Swiss start-up Sallea secures US$2.6M to drive cultivated meat and fish production

Deeptech food start-up Sallea has raised US$2.6 million to enable cultivated fish and meat manufacturers to accelerate the production of steaks and filets without the need for animal farming.

Sallea’s tech enables the production of accurately structured, edible and porous 3D grids — also known as scaffolds — that create the base for cultivating textured premium cuts of fish and meat.

The scaffolds are added to bioreactors containing cells, which attach to the scaffolds and grow in three dimensions into whole cuts.

According to the company, this process improves the nutritional footprint and texture of the finished product. Manufacturers can customize the size and shape as well as the nutritional content of the scaffolds.

Founderful led the pre-seed round, with participation from Kost Capital. This marks the start-up’s first equity investment, as it previously gained US$1.8 million in non-dilutive funding through research and start-up grants.

Scaling cultivated meat

Sally’s proprietary technology was developed from research at ETH Zurich in Switzerland by the company’s three co-founders: Simona Fehlmann, CEO; Dr. Nicole Kleger, CTO; and Anna Bünter, CCO.

“Cultivated foods have been limited to sausages and minced meat. Our technology has the potential to kickstart cellular agriculture by accelerating time to market and lowering the production costs for cultivated whole cuts such as steaks and filets,” says Fehlmann.

“This funding round allows us to advance our mission of setting the industry standard for edible scaffolds in cellular agriculture. We can now upgrade our production capacity, enter partnerships for product co-development and double down on our development efforts.”

Investing in product development

Cultivated meat and seafood are gaining consumer and regulatory acceptance globally. The UK government recently announced a £1.6 million (US$2.09 million) investment to launch an innovative “sandbox” program for such products.

Sallea notes that the cellular agri-food industry has been restricted to low-margin, unstructured products.Meanwhile, France-based Gourmey filed for approval to sell its cultivated foie gras in five key markets this August: Singapore, the US, the UK, Switzerland and the EU.

As the demand for diversified protein sources multiplies, cultivated foods present significant opportunities to ensure food security while minimizing agriculture and livestock-related emissions from meat and fish from conventional farming methods.

Sallea notes that the cellular agri-food industry has been restricted to low-margin, unstructured products. The Swiss start-up’s tech aims to address this limitation and help the industry hit shelves faster.

“Sallea unlocks the potential of cultivated meat, paving the way for a sustainable, cruelty-free future. With the cultivated meat market expected to surpass US$370 billion by 2030, we are thrilled to partner as they redefine the future of food,” says Antonia Albert, principal at Founderful.

The women-led start-up notes that this funding comes as the sector shifts from completely integrated value chains to a business environment where specialized components like cell media and scaffolds are outsourced.

In response to this demand, Sallea aims to inject the fund into product development and launch pilot projects with key industry players globally.