Lab-Grown Meat Is Now Available for Delivery for the First Time Ever

Today, cell-based (also known as “lab-grown” and “cultured”) meat became available for home delivery for the first time in history thanks to a partnership between California-based startup Eat Just and delivery platform Foodpanda. Customers can now order three dishes made with GOOD Meat chicken (a brand under which Eat Just is innovating its cell-based meats) from Singapore-based restaurant 1880: Chicken & Rice with coconut rice, pak choi, sweet chili, chrysanthemums, and microgreens; Katsu Chicken Curry with jasmine rice, heritage carrots, micro shiso, and edible flowers; and Chicken Caesar Salad with kale, romaine, edible flowers, shaved radish, and plant-based Caesar dressing. 

To further promote the eco-friendly nature of growing meat from cells rather than slaughtering animals for meat en masse, each order—delivered by electric bicycles in 1880’s delivery zone—will come packed in sustainable packaging made with bamboo fiber and resin. Each order will also include a Google Cardboard headset that plays a film about GOOD Meat’s connection to the importance of preserving the planet. 

“Food is at the core of our business, and ensuring that we have a sustainable food ecosystem is an important agenda for us. Foodpanda is thrilled to be the first platform in the world to deliver cultured meat dishes so that customers in Singapore can be the world’s first diners to enjoy them from the comforts of their home,” Jakob Angele, CEO of Foodpanda APAC, said. “Together with Eat Just, we hope to bring this to more markets—not just in Asia but also in every country in the world where Delivery Hero [its parent company and an Eat Just investor] brands operate.” 

Bringing cell-based meat to market

Last year, Singapore granted regulatory approval of GOOD Meat chicken (which is grown from a small amount of animal cells in a lab setting)—becoming the first country in the world to authorize the sale of lab-grown meat. Shortly thereafter, avant-garde restaurant 1880 added the chicken to its menu, becoming the first eatery in the world to sell cultured meat. Thus far, hundreds of diners at 1880 have tasted GOOD Meat chicken and the approval ratings are high, with 70 percent of diners stating that it is as good, or better, than conventional chicken and 90 percent of diners indicating that they would substitute traditionally raised chicken with cultured meat.

To expand the reach of its innovative meat, in the coming months, Eat Just and Foodpanda will continue their partnership to offer customers new dishes made with Good Meat, including in mid-May when cultured meat dishes from JW Marriott Singapore South Beach will be available for home delivery on the app. “Bringing GOOD Meat directly to the homes of people in Singapore with Foodpanda is another historically important step in our journey to build a safer, healthier food system,” Eat JUST CEO and Co-founder Josh Tetrick said. 

In addition to Eat Just, a growing number of startups around the world are working to develop cell-based versions of every animal product, from beef to pork to lobster, all in an effort to disrupt the environmentally destructive animal agriculture industry. Some of the hurdles toward commercialization of these innovations are bringing production costs down and gaining regulatory approval, factors that Eat Just has shown are not impossible to achieve through its operations in Singapore.