Eat Just secures funding to accelerate research and development of its cultured chicken product

US – Alternative protein company, Eat Just has raised US$170 million in funding for the expansion of its Good Meat cultivated meat division, as it prepares for market entry in the US.

Eat Just plans to use its latest funding to increase capacity and accelerate research and development of its Good Meat cultured chicken product.

The company is particularly focused on investing the funds in quickly scaling production in North America and Asia through multi-million-dollar investments in the US and Singapore.

A world leader in alternative proteins

Eat Just has led and dominated the plant-based egg category with its Just Egg products that were launched in the US market in 2019.

Following its success in America, the brand now aims to bring its egg replacement to Europe and become the “most consumed egg in the world”.

In December 2020, Good Meat secured what is regarded as the world’s first regulatory approval for cultured meat, its product has been enjoyed by customers at Singapore’s 1880 restaurant.

Good Meat has also been able to bring its cultured meat to Singaporean homes through a partnership with delivery platform Foodpanda.

JW Marriott Singapore South Beach’s renowned Cantonese restaurant Madame Fan also recently announced that it will become the first restaurant in the world to replace conventional meat with cultured meat from Good Meat during set times.

According to a statement from the restaurant, Good Meat will replace conventional chicken for once-a-week dine-in as part of dishes including Asian-inspired chicken salad, steamed chicken dumplings and chicken stir-fry.

“This investment, along with the historic decision by JW Marriott Singapore South Beach, points to what’s ahead: meat without killing animals will replace conventional meat at some point in our lifetimes. The faster we make that happen, the healthier our planet will be,” said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO of Eat Just.

The latest investment came from funds managed by UBS O’Connor, a hedge fund manager within UBS Asset Management, Graphene Ventures, K3 Ventures and others.

“This deal is changing the future in terms of how humanity is fed,” said Nabil Borhanu, founder and managing partner of Graphene Ventures.

He added: “For us, this is not only about meat, it’s about fuelling the growth of planet-friendly food alternatives that can feed a rapidly changing world.”

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