As cultivated meat grown in a lab faces mounting challenges, slipping under the radar are companies using the same technology to make leather and other sustainable materials without the need for animals.
For years, the cell-based meat industry was hailed as one of, if not the most, revolutionary solution to the environmental and ethical dilemmas posed by traditional livestock farming — by growing the meat without the animal. However, the controversial technology has encountered significant hurdles in recent months, even despite federal approval for the two biggest lab-grown meat producers in the U.S.
It’s been more than a decade since the first lab-grown beef burger made headlines, but we are still likely several years — if not decades — away from cultivated meat routinely appearing on our plates, if ever. But that’s not the case for all cultivated tech. In fact, you could be wearing lab-grown leather or even lab-grown fur a lot sooner than you’re eating lab-grown burgers.
Cell-based meat challenges
After Good Meat and Upside Foods earned USDA regulatory clearance in 2023 for their lab-grown cultivated meat, both made their cell-based chicken restaurant debuts — Upside Foods with Dominique Crenn in San Francisco, and Good Meat with José Andrés in Washington D.C. But both have since been pulled from the menus after the limited edition, pricey runs. Cultivated meat is also off the market in Singapore, which became the first country to approve cultivated meat (Good Meat’s lab-grown chicken received the world’s first clearance there in 2020).
Despite the enthusiasm and billions of dollars poured into startups claiming to hold the secret to producing lab-grown meat faster and at scale, its future is more questionable than ever. In 2023, Upside Foods, which had led the sector in fundraising at more than $600 million, announced its plan to scrap construction of Rubicon, a large-scale cultivated meat plant slated to open in Glenview, Illinois. It said the decision was driven by cost-efficiency and operational streamlining.
Bans in states including Alabama, Arizona, Florida, and Tennessee further added to the hurdles and gave already hesitant consumers another reason to turn their noses up to the cell-based meat. According to one study done in the U.K., 59 percent of consumers said they would “not like to try” lab-grown meat if it became available, and 38 percent said they “would definitely not like to try” the meat.
Cell-cultured materials
In contrast to the struggles of the cell-based meat industry, though, the cell-cultured materials market is witnessing a significant increase in interest and investment even despite a plethora of low-impact plant-based alternatives like cactus, apple, and pineapple leather or the fungi-based mycelium already on the market. Cultivated leather stands out for its ability to work identically to conventional leather, with companies including Modern Meadow and Qorium leading the charge.
Dutch-based Qorium’s recent announcement of substantial milestones, including securing investment from Brightlands Venture Partners and Sofinnova Partners, underscores the confidence investors have in the potential of cell-cultured leather. The appointment of Michael Newton, a former Nike senior executive, as Chief Executive Officer at Qorium, signals a strategic move to blend tradition with cutting-edge science to transform the leather industry sustainably. “Qorium is founded on the conviction that when tradition and talent meet cutting-edge science, true category transformation can happen,” Newton said in a statement.
The company’s founding leadership includes cell-cultured meat pioneer Mark Post as Chief Scientific Officer. Post is the scientist behind the world’s first lab-grown burger, which debuted in 2013 (and cost more than $250,000 to produce).
Earlier this month, cell-based meat producer Meatable announced a collaboration effort with Pelagen — a move that may signal the cultivated meat sector is pivoting. Pelagen is developing animal-free leather using cell-based technologies.
“We are excited to leverage [Meatable’s] technical edge and accelerate our time to impact – something only possible at commercially relevant scales,” Sasha Madhavji, CEO of Pelagen, said in a statement. “We share the same goal in seeing our favorite products endure into a sustainable future, without ever sacrificing on quality.”
While cultivated materials may be more agreeable to consumers than cultivated meat, the sector still faces challenges. VitroLabs, which partnered with Gucci parent Kering and received backing from actor Leonardo DiCaprio, raising more than $54 million for its stem cell-based technologies for growing leather, shuttered its business last year.
Why cell-cultured leather may succeed where meat struggles
Several factors contribute to the optimistic outlook for cell-cultured materials compared to cell-based meat. The production of cell-cultured leather faces fewer regulatory obstacles, allowing for faster market entry. Additionally, the environmental benefits of reducing the livestock industry’s footprint resonate strongly with both consumers and industry stakeholders, making the case for adoption compelling.
Moreover, the scalability of cell-cultured leather production is less daunting than that of meat, with current technological advancements already allowing for the creation of substantial quantities of material. The aesthetic and functional qualities of cultivated leather, crucial for its acceptance in the fashion and automotive industries, have been met with enthusiasm, further buoyed by growing consumer demand for sustainable and ethically produced materials.
“Biotech fashion draws from nature, merging science and aesthetics to provide a sustainable, enduring solution to the industry’s environmental challenges,” Modern Meadow CEO Catherine Roggero-Lovisi said in a recent interview. “Who wouldn’t adore a handbag that feels like leather but is animal-free and sustainable?”
The same technology is also being explored for the production of lab-grown fur. While most major fashion labels have removed the controversial material from their collections, some holdouts remain, including LVMH-owned Fendi and Louis Vuitton.
According to a 2022 announcement, those labels could be among the first to bring lab-grown fur to market. Carole Collet, a design professor at Central Saint Martins and director of Maison/0, which works with LVMH told Vogue Business that they’re not interested in the hype of a new fiber for the sake of a new fiber. “We’re interested in new, radical, sustainable fiber,” she said. “We’re far from being sustainable in the way nature is. The more we look at how nature works, the better.”
Progress for companies like Qorium and Modern Meadow — highlighted by significant investment and strategic leadership appointments — as well as Meatable’s pivot, further cements a likely future for cell-cultured technologies to aid in the rescue of the problematic materials sector. Like the food sector, the fashion industry produces a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions (ten percent), but the sector has struggled to get a hold of the biggest producers, chiefly fast fashion labels like Shein, H&M, Zara, and Boohoo.
Could approaching fashion like our food system help?
“Just as Meatable is revolutionizing the way we produce and consume meat, Pelagen is redefining leather manufacturing with a sustainable approach,” Jeff Tripician, CEO of Meatable, said in a statement. “We’re excited to support their vision and market potential through our technology.”
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