JUST Shares Its Tech “Toolkit” to Help Entrepreneurs Develop Animal-Free Foods in China

Plant-based/clean-meat startup JUST announced its partnership with Hong Kong-based incubator company Brinc during this month’s Food’s Future Summit. The two companies will create the Food Technology Accelerator program with the joint mission of removing animals from agriculture to create a more sustainable global food system. Up to 10 startups will be selected for the program, during which they will receive $500,000 HKD ($64,000) in investment funding from Brinc, networking opportunities and support, and have access to JUST’s proprietary “toolkit” of data and materials it has collected about the molecular composition of animals and plants. Participants will create plant-based or clean-meat finished products, which will display a “Made JUST” logo. “Delicious, high-quality, affordable food options that don’t require animal ingredients will transform the world,” Brinc CEO Manav Gupta said, “and we’re excited to continue Brinc’s philosophy of changing the way we feel, move, live, and eat while making a larger, lasting impact on the environment and ourselves.” Josh Tetrick, CEO of JUST—which plans to debut its flagship clean-meat product in the form of a “KFC-style” nugget in a restaurant this year—hopes the partnership will accelerate progress in the plant-based and clean-meat industries worldwide. “The task of building a more sustainable food system is so enormous,” Tetrick said, “that it requires the energies of a generation.” Earlier this month, food advocacy group Good Food Institute launched a $3 million competitive grant program to encourage students at top universities across the world to develop tools and technologies to advance the plant-based and clean-meat industries.