Artificial Meat Market

Market Overview

Artificial meat also referred to as cultured meat or cell-based meat, is grown from a small sample of animal tissue, which is then placed in a nutrient-rich environment to grow and replicate the nutritional profile of conventional meat. Rising consumption of meat, coupled with increasing demand for nutritious meat and rising spending power, drives the market growth.

Rising concern about animal welfare and environmental sustainability and rapid innovation in cellular agriculture provides an impetus to the market growth. However, in the last few years, the consumer preference has been shifting from animal-based protein to plant-based protein as they offer umpteen advantages, including reducing body weight, cholesterol and blood pressure levels, and chances of heart diseases. Animal agriculture leads to methane emissions, which is considered one of the leading causes of climate change. Increasing awareness among the customer regarding climate change and rising consumption of plant-based protein hamper market growth.

Market Dynamics

Changing Customer Preference and Rising Health Consciousness to Drive the Market Growth

In the last two decades, there has been a seismic shift in the meat industry on account of changing customer behavior. Increasing spending power, growing demand for takeaway food, busy lifestyles, rising health consciousness, and increasing working hours provide an impetus to the market growth. The changing customer preference has compelled the manufacturers in the meat industry to adopt novel technologies to develop products that will address both the evolving and rising demand of customers. It is also creating growth opportunities for emerging players engaged in the alternative meat market, allowing them to gain market traction by launching new products as per the consumer requirement. However, the high cost associated with these meats impedes market growth.

Regional Analysis

The U.S. to Spearhead North America’s Artificial Meat Market

North America dominated the artificial meat market in 2019 and is projected to continue the same during the forecast period. Increasing demand for high nutritional value, growing investments in R&D on product development, changing customer eating habits, and rising demand for premium food drives the regional market growth.

The U.S. is projected to spearhead North America’s artificial meat market as the country is backed by the presence of a large number of prominent players such as BlueNalu, Inc., Finless Foods Inc., Mission Barns, New Age Meats, and Memphis Meat. Additionally, the U.S. meat industry has been witnessing an upward trend in terms of consumption in the last few years on account of improving the supply chain and expanding the meat industry across the country. For instance, as per the North American Meat Institute, in 2017, the American meat companies produced around 26.3 billion pounds of beef, a 7.2% increase in the production from 2014.

Segmental Analysis

Low-Fat Content of Cultured Chicken Products to Drive the Segment Growth

By source, the poultry segment is projected to witness considerable growth on account of the rising number of manufacturers engaged in the artificial meat market, the cost-effectiveness of cultured chicken products compared to other sources, accessible source of protein, low-fat content, and limited religious restrictions.

Rapid growth in the urban population, coupled with the growing popularity of poultry products in fast-food restaurants, has encouraged manufacturers to develop innovative alternative products to meet the rising demand of the customers. Some of the prominent players engaged in the alternative poultry meats include Just, Inc., SuperMeat, and Future Meat Technologies Ltd. The beef segment, on the other hand, is expected to hold the second-largest share in the artificial meat market during the forecast period.

Increasing Dependency on Take-Away Food to Drive the Nuggets Segment

By application, the nuggets segment held the largest market share in 2019 and is anticipated to dominate the market during the forecast period. The segment’s most prominent driver is changing customer lifestyle and increasing dependency on take-away food. Nuggets are convenient to eat and are considered as a preferred snack across several countries.

Recent Developments

• In 2019, Cargill Corporation invested in Aleph Farms to strengthen the growth of the artificial meat market on account of the rising protein demand among customers. In 2017, Cargill invested in Memphis Meats
• In 2018, Mosa Meat BV received funding from M Ventures, the strategic, corporate venture capital arm of MerckKGaA, to develop an end-to-end process for alternative meat production at a significantly reduced cost
• In 2018, Tyson Ventures, the venture capital arm of Tyson Foods, invested USD 2.2 million in Future Meat Technologies to establish its engineering activities and increase its biological research that will allow them to bring down the production cost of cultured meats
• In 2018, PHW Group formed a strategic partnership with SuperMeat to reinforce their R&D and distribution channel in the European market