London-based Meatly has rolled out its cultivated meat for pet food in collaboration with plant-based dog food brand The Pack. The hybrid dog treat, “Chick Bites,” combines plant-based ingredients with Meatly Chicken, and is marketed as a “nutritious, healthy, and sustainable alternative to traditional dog treats.”

The product launch comes at a time when the global pet food market is booming. New pet food launches recorded a CAGR of 6.8% between 2018 and 2022, with cat and dog supplements, the top-performing subcategory, growing by 84%, according to Innova Market Insights data.

“It’s a giant leap forward toward a significant market for meat which is healthy, sustainable, and kind to our planet and other animals,” says Owen Ensor, founding CEO of Meatly.

“Despite only raising 1% of total European cultivated meat investment, we are the first company to sell cultivated meat in both the UK and EU. At Meatly, we’re proving the potential of cultivated meat, and that there is an efficient and cost-effective route to market.”

For Damien Clarkson, CEO and co-founder of The Pack, the launch of Chick Bites treats is a “watershed moment for the pet food industry.”

“Cultivated meat offers a tasty, low-carbon, and healthy protein source, which has the potential to eliminate farmed animals from the pet food industry.”

The “limited-release” product will debut at pet retailer Pets at Home Brentford, London, from tomorrow.

Meatly received regulatory clearance to sell cultivated meat for pet food in the UK last year, making it the “first” in the world to get authorization.

“Feeding pets forever”

The company says it formulates Meatly Chicken using a single sample of cells from one chicken egg, from which enough cultivated meat can be produced to “feed pets forever.”

It claims the meat alternative is “just as tasty and nutritious” as traditional chicken breast, containing all the essential amino acids, critical fatty acids, minerals and vitamins needed for pet health.

Taste is an important deciding factor for pet owners when purchasing pet food. They consider the flavor their pet likes, in addition to other factors like price and ingredients, Innova Market Insights research indicates.

Meanwhile, animal protein flavors remain the go-to flavors for innovators in the global pet food category, while plant-based flavors are among the fastest-growing in cat and dog food.

Overcoming ethical and environmental concerns

An FDA report states that around 70% of the total volume of all medically important antibiotics in the US is sold for use on the farm for traditional meat. In contrast, cultivated meat uses none, according to Meatly. Additionally, the meat substitute accounts for 6% of global freshwater use as compared to 30% used by conventional meat.

“We don’t use antibiotics, hormones or steroids, so it’s a very safe form of meat. It’s also dramatically more sustainable. We use much less water, land, and CO2, and then, finally, it’s much kinder. We use a single egg one time and never involve another animal in our production process ever again,” Ensor previously told Food Ingredients First.

Meanwhile, animal-free pet food innovations like incorporating microbial proteins and AI in sustainable variants are gaining ground as concerns over its impact on livestock farming and the environment rise. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty says nearly 25-30% of meat produced in the US is used in food for dogs and cats.

This equates to nearly 3.8 million metric tons of animal-based products annually, including rendered products and meat from poultry, beef, and pork, according to the US-based Pet Food Institute, t

Scaling production

Meatly’s Chick Bites will be sold in 50 g pouches for £3.49 (US$4.34) and is the first pet food product to be brought to market for general consumption in the UK made using cultivated meat, notes the company. 

It plans further small product releases before scaling production toward regular availability over the next two years. 

“We’re just getting started. Next, we’ll scale our production and make products more widely available to consumers,” says Ensor.