LONDON — Meatly announced a series of achievements in its scientific production process, allowing the company to further scale its production of cultivated meat and reach price parity with traditionally reared chicken. 

The company has concluded the commissioning and first cell growth run in its new pilot-scale 320-liter, low-cost bioreactor. The patented bioreactor was designed in-house by Meatly’s R&D team and has the biocompatibility, longevity, scalability and overall performance the company needs for cell culture for industrial production. It will replace the company’s use of biopharma bioreactors, which carry a hefty price tag and have served as a significant barrier to many cultivated meat companies. The new bioreactor costs Meatly £12,500 (about $16,897 USD) compared to traditional bioreactors, which can run about £250,000 (about $337,947 USD), representing about 95% in cost reduction.  

Based off this new bioreactor, Meatly plans to develop multiple 20,000-liter bioreactors to ramp up production of Meatly Chicken. 

Additionally, Meatly announced it has also further reduced the costs of its protein medium, which is used to create its cultivated chicken ingredient, to £0.22 (30¢ USD) per liter. On an industrial scale, the medium cost will be around £0.015 (0.020¢ USD) per liter. The medium has been proven to support cell growth for more than 175 doublings, the number of times the cell population doubles. Once fully scaled, Meatly Chicken will be priced competitively with average chicken breast prices in the European Union. 

“At Meatly, we have worked tirelessly with the team to bring to reality both our new low-cost bioreactor, as well as a record cheap medium to be used within it,” said Helder Cruz, chief scientific officer of Meatly. “Many have cast doubt that the industry would ever reach this point, but we’re pleased to prove these critics wrong. We are showing the world that we can produce meat in a kinder, better way, and we can make it at a price which makes it easy for brands to incorporate Meatly Chicken as an affordable ingredient in their existing product range. By reaching price parity, it then becomes a simple and easy choice for consumers to buy better meat for their pets.”

According to Meatly, these advancements underscore the company’s leadership in the industry. In July 2024, the company received regulatory clearance to sell its cultivated meat to pet food manufacturers in the United Kingdom. In February 2025, the company partnered with THE PACK (now part of Prefera Petfood) to launch the world’s first cultivated pet food product.

Following this, Meatly will focus on fundraising to develop a low-cost industrial facility to profitably scale the production of Meatly Chicken. 

“At Agronomics, we couldn’t be prouder of Meatly’s continued success in driving innovation into the cultivated meat sector,” said Jim Mellon, executive chairman and co-founder of Agronomics and investor in Meatly. “Within the food industry, brands and retailers are looking at ways in which they can make their supply chains more secure, as well as sustainable, all while keeping prices stable. Meatly Chicken will offer partners the best of both worlds while reducing the reliance on destructive farming methods. We look forward to continuing to support Meatly as Owen, Helder and the team continue to drive innovation in this sector.”

Read more about the latest advancements in cultivated meat in pet nutrition.