing meat alternatives using seaweed-based biotechnologies and is working toward commercialisation of its cultivated beef products under the Welldone™ brand. The company has raised more than $8 million in venture capital and operates within South Korea’s Regulatory-Free Special Zone (RFSZ), a government initiative designed to ease regulatory burdens on emerging food technologies for up to five years.
South Korea is one of the few countries in Asia actively pursuing regulatory and industrial development of cultivated meat, supported by national policies aimed at advancing food security and alternative proteins. Public interest in cultivated meat remains high, with consumer surveys showing that a majority of South Koreans are open to trying it, though cost and taste remain primary concerns.
“We are demonstrating how our technology can…make cultivated meat economically viable at scale”
3DBT’s City-Mix® supplement is positioned to support cultivated meat producers by improving production efficiency without genetic modification or animal-derived components.
Che Connon, CEO of 3D Bio-Tissues, said: “By partnering with SeaWith, a recognised innovator in sustainable protein, we are demonstrating how our technology can deliver real commercial impact, boosting cell yield, improving tissue quality, and crucially lowering production costs to help make cultivated meat economically viable at scale.”
