The market for synthetic meat - Italy

1.2 World Synthetic Meat Market

The Chinese synthetic meat market is expected to be valued at about $**.* billion in ****. This is slightly higher than the value projected for the rest of the world's cultured meat market. Cultured or synthetic meat refers to meat produced with in vitro animal cell cultures, as opposed to meat from the slaughter of animals. At the end of ****, cultured meat was sold for the first time in Singapore.

Forecast of the size of the world synthetic meat market in ****, by region World, ****, in millions of $ Source: ****

In the coming decades, cultured meat and other alternative proteins are expected to take significant market share away from the $*.* trillion conventional meat and seafood industry. This change will mitigate agriculture-related deforestation, biodiversity loss, antibiotic resistance, zoonotic disease outbreaks, and industrial animal slaughter.

The graphs below show possible scenarios on the evolution of the synthetic meat sector, regarding the future size of the market and the amount of what will be the tons produced, taking into consideration three distinct scenarios with different characteristics:

Low Growth: Synthetic meat is only able to replace processed meat (***), limiting its penetration, whose sales are geographically limited to North America, Europe and some Asia-Pacific countries. Medium Growth: Synthetic meat is ...

1.3 Covid-19 impact

The pandemic has generated a sense of instability, leading Italians to shift their critical thinking about environmental and animal welfare. In particular, the pandemic could be the tipping point for making consumers aware of the close link between human health and natural ecosystems, thereby strengthening their orientation toward consuming food products that are sustainable. A survey conducted with a sample of *,*** Italian citizens between May ** and **, ****, showed that during the first phase of the COVID-** disease, about ** percent of the sample reported that they frequently (***) consumed certified sustainable food products and about ** percent of the sample intended to increase their consumption in the next * months, percentages that increase among those who feel more vulnerable with respect to the risk of contagion. In addition, the psychological impact of the COVID-** emergency has led to a change in consumer attitudes, increasing interest in animal and environmental issues and human health. These aspects seem to drive future intention to purchase sustainable food products. This research highlights how psychological reactions to the health emergency have changed consumer attitudes toward sustainability issues, leading them to follow a more sustainable diet, which is recognized as a way to preserve human health, environmental conservation, and animal welfare for ...

2.1 Italians and synthetic meat

Based on a survey conducted in **** by istituo ixè, it is possible to understand Italians' perceptions of synthetic meat, starting with their knowledge of the terminology used to identify synthetic meat. We can see from the graph how knowledge of this product is still low among the Italian population. The highest value recorded refers to artificial meat, about **% of the sample had heard of it using this terminology. This was followed by in vitro meat, cultured meat and finally clean meat. Going into detail on the survey carried out, it was found that, there is more knowledge of the terminology among the male class than the female class, and the age group most involved is between **-** years old. Regarding the educational level of the sample analyzed, it is evident that there is greater knowledge of all the various terms taken as reference, among those with high schooling, compared to middle and low schooling.

% knowledge of terminologies used to identify synthetic meat Italy, ****, in % Source: ****

regarding the perception of terminology used to identify synthetic meat, there is a high negative perception for the term "artificial meat," about ** percent, while the most positive value recorded is for clean meat. Going into ...

2.2 Drivers of demand for synthetic meat

Among the drivers that would lead people to consume synthetic meat, we have in first place environmental sotenibility with **.*%, in second place care for animal life with **.*%, in third place curiosity to try this product with **.*%, and in fourth place the healthier aspect that would distinguish synthetic meat from meat obtained from trainings with **.*%.

Consumer motivations for consuming synthetic meat Italy, ****, in % Source: ****

Among the motivations that would not lead consumers to choose this product we have: distrust of products that are not natural, (***).

Reasons for not consuming synthetic meat Italy, ****, in % Source: ****

3.1 Synthetic meat market structure

The industry, which currently includes fewer than *** start-ups, has attracted about $*** million in investment in **** and about $*** million in **** from some of the largest animal protein producers, including Tyson and Nutreco, and well-known investors, including Temasek and SoftBank. [***]

There are companies in Israel, the Netherlands and the United States that have begun producing synthetic meat, mostly on a demonstration basis, in order to ascertain the sustainability of their own programs. The Italian market, is not yet as developed as the Netherlands or the United States, two of the richest countries with companies supporting the creation of synthetic meat. In Italy there is only one start-up, Bruno Cell, supporting this innovation, born in ****.

Examples of some of these are: Aleph cuts; Meatble; FinlessFood

Source: ****

3.2 How is synthetic meat produced?

Process of creation

Synthetic meat is meat created in a laboratory. Cells are taken from a live animal or fresh meat, stem cells are extracted, proliferated with a bioreactor simulating the process that occurs naturally in an animal's body, and its muscle fibers. All this without having to use contaminants and the use of antibiotics. Thus a product similar to minced meat, which is then compacted.

The most commonly used methodologies consist of using unspecialized stem cells, which have the ability to differentiate into different types of mature cells in order to form a tissue. However, these cells are not artificial but are taken from live animals or embryos, depending on the research being conducted. Once the appropriate stem cells have been selected, they are placed in containers containing a nutrient solution, where they begin to proliferate and grow. However, this process alone is not sufficient to obtain muscle tissue that can be used as meat for human food. In fact, the cells need a three-dimensional support that allows them to breathe, proliferate and differentiate. In practice, a meat-like structure needs to be created to ensure its texture and ability to hold its shape during cooking.

To produce a significant amount ...

3.3 The business behind synthetic meat

Source: ****

4.1 Features of the offer

There are various types of synthetic meat, for which each manufacturing company specializes:

In fact, as the table shows, cultured meat production can further advance through the selection of cell lines from animals that are uncommon due to low meat content, long growth times or limited availability. For example, culturing ostrich meat could offer a low-fat, red meat alternative, becoming a popular trend or like kangaroo meat that is commonly eaten in Australia but not in other parts of the world. In addition, the industry could experiment with creating products through ideas that are even more creative, such as designing dodo poultry nuggets or mammoth-flavored burgers, concepts that research-privileged chefs might find inspiring.[***]

4.2 The prices of synthetic meat

Assuming, that artificial meat production costs can fall at the same rate as those associated with genome sequencing, a recent McKinsey study places the achievement of price parity between "real" steak and "test tube" steak in ****.

Cultured meat also gives rise to several economic and social issues of concern. The first has to do with cost: cultured meat will initially command a high price, which may be out of reach for some consumers, although prices will likely come down as the industry develops.

Among the more complex issues is the possibility that the cultured meat industry will eventually disrupt animal protein prices, perhaps within a decade or so of continued growth. For example, if some cuts of meat (***) are replaced by cultured options, cheaper cuts of conventional meat could cost more to offset the loss of sales of more expensive cuts. In addition, the growth of cultured meat could reduce the size of farms, affecting economies of scale and causing higher prices for consumers of conventional meat. [Ilfat

In less than a decade, companies have been able to reduce the cost of producing cultured meat by ** percent. If costs follow the same trajectory as human genome sequencing (***), cultured meat could reach ...

4.3 How the synthetic meat industry is evolving

In late ****, several leading cultured meat companies are transitioning to pilot-scale plants that will produce the first wave of marketed products after regulatory approval. In December ****, the Singapore Food Agency approved the sale of the world's first cultured chicken product, which is currently sold in several restaurants, public kiosks and butcher shops[***].

In November ****, UPSIDE Foods completed the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration (***), which is expected to happen in ****. Other countries are developing different regulatory frameworks to allow the sale of cultured meat.

Further scaling up will require commercial production in much larger facilities than at present. Scaling up will also require solving a number of complex challenges that will affect production costs. These challenges involve five key areas: cell lines, culture media, bioprocess design, scaffolding, and final product design and characterization.[***]

Solving these challenges and bringing the cultured meat industry to maturity will require an influx of funds from both the public and private sectors. New courses, research centers, and training programs for scientists, as well as policy and regulatory interventions, will accelerate progress.

The industry will also need new companies, input from existing life science companies, and openness to collaboration from existing cultured meat companies. Many new ...

5.1 Regulation

In Italy, there is no specific regulation for synthetic meat because the product has not yet been commercialized in the country. However, synthetic meat is subject to European food safety regulations and Italian food hygiene and safety regulations.

In December ****, the European Commission proposed regulations for the marketing of synthetic meat in the EU, requiring EFSA premarket approval and clear labeling of the product as "synthetic meat" or "synthetic meat product."[***]

Although there is still no response from the EU, Europe's Horizon funding for the synthetic meat sector indicates the possible future path.

In Italy, The bill presented by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty,Francesco Lollobrigida, established that the production of food derived from cell cultures or tissues of vertebrate animals is prohibited in Italy. This means that it will not be possible to produce synthetic meat, fish or milk in the country. In case of violation, there are penalties (***) and a ban on access to public funding. However, products legally manufactured or marketed in other EU member states are not subject to this law. If EFSA approved the use of these products, Italy could not object to their distribution because of EU rules on the free movement of ...

6.1 Segmentation

• Upside Foods
• Aleph Farms
• BlueNalu
• MosaMeat