Aleph Farms, a cultivated meat company, and WACKER, a supplier of protein production technologies, announced a partnership for the development of cost-effective growth medium proteins for cultivated meat.

These proteins act as a nutrient-rich feed to help cells grow and mature into muscle, fat and collagen-producing cells. Although they’re central to promoting and supporting cell growth, they’re not widely available on the market and extremely expensive, representing a key hurdle in the commercial viability of cultivated meat.

The goal of this partnership is to reduce costs of these proteins significantly without using foetal bovine serum (FBS) or animal-derived ingredients and make them available to cultivated meat companies by matching their required standards.

The agreement between WACKER and Aleph Farms is non-exclusive, meaning any cultivated meat company will be able to obtain these same affordable proteins. This open supply chain solution is expected to help the industry to scale and achieve price-parity faster.

“Thanks to WACKER’s and our team’s vast experience, we will produce proteins at the quantity, quality and cost necessary to achieve cost-parity with conventional meat," says Didier Toubia, co-founder and CEO of Aleph Farms. "Bringing down the cost and making suitable raw materials available is imperative if we want to make cultivated meat mainstream and drive impact. "Investing in the development of a supply chain solution for the entire industry is a direct result of our innovative and inclusive business model and the impetus behind our partnership with WACKER.”

WACKER has over 20 years of experience in protein production and a deep understanding of the food industry’s requirements and regulations. WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS, its life science division, provides customized food ingredients, pharmaceutical activities and agrochemicals using advanced biotech processes. Its portfolio includes pharmaceutical proteins, cyclodextrins and fermentation-generated cysteine, plus chemicals such as acetylacetone. 

At its corporate research labs in Munich, WACKER is working on fermentation techniques for cell culture proteins with the same composition of those produced inside the animal’s body. Similar techniques are widely used today to produce enzymes for food processing applications.

“The market for cultivated meat is advancing rapidly and we want to contribute to making it an affordable reality for everyone,” said Susanne Leonhartsberger, president of “With this platform, we are now entering the field of cultivated meat, drawing on our many years of experience in protein production. As the most technologically advanced company in the field, Aleph Farms is an ideal partner for us.”

“Our team’s scientific expertise alongside WACKER’s vast experience makes it possible to produce proteins at the quantity, quality and cost necessary to meet Aleph’s aggressive goal of achieving cost-parity with conventional meat.", said Ayelet Maor Shoshani Ph.D., Director of Cell Line and Media Development at Aleph Farms.

Aleph Farms grows beef steaks from non-genetically engineered and non-immortalised cells isolated from a living cow, without slaughtering the animal. The company’s vision is to provide unconditional quality nutrition for anyone, anytime, anywhere.

For more information, visit aleph-farms.com