Ashton Kutcher Invests in Cultivated Meat Company

Ashton Kutcher and talent manager Guy Oseary just announced that they are investing in cultivated meat company MeaTech 3D to develop "clean meat" alternatives for the masses. The food tech company has become one of the first movers in the rapidly growing cultivated meat industry, but the celebrity endorsement aims to propel it and the industry into the public spotlight. The partnership will allow MeaTech 3D to expand its offerings and accelerate the timeline of bringing its proprietary cultivated meat to market.

"We are delighted to partner with MeaTech and assist it in its journey to become the market leader in cultured meat production,” Kutcher said. “We are excited about MeaTech’s innovative technologies, which we believe position MeaTech to be the leader in industrial-scale production of cultured meat, a key for a more sustainable and clean meat production.”

MeaTech – the international food tech company that entered the cultivated meat sector in 2019 – plans to develop products that curb the environmental costs of traditional meat production. The Israel-based company claims that its cultured meat technologies will provide consumers with sustainable meat without sacrificing the flavor for consumers. Currently, the company focuses on beef products but intends to expand to pork, chicken, and other protein categories.

Kutcher and Oseary’s investment highlights the growing acceptance of the cultivated meat industry. Companies worldwide have started developing methods and technologies to enter this market, but very few markets have approved regulatory approval. Kutcher believes that this recent partnership could help MeaTech’s position in the alternative protein market.

“We intend to work closely with MeaTech’s management to help MeaTech implement its strategy and achieve its goals and global success by leveraging our marketing, strategic expertise, and network,” Kutcher continued. “The engagement with MeaTech is in line with our group’s mission to provide sustainable solutions through company building, investment, and acceleration of companies and technologies across various sustainability domains.”

The food technology company uses a combination of 3D bioprinting and tissue engineering technologies to create its cultivated meat product. Starting with a small selection of animal cells, the company developed a method to multiply the cells to replicate animal meat. MeaTech is a central figure within the global meat market.

A recent Good Food Insititute report found that the cultivated meat industry secured $366 million in 2020. The company believes that this industry is slated to continue growing at an accelerated rate, making the recent partnership to its public image.

“We are extremely excited to announce our strategic collaboration with such an entrepreneurial, visionary group,” MeaTech CEO Sharon Fima said. “We believe this engagement will help accelerate our journey in becoming the global leader in the cultivated meat industry. We will leverage their expertise and relationships with key industry players to help us propel our strategy, go-to-market activities, and brand.”

The partnership comes on the heels of MeaTech’s brand Peace of Meat’s biggest accomplishment yet. Last month, the company successfully produced over two pounds of animal fat in a single production run, announcing that this is most likely the only time this quantity has been produced in a single batch. The company believes that its products could potentially attract all consumers by being environmentally conscious and advertising sustainable solutions.

​​A recent report from the research consultant CE Delft found that cultivated beef production could reduce air pollution by 93 percent and climate impact by 92 percent. The study continued by stating that as compared to current meat production, cultivated meat would waste 78 percent less water and use 95 percent less land.

“The production capabilities we have demonstrated today are a successful step in line with our strategy of developing a pilot plant for cultivated fat production, which we are planning for 2022,” Fima said in September.

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