US based, Mission Barns just turned our understanding of pork on its head.
Forget the pig, keep the bacon, because for the first time, consumers will be able to walk into a supermarket, pick up a pack of cultivated pork meatballs or bacon, and cook it up at home. No slaughter, no factory farms, just real pork made with science instead of suffering. And where is this all happening? Right in the aisles of Sprouts Farmers Market, one of the fastest-growing supermarket chains in the U.S.
Source: Mission Barns - Cultivated Meat Products - Meatballs- Bacon- Sausages-Pepperoni
This isn’t just a product launch, it’s a seismic shift. Cultivated meat has been trapped in the limbo of lab prototypes, high-end restaurant one-offs, and regulatory hurdles for the past few years. Now? It’s moving to the checkout lane. Sprouts isn’t some boutique vegan shop, it’s mainstream. This means cultivated meat is no longer a futuristic curiosity, it’s actually a real alternative for everyday shoppers.
And then there’s Fiorella, the San Francisco restaurant group throwing Mission Barns' cultivated pork onto its menu. If there’s one place where food trends emerge, it’s SanFran. Fiorella’s customers aren’t just getting a taste of something new, they’re part of history. The first restaurant in the world to serve cultivated pork? That’s not just a menu update; it’s a major milestone.
Source: Mission Barns - Cultivated Meatballs and Pasta - Asparagus Wrapped in Cultivated Bacon
The FDA clearance for Mission Barns' cultivated pork fat was the necessary domino to fall. With regulatory approval locked in, the floodgates are open. The cultivated meat industry has spent years talking about its potential - lower carbon footprint, no antibiotics, better animal welfare - but none of that matters if no one can buy it. Now they can.
This is where things get interesting. The big question though is will consumers bite? Price, taste, and perception are everything. If Mission Barns nails those three, this could be the beginning of a real cultivated meat market. If not, it’s back to the drawing board. Either way, the industry just hit a milestone it’s been chasing for years.
As yet Australia and New Zealand are well behind the 8-ball as key players - Vow and Magic Valley - await approval.
The question however for the US is no longer if cultivated meat will hit shelves - it’s how fast will it spread now?
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