From cutting-edge research to bacon rashers — turning the idea of cultivated meat into reality
As UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Transforming Food Production programme launches its report on Alternative Proteins, we invite Benjamina Bollag, founder and CEO of food tech start-up Higher Steaks, to discuss how her company has become a front runner in the high-growth, global landscape of commercial cultivated meat.
What is cultivated meat and who are Higher Steaks?
Cultivated meat promises to offer a new, authentic meat alternative made from real animal cells, in an attempt to tackle a range of global issues — including climate change, animal welfare, deforestation, antimicrobial resistance, and the challenge of feeding the world’s growing population.
At Higher Steaks, we’re working on this highly complex and rewarding challenge to create real, delicious meat products for food lovers around the globe who want to make a conscious decision about what they eat, without sacrificing any of the reasons why they love to eat. Using our cutting-edge cell culture, bioprocess, biomaterial and food science expertise, we take a small sample of cells from an animal, which we grow and guide to become muscle and fat tissue, then create real meat products without the need for antibiotics, millions of farmland acres or animal slaughter.
I started working on Higher Steaks in 2018, and was soon after joined by my co-founder, Ruth (Chief Scientific Officer). Our team has continued to grow year-on-year and we’re currently building our brand-new global HQ in Cambridge, UK. It will house our expanded group of cultivated meat experts and enthusiasts by the end of the year.
What key challenges need to be overcome before commercialisation?
Alongside fine-tuning and scaling up our innovative cellular processing methods, we are also focusing a lot of time and expertise on developing delicious recipes for our products. We have regular in-house tasting sessions and, truthfully, our bacon and pork belly products are incredible!
Of course, at this pre-revenue stage of our journey, everything we do is made possible by investors and organisations who believe in what we are doing, and who are as equally passionate as us about solving some of the key challenges our planet is facing.
The funding we have received from UKRI’s Series A Investor Partnership Programme delivered by Innovate UK and accompanied by further backing from carefully selected private investors, has allowed us to accelerate the process of establishing our new pilot plant. This combined finance, along with the business skills and support brought by the private investors, is enabling us to stay at the cutting edge of the field. The growth of this pilot plant will have a positive impact on the entire industry, and we hope it can stimulate innovation and commercial success on a global scale! With this support, the key goal now is to scale up and make a delicious range of products for the world to enjoy. This rapid growth also means that our costs can be reduced, enabling us to work towards producing genuinely affordable products.
We are excited to be working with UKRI on their Transforming Food Production challenge, and hope to be a key contributor to their mission of achieving net zero emissions by 2040. Many of our values, alongside our passion for innovation, align with the work that UKRI develops and supports, so we are very much looking forward to a bright future working together!
To find out more about the alternative proteins market, read UKRI’s report which provides a blueprint for how the sector can come together and work collaboratively for mutual benefit, helping to unlock the global market opportunities.
Want to know more?
Higher Steaks has received funding from the UKRI Transforming Food Production Challenge. This challenge, under the UKRI Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF), supports businesses, researchers and industry to transform food production, meet growing demand and move towards Net Zero emissions by 2040.
ISCF addresses the big societal challenges being faced by UK businesses today, backed by £2.6 billion of public money, with £3 billion in matched funding from the private sector. You can read more about what we do here.
About the author
Benjamina is the founder and CEO of Cambridge-based food tech start-up Higher Steaks. Previously, Benjamina co-founded a London-based B2B electronics company selling to FTSE500 companies. Benjamina has also worked at Israeli 3D printing company, Stratasys and at a digital marketing division of PepsiCo’s joint venture with Strauss. She was the lead developer in Unibuddy, an ed-tech startup. Benjamina holds a Master of Chemical Engineering from the Imperial College.
