Meat

BSF Enterprise and Ivy Farm Partner to Produce Cultivated Meat in China

Two UK firms, BSF Enterprise, owner of the UK clinical and cell ag company 3D Bio-Tissues (3DBT), and the cultivated meat company Ivy Farm Technologies, have partnered to fundraise, produce, and scale cultivated meat in China.

BSF Enterprise (LSE: BSFA) (OTCQB: BSFAF) announced that the commercial agreement involves securing investment to help Ivy Farm enter the Chinese market and find key manufacturers to develop various cultivated meat products.

Last year, BSF Enterprise formed a separate entity (BSF HK) and opened an office in Hong Kong to develop a distribution and partner network to commercialize its products and launch cultivated meat in the country. China consumes over 100 million tons of meat (with pork as the preferred meat), which is more than a quarter of global meat consumption, representing a huge opportunity for more sustainable technologies such as cell-based meat.

Che Connon, managing director of BSF Enterprise and CEO of 3DBT, commented: “Today’s announcement represents the start of a strong commercial and technical working relationship between BSF Enterprise and Ivy Farm. The cultivated meat market is front and center for China in its blueprint for food security as part of its five-year agricultural plan.”

BSF Enterprise and the cultivated meat company Ivy Farm have partnered to fundraise, produce, and scale cultivated meat in China.
© BSF Enterprise

Scaling with serum-free media

In addition, BSF will invest in the cultivated meat company’s ongoing funding to scale its production in large-size bioreactors, while 3DBT will test its serum-free media City-Mix, which is said to speed up production while reducing its costs by up to 70%, on Ivy Farm’s platform.

Ivy Farm, a spin-off from the University of Oxford, has developed a platform to cultivate mincemeat from Wagyu Beef, Aberdeen Angus, and English Large White Pork cells. Cultivated meat is not yet approved for consumption in the UK, but the company has developed several prototypes, including meatballs, sausages, and, recently, scotch eggs.

In 2022, Ivy Farm opened a cultivated meat pilot plant in Oxford, UK. Claimed as the biggest in Europe, it has a production capacity of 2.8 tonnes annually.  However, Ivy Farm says it envisions producing 12,000 tonnes from a single efficient facility, fully powered by renewable energy. Compared to industrial farming practices, this would reduce GHGs by 92% and land use by 90%

3DBT and Amelia Pichard are going to lung a line of cultivated leather bags
© 3D Bio-Tissues

Meat and leather

Concurrently, BSF Enterprise is focused on unlocking the next generation of biotechnological solutions, including cultivated meat, leather, human corneas, collagen, and skin substitutes. For some products, the company is looking to license its IP to manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors to allow them to produce at scale. 

Besides cultivated meat ingredients, 3DBT aims to produce the UK’s first high-quality leather from its laboratory in Newcastle. A few weeks ago, the company partnered with Amelie Pichard (a French fashion brand) to produce cultivated leather for a unique line of handbags.

“We look forward to helping Ivy Farm enter the China market through securing investment and working with key manufacturers to develop a variety of cultivated meat products that can serve a significant, growing market,” added Connon.

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