Consumer Acceptance of Cultivated Meat Put to the Test, FoodTech Co. SuperMeat Hosts Largest Real-Time Consumer Tasting

The foodtech innovator gave the choice of traditional vs. cultivated crispy chicken sandwiches and found 72% chose cultivated chicken

TEL AVIV, Israel, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SuperMeat, a foodtech company working to supply the world with high-quality cultivated meat, recently executed the largest cultivated meat consumer acceptance test in the industry, live from a food truck. The truck served a lunch-goer favorite – the crispy chicken sandwich – with options to choose a classic variety, or one made with cultivated meat. This industry-first look at a real-life dining scenario found 72% of participants chose the cultivated option, signifying an important first step in consumer acceptance as the industry approaches commercialization.

Despite the rapid growth of the cultivated meat category, there has been little done to-date in the realm of real-world product immersion. Inspired by the glowing results of its recent blind tasting, where professional chefs found cultivated and traditional chicken to be indistinguishable, SuperMeat decided to take to the streets and see how its cultivated chicken sandwich would hold up in a traditional lunch setting – compared to a traditional chicken sandwich – with real consumers.

Immediate feedback saw that not only were consumers willing and interested to try cultivated meat, with many saying they would purchase it if given the opportunity, but also had a baseline awareness of the benefits, including being a more climate-friendly option. The overwhelming majority who chose to have the cultivated chicken also cited genuine curiosity in the new way of producing meat – and overall they really enjoyed the sandwich, with several saying they would have never known it was not traditional chicken.

"Seeing so many consumers choose, and enjoy, cultivated meat validates the work SuperMeat has been doing to set the stage for products to enter the market in the near future," says Ido Savir, CEO of SuperMeat. "With this milestone, SuperMeat, one of a select few companies nearing commercialization, demonstrated that consumers are ready for this more sustainable option."

The consumer test showcased the potential for adoption from a major set of purchasing power, including meat-eaters, reducetarians and vegetarians alike. Among the first to serve diners cultivated meat entrees in a restaurant-like setting, SuperMeat opened The Chicken Restaurant experience alongside its production plant to showcase the transparent plant-to-fork process, helping garner favor for the approachability of lab-grown meat options. SuperMeat plans to open its first US facility in 2023, pending regulatory approval.

For more information on the company, visit www.SuperMeat.com.

SuperMeat, headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, is a food-tech company working to supply the world with high-quality meat grown directly from animal cells. The company's products offer a delicious meat experience and a high-quality nutritional profile, while being manufactured in a sustainable, slaughter-free way. SuperMeat's proprietary cultivated meat platform allows food companies to be at the forefront of the emerging cultivated meat industry and manufacture a wide range of products containing cultivated meat inside. SuperMeat is the first B2B company to address the entire category of poultry meat from fat to muscle, providing a complete solution to cultivated meat production. The company has been showcasing the versatility of its meat platform in various events at its pilot production plant, The Chicken, the world's first farm-to-fork facility for local meat production, and is planning to host additional events in the near future.

SOURCE SuperMeat