Australian cultured meat start-up Vow has opened the first of two planned cultured meat facilities, with its first commercial product on track for launch by then end of the year.
cultured meat production.(Image: Vow.)
The facility, Factory 1, can producing 30 tonnes of cultured meat a year, making it the largest plant in the Southern Hemisphere. Plans for Factory 2 are advanced with the first stage of production scheduled for 2H FY24. It will be roughly 100 times the scale of Factory 1.
Vow was founded in 2019 by George Peppou and Tim Noakesmith. The pair’s mission is to “make better meat for meat lovers”.
Listen to our podcast episode with Noakesmith here. Vow says consumers are already experts in the meats they love – chicken, pork, beef. The founders’ mindset is that to change consumer behaviour, Vow will create entirely new meats that are tastier and more nutritious than the ones they know, using new technologies that will also help feed the world more sustainably
After several successful productions, the plant was officially opened by New South Wales treasure and energy minister Matt Kean.
Vow co-founder and CEO George Peppou said the facility means the company is operating at on a world leading scale in less than four years and with a fraction of the capital many cultured meat companies have secured.
Some of Vow’s investors are Blackbird, Square Peg, Grok and Tenacious Ventures.
The plant is located with the company's existing R&D facility, allowing NPD and commercial production all under one roof.
Vow has submitted its first product for regulatory approval, with its first cultured meat product is on track to launch in Singapore before then end of 2022.
