Ex-CEO Warns Cultivated Meat Sector Is Running Out of Time
Former Cultivated Meat CEO Warns Start-ups Must “Sell or Die”
A former chief executive of a leading cultivated meat company has issued a blunt warning. He stated that start-ups in the sector must consolidate or shut down, as funding dries up and commercial timelines stretch.
According to reporting by Food Ingredients First, the former CEO of Meatable said the industry has reached a point where many businesses no longer have the capital runway to continue independently. In addition, with investment collapsing from its 2021 peak, companies are being forced into mergers, asset sales or closures.
The comments follow the closure of two major cultivated meat players in late 2025. These events underscored the sector’s challenges around scale-up costs, regulatory timelines and consumer acceptance. Despite technical progress, commercial volumes remain limited. Meanwhile, capital requirements continue to rise.
The warning adds to growing evidence that the alternative protein sector is entering a consolidation phase. Only a small number of companies are likely to progress beyond pilot scale in the near term.
Source: Food Ingredients First | 26 January 2026
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