Israeli food 3D printing start-up, Redefine Meat has raised $6 million in a seed funding round to advance the development of its alternative-meat 3D printer.
This round is led by CPT Capital, and includes Hanaco Ventures, The PHW Group, a German producer of poultry specialties, and various Israeli angel investors. Eshchar Ben-Shitrit, Co-Founder and CEO at Redefine Meat, stated:
“Our goal is not just to develop a new food product, but to introduce a new technology for developing, producing and scaling alt-meat products.”
“We have already successfully printed great products for multiple foodie events, and over the coming 12 months, we will take the technology to the next level where we expect to make a huge impact on the meat market and the future of our planet.”
3D printed meat alternatives
Founded in 2018 to address the sustainability of the meat industry, Redefine Meat is developing plant-based meat substitutions using additive manufacturing. The food formulation within the 3D printed meat alternatives comprises of natural ingredients emulating the appearance, texture, and flavor of steaks, roasts and stews.
According to the company, this food printing technology will enable meat distributors and retailers to design the characteristics of their meat, catering to seasonality, demand and consumers preferences. Moreover, the food created by the Redefine Meat 3D printer is said to have a 95% smaller environmental impact than animal meat, while eliminating cholesterol.
“We’ve been following Redefine Meat closely for almost a year as part of a major strategic move in agri-food investments,” explained Pasha Romanovski, founding partner of Hanaco Ventures. “They have a unique position in a massive market, but what made us invest is the sheer progress and speed of this dedicated team.”
Investing in food 3D printing
Upon leading this funding round, Costa Yiannoulis, the CPT Capital Investment Director and new director of the Redefine Meat Board, commented, “Redefine Meat is a great fit with our portfolio of companies that are working to replace animals in the food supply chain.”
“We are excited to partner with a company that leverages decades of digital printing experience to offer a fresh look at the way that meat will be produced. From very early on, it was clear that their unique approach has tremendous merits and has already produced some of the highest quality alternative meat products that we have ever encountered.”
Peter Wesjohann, CEO of PHW Group, added, “There is currently no other company that has demonstrated such an impressive development in the field of 3D printed meat.
“The PHW Group sees Redefine Meat as a strategic investment, especially regarding the future product development for the European market and our broad distribution network.”
Redefine Meat expects to finalize and release its 3D printer in 2020.
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Featured image shows Redefine Meat’s 3D printed animal-free meat. Photo via Redefine Meat.
