The next phase of cultivated meat innovation may have less to do with scientific breakthroughs and more to do with bringing complementary technologies together in ways that make production economically viable.
For much of the cultivated meat industry’s first decade, startups carved out their own specializations, contributing piecemeal to a larger piece of the puzzle. Some like Umami Bioworks focused on cell lines, others on growth media, scaffolding technologies or bioreactor design. These advances proved that cultivated meat could be made, but they did not yet create a scalable business model, according to Eyal Rosenthal, CEO of cultivated protein manufacturer Ever After Foods.
The gulf between innovation and commercialization is driving a new wave of collaboration and consolidation across the sector.
Israeli-based Ever After Foods’ acquisition of Belgian-based cultivated seafood startup Fishway reflects this shift. The acquisition adds biological capabilities to Ever After’s manufacturing platform, according to Rosenthal.
“The industry is definitely entering an integration phase,” he said.
Fishway’s cultivated fish lines and animal component-free growth media underwent testing to determine if it’s the right fit for Ever After’s scaling capabilities.
“We found it very compatible,” Rosenthal said. “They are coming up with very strong cell lines and media development.”
One of the first commercial initiatives between Ever After and Fishway will target cultivated functional proteins for premium pet food.
Fishway’s acquisition, plus an additional $2 million investment, expands Ever After’s manufacturing capabilities into biological development, creating what Rosenthal described as a more complete platform for cultivated protein production.
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Addressing two of cultivated meat’s most expensive challenges
The deal reflects how complementary technologies between companies can tackle the higher costs in cultivated meat production: bioreactors and cell lines.
In April 2025, Ever After announced a partnership with Swiss industrial equipment manufacturer Bühler to commercialize its edible packed-bed bioreactor technology. The companies say the technology can lower cultivated meat production costs by growing cells on plant-based scaffolds and eliminating some of the pharmaceutical-grade equipment and processes traditionally used in cellular agriculture.
Historically, bioreactors were designed for pharmaceutical use, adding on significant costs to cultivated meat production. Whereas, Bühler’s stainless steel food-grade bioreactors are less costly and designed for large-scale food manufacturing.
According to Rosenthal, the bioreactor distinction is technically important as well. Traditional stirred-tank bioreactors create mechanical stress that can damage cells as production scales. Rather than growing large quantities of cells that must later be assembled into meat in conventional methods, Ever After’s technology produces tissue structures directly inside the bioreactor.
Cultivated meat’s bottleneck is infrastructure, not invention
Rosenthal expects partnership and acquisition strategies, like Ever After’s, will become increasingly prevalent across the cultivated meat industry.
“I believe we will see more value created through those types of partnerships,” he said. “There will be more integration and selective consolidation rather than standalone technology development.”
The shift comes at a time where companies must demonstrate both technical and commercial viability. Although media costs have fallen in recent years, Rosenthal argues that no single innovation will unlock commercialization.
The challenge is no longer proving that cultivated cells can be grown, but creating manufacturing systems that are replicable and economical, he said.
Looking beyond human food
Ever After enters the premium pet food space as one of its first commercial opportunities. The category’s simpler regulatory pathway and demand for protein ingredients have been an easier entry point for other cultivated meat companies, like UK-based Meatly which gained regulatory approval in 2024.
Yet, Ever After views itself as a platform company rather than a product brand, Rosenthal notes.
Cultivated meat startups may benefit from selling their ingredients to larger food companies in a business-to-business (B2B) model rather than focusing on branding and consumer-facing efforts, according to experts.
Instead of building a consumer brand from the ground up, companies could integrate into existing supply chains, such as blending with ground meat, or expand into other sectors like fast food, for example.
“I don’t believe that the next winners will be necessarily the companies with the most impressive science. They will be the ones that can connect the science to manufacturing,” Rosenthal said.
