UPSIDE Foods, a Stray Dog Capital portfolio company, has made a significant breakthrough in cultivated meat: developing a Platelet Derived Growth Factor free chicken cell line for use in suspension cell culture. 

This breakthrough eliminates one of the most expensive ingredients used to support cell growth and will enable scaling to occur more rapidly at a lower cost. 

“By eliminating the most expensive growth factor in our process, we’re able to dramatically reduce cost and increase scale. We look forward to leveraging the insights gained to drive future innovations and continue to work towards making all of our products more delicious, affordable, humane, and sustainable,” said Kevin Kayser, SVP of Research and Development at UPSIDE Foods.

This new technique will be used to develop additional products in UPSIDE’s line, including chicken sausages, chicken sandwiches, and dumplings made with cultivated ground meat, herbs, and plant-based proteins.

These products will have to go through a separate regulatory review process than UPSIDE’s cultivated chicken filet that made history last year when it received a landmark FDA green light. Pending approval, this next generation of products will significantly expand UPSIDE’s commercial portfolio, offering consumers a range of cultivated meat options.

“The vision of the company and the impact that we want to have requires us to be able to produce all formats of meat: different species, and it tastes amazing, and then it also meets the value expectations that consumers have,” Chief Operating Officer at UPSIDE Foods Amy Chen said.

UPSIDE Foods plans to begin its commercial debut by launching its cultivated chicken filet on a small scale, followed by its next generation of meat products shortly after.In addition to working toward full approval to sell its cultivated products, UPSIDE Foods is planning to build its first commercial-scale facility. This plant will have an annual capacity of tens of millions of pounds of cultivated meat.