Japanese food and amino acid company Ajinomoto Co. has developed a technology that could help lower one of the biggest cost barriers in cultivated meat production, by replacing an expensive ingredient used in the cell-growing process with a cheaper, plant-derived compound.
Growing meat from animal cells requires a nutrient-rich liquid called culture media, which feeds and supports cell growth throughout production. One of the most expensive ingredients in that liquid is transferrin, a protein that helps deliver iron to cells. It is difficult to produce consistently and has long been flagged by cultivated meat companies as a major reason why production costs remain high.
A plant-derived alternative
Ajinomoto’s approach centres on hinokitiol, a naturally occurring iron-binding compound found in certain plants. The company confirmed that hinokitiol can perform the same iron-delivery function as transferrin within serum-free media, with internal testing showing cell proliferation volumes approximately three times higher than in a control group without either compound. Because hinokitiol is chemically stable and low molecular weight, it does not carry the same quality variability issues associated with transferrin.
The technology is patent-pending. Hinokitiol is already approved as a food additive in Japan, providing an existing safety reference for its use in food applications. Ajinomoto presented the findings at the International Scientific Conference on Cultured Meat in November 2025.
Reducing the cost of culture media is one of the most widely discussed challenges across the cultivated meat industry. Producers including Upside Foods, Mosa Meat, and Aleph Farms have each named it as a central focus in their paths toward commercial viability.
Selling to producers, not competing with them
Ajinomoto does not plan to produce cultivated meat itself. Instead, the company intends to license or supply the hinokitiol-based technology to cultivated meat manufacturers, positioning itself as an ingredients and production support provider. The company already operates a culture media business serving the pharmaceutical and regenerative medicine sectors, which underpins its technical entry into the food space.
Prototype testing has been completed, and Ajinomoto is targeting commercial introduction within the next several years.
