Three years after announcing a joint venture, Givaudan, Bühler Group, and Migros have finally opened the doors to The Cultured Hub, a cutting-edge biotech facility dedicated to cellular agriculture production in Kemptthal, Switzerland. Initially introduced in 2021 as the Cultured Food Innovation Hub with the stated mission of accelerating the development and market penetration of cellular agriculture products, the facility now boasts advanced product development labs as well as cell culture and bio-fermentation capabilities.
According to the announcement, the new facility will enable startups to scale up their processes from small-scale laboratory experiments (e.g., shake flasks) to 1,000-liter pilot operations without requiring expensive asset investments or equity dilution. The organization says the facility will allow emerging companies to access subject-matter experts and resources to “create regulatory batches with analysis and food safety procedures, test new products, work on optimizing processes, and conduct small market launches.”
In some ways, the new facility is reminiscent of MISTA, the San Francisco-based innovation hub resulting from a partnership between Givaudan and Bühler. However, unlike MISTA, which features facilities such as a biotech lab and an extrusion hub, The Cultured Hub’s infrastructure is specifically focused on cellular agriculture production for products such as cultivated beef, fish, dairy, and more.
“The Cultured Hub is designed to bridge the scale-up gap for companies, enabling them to retain equity, protect intellectual property, and fast-track their journey to market without high capital investment,” said Ian Roberts, Chief Technology Officer of Bühler Group. “We are thrilled to bring together industry players and create a collaborative environment that will drive significant advancements in the industry.”
The rise of shared-access facilities for piloting new cell-ag food products makes sense in today’s capital-constrained environment. Venture capital investment in cultivated food startups has slowed over the past couple of years, particularly as capital requirements have risen with many of these companies entering the scale-up phase. At the same time, it remains uncertain whether many of these products will ever reach the commodity price points required to make them viable replacements for traditional animal agriculture.
Notable companies participating in The Cultured Hub’s community include Ever After Foods, GOURMEY, Mosa Meat, Nestlé, Nutreco, and Orbillion Bio.