Korean Startup Partnership Adds Cell-Cultivated Chicken to CULT Food Science’s Pet Brand Roster

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Press release: CULT Food Science 

CULT Food Science Corp., a pioneer in the investment, development and commercialization of cellular agriculture technologies and products, recently announced a partnership with Korean pet foods startup Everything But to supply cell-cultivated chicken for the company’s stable of sustainable pet food brands.

Everything But is a venture-backed pet food company based in Seoul, Korea. It is the first-ever Asian cell-based pet food company, founded by veterinarians and scientists.

In collaboration with Everything But, the company will be including cell-cultivated chicken in its dog and cat foods brands, which currently include Noochies! Cultivated Pet Food, Marina Cat and Indiana Pet Foods.

Cell-cultivated chicken was recently approved for sale in the United States for human consumption. The regulatory pathway in pet food requires approval from the Center For Veterinary Medicine, a branch of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Chicken is the leading animal protein consumed by cats and dogs in the United States.

Intensive poultry farming has a significant environmental footprint, and potentially severe impacts on human health. Factory farmed chicken manure has been shown to contaminate air, land and soil in areas surrounding factories, including chemical/microbiological contamination of drinking water sources and oceans. Antibiotic and antimicrobial resistance from widespread chicken consumption is a serious and growing concern for the human health system.

Cell-cultivated chicken ingredients are produced by taking a sample from a live chicken and then growing and scaling the cells in large bioreactors. This innovative process allows for the creation of chicken-based pet food products such as treats, foods, supplements and toppers, without the need for high-impact chicken farming.

The company’s cell-cultivated chicken products are expected to be among the world’s first cell-cultivated chicken pet products brought to market.

The availability of the company’s cell-cultivated chicken pet products will be announced in the near future.

“Our collaboration with Everything But is illustrative of our commitment to shaping the future of food at a truly global scale. These ingredients will allow us to reach even more customers with innovative products,” said Lejjy Gafour, CEO of CULT.

“Chicken is the most sought-after farmed animal meat in pet food, globally. By bringing cell-cultivated chicken-based pet products to the United States, we are able to fill existing market demand but at the same time create a whole new category of sustainable pet products,” said Joshua Errett, vice president product development at CULT.

“Our partnership with CULT transcends a mere business collaboration. Both Everything But and CULT share a profound vision for the well-being of our pets, the preservation of our environment, and a future where innovation seamlessly aligns with compassion,” said Yoonchan Hwang, founder of Everything But.