Commercial taste test for cultured meat

Blackbird Ventures investee, cultured meat company Vow has launched a first commercial product in Singapore.

The product, the first under the company’s luxury Forged brand, is Parfait, created with cultured Japanese quail.

The launch of a luxury food product might seem incongruous for a company that has set its sights on becoming “the biggest food company in history” but it is part of a deliberate strategy.

Co-founder and chief executive George Peppou said: “We believe the adoption of cultured meat should mirror electric vehicles; starting as a premium commodity and moving downmarket as the technology matures.”

The Forged line, he says, is Vow’s equivalent of the Tesla Roadster; it is about celebrating the distinctiveness of creating and tasting something new.

This is a very different strategy to offering vegetable based “chicken” nuggets hoping consumers will be prepared to accept a product that tastes something like chicken but does not require any animals to be slaughtered.

Peppou does not expect consumers to be that altruistic.

He also recognises the value of offering a taste that will be new to most consumers. They will not be able to compare it to anything familiar. But it will need to be good and Peppou has an advantage in that regard. He is not a technologist but a former chef; perhaps that will prove important.

The product is to be served first in leading Singapore restaurant Mandala Club from April 12. Popularity with diners there will be crucial for the future of the Sydney company in which around $56 million has been invested.

Image: Vow Foods’ cultured meat will first be served in a leading restaurant.