Czech startup Bene Meat Technologies has obtained a registration certificate from the European Union’s (EU) European Feed Materials Register, enabling the company to produce and sell cultured meat for pet food. The business is now planning to open a new production facility next year to increase its output capacity.
In a statement, the company said this development makes it “the only entity in the world that can produce and sell this product for pet food.” Manufactured in a laboratory in bioreactors, the raw material is made by non-invasively removing cells from a living animal and subsequently growing them in a nutrient-rich medium, according to data from the company.
Vendula Kučerová, head of sales and marketing strategy at Bene Meat Technologies, said the firm “would like to enter the top premium segment of the pet food market next year. It is our priority to bring this product as soon as possible to consumers who are already seeking pet food products with high-quality protein ingredients. Our product is rich in high-quality and pure protein without antibiotics, chemicals, glutens, etc. It is ethical and sustainable. It is intended for all cats and dogs of any age.”
Based in the country’s capital of Prague, Bene Meat Technologies has worked on the product since 2020, managing an international team of about 80 scientists. “Our current production of raw material is in the Czech Republic, and we expect to have some samples ready in the beginning of 2024,” Kučerová said. “Next year, we will build one more production site in the Czech Republic, which will mean a remarkable upscale of our production.”
Croatian pet food business rebrands, eyes new export markets
Croatia’s Tvornica Dobre Hrane (Good Food Factory), the country’s only domestic manufacturer of extruded pet food, is rebranding as Voli Voli and accelerating plans to launch exports to Italy and a number of other foreign markets, according to Mauro Lukić, the company’s director.
We “feel it is time to take a step forward,” he told local publication “Croatia Week.” “Voli Voli symbolizes the desire to provide only the best to our pets, as well as our love for them, which is expressed not only through daily care, attention or walks but, most importantly, through high-quality food. Our food bears a new name, but the same quality and dedication.”
In addition to Croatia, the company’s products are sold in Greece, Romania and Slovenia. Its factory is currently operated by a workforce of about 15 employees and able to make about 1.5 tons of pet food per hour. In addition to its efforts directed at entering new export markets, the Croatian business is also readying to roll out a range of new products, expanding its portfolio to include cat food, among others.
German company to launch new Polish pet food factory
Germany’s WPF Production has unveiled plans to invest about PLN 232 million (US$58.1 million) to open a new pet food plant in Stargard, in the northwestern part of Poland.
Under the plan, the designed factory is to create about 40 new jobs. To carry out the investment, WPF Production has purchased a land plot of approximately 10,000 square meters (107,640 square ft), according to the information obtained by local business daily “Puls Biznesu.” Construction work on the planned production facility is expected to begin in 2024.
Stargard is located in close proximity to Poland’s border with Germany.
