NEW TECH FOODS

French cultivated food company Gourmey has received independent validation confirming that its production model can deliver cultivated meat at a cost-competitive scale.

An assessment by global consulting firm Arthur D Little verified that Gourmey’s platform can produce cultivated meat for €7 per kilogram ($3.43 per pound) at commercial scale, marking the lowest cost reported to date in a third-party techno-economic analysis. The report highlights that scalable, economically viable cultivated meat production is now achievable.

Arthur D Little’s analysis was based on Gourmey’s 5,000-litre bioreactor system, which uses a second-generation production platform with continuous processing, undifferentiated cell biomass and suspension-based cell cultures. The model avoids the need for pharmaceutical inputs, scaffolds or expensive infrastructure, supporting a modular and scalable approach with lower capital requirements.

Key findings from the assessment include:

• Production cost of €7/kg at current 5,000L scale

• Facility capital expenditure under €35 million, producing 1,700 tonnes per year with six bioreactors

• Continuous runs with high cell density

• Cell feed cost of €0.20/L, using no growth factors or fetal bovine serum

Clément Santander, partner at Arthur D Little, said: "Gourmey’s platform was assessed to reach below €10/kg for finished product, the lowest cost level in publicly reported techno-economic models to date, [while] demonstrating best-in-class CapEx efficiency. This marks a shift from potential to proof."

Gourmey’s first commercial product is a cultivated foie gras alternative, which has already attracted interest from premium foodservice and distribution partners. The company is also developing additional poultry and other cultivated proteins.

Nicolas Morin-Forest, co-founder and CEO of Gourmey, added: "Our focus has always been on building something technically sound, economically viable and globally scalable to maximise our impact. The cultivated meat industry has reached a point where proof matters more than promises. This independent validation helps move the conversation forward to operational reality. It shows that, with the right technological choices supporting a realistic scale-up roadmap, cultivated proteins will become a meaningful solution to complement existing production systems."

Gourmey has raised over €65 million to date and has seven regulatory filings underway across markets including the EU, UK, Switzerland, Singapore and the US. The company is now exploring partnerships with global protein corporations and preparing to scale production for international markets.