Cultivated chicken: how will it shape the future of pet food?

London-based cultivated meat company Meatly has announced the debut of its wet cultivated chicken cat food, which it has produced in partnership with vegan pet food producer Omni.

Co-founder and CEO Owen Ensor informs GlobalPETS that the company has spent 18 months on research and development (R&D) to create a suitable product. As affordability is a key component of the product’s adaptability, the pricing is expected to be “in line with premium pet food products.”

This is Omni’s first venture into crafting a cultivated meat product using Meatly’s cruelty-free ingredients, which will be available at Pets at Home. 

The British pet retailer became one of the first investors in Meatly as part of a £3.6 million ($4.5M/€‎4.1M) fundraise in early 2023 to offer strategic assistance in bringing cultivated meat to the market

Innovation

To date, Omni has totaled £2 million ($2.5M/€2.3M) in sales through its sustainable dog food made from pulses, algae and yeast.

“We recognize that that the only way this innovative product is going to make a wide-reaching positive impact on the health of pets and the planet is to achieve scale,” says Omni’s Co-founder Guy Sandelowsky.

In 2022, the British company said it was experiencing “strong momentum,” with monthly sales up 60%. 

Filling a market gap?

The long-awaited pet food product answers market concerns about the high carbon footprint of meat in pet food, as 22% of the UK’s meat production is consumed by pets.

A 2022 survey by GlobalPETS and Yummypets showed that 18.3% of pet parents in the US, Canada, France, and the UK fed their dogs a plant-based or vegan meal regularly. An additional 20.6% admitted that their dog’s diet was 100% vegan.

Both Meatly and Omni believe that cultivated meat gives pet parents “an easy choice” with a high-quality, tasty, nutritious and sustainable approach. “As demand continues to grow, with pet food already accounting for 20% of meat produced globally, so does the industry’s environmental impact,” admits Owen Ensor from Meatly. 

According to the GlobalPETS and Yummypets survey, more than 4 out of 10 (41.7%) pet parents admit they feed their pets vegan food because it is better for the environment.

Regulatory approval

Meatly is currently awaiting regulatory approval to sell its pet food across the UK. If approved, the company claims it will be the first in the world to sell cultivated meat for pets in the UK and Europe.

GlobalPETS learned that after release in the UK market, the product is expected to roll out into the American and Canadian markets. 

The British company is already working on a similar chicken-cultivated meat pet food product catered for dogs.