Consultancy firm McKinsey has published a ten-page analysis on cultured meat discussing current challenges and market trends. Accordingly, market size could reach $25billion by 2030.
Consultancy firm McKinsey has published a ten-page analysis on cultured meat called "Cultivated meat: Out of the lab, into the frying pan". It is describing the processes that make this approach work, and noting that this “$25 billion global industry by 2030 presents opportunities within and beyond today’s food industry”.
According to the authors the future pace of adoption and market size will depend on five key factors:
- Consumer acceptance. Will diners dig into cultivated chicken nuggets and burgers and, eventually, filet mignon and salmon steaks?
- Risks. How will the industry address concerns about health and safety, jobs, and possible economic ripple effects?
- Cost position. Will cultivated meat become a bargain, relative to conventional meat, energizing demand?
- Policy response. How will countries and regions address the development of this new industry?
- Supply. Will the world make enough cultivated meat to achieve economies of scale?
The article provides an overview of the steps required to create a global cultivated-meat industry and identifies opportunities for participation for food and pharmaceutical companies; flavor and fragrance players; engineering, procurement, and construction firms; investors; and others.
The authors also discuss different production processes. In the nearer term, companies may choose to focus on a single area and mix plant protein and other flavors into their products to achieve the desired taste and texture. Eat Just’s chicken product sold in Singapore, for example, is more than 70 percent cultivated cells, with a small amount of plant protein added in for structure, while Future Meat in Israel mixes cultivated fat with plant protein. "It’s too early to tell if blended options are merely an interim fix or if they present a sufficiently compelling option for long-term adoption", they analyze.
According the article, production costs for cultivated meat remain one of the largest challenge in the sector. Based on a McKinsey analysis, about 75 percent of costs can be eliminated through increased scale and best-in-class manufacturing processes, while roughly 25 percent of additional costs can be eliminated by fine-tuning R&D, bringing the total cost down 99.5 percent, from the low thousands of dollars to under $5 per pound. Further cost reduction can be achieved by blending cultivated meats with plant protein. Based on this, the authors assume that it could take about a decade for consumers to start paying less for cultivated meat than its conventional counterpart. However, they also say that there is evidence in today’s marketplace that consumers are willing to pay extra for products they believe to be healthier or more sustainable.
See the full article here: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/agriculture/our-insights/cultivated-meat-out-of-the-lab-into-the-frying-pan