Maker of cultivated meat dips toe into sea
Wisconsin might be known for its cheese and myriad breweries, but last December a recently formed company pledged to make it the “seafood capital of the world” as well – and without depleting the fish in Lake Michigan as they try.
Cultured Decadence was established in Madison in 2020 by John Pattison, CEO and founder, and Ian Johnson, co-founder. They raised $2.1 million in venture capital and grants from the state to create seafood in a laboratory, with a focus on crustacean products, mainly lobster.
Cultivated meat or seafood is grown in a laboratory from animal stem cells, resulting in a product that can replicate the sensory and nutritional elements of meat. The cells grow in a big steel tank, similar to those of a brewery, until reaching the desired size.
Two years after it launched, and before Cultured Decadence brought a product to market, the company’s technology and expertise attracted the attention of Berkeley, California,-based Upside Foods, a larger cultivated-meat company, which bought the company in January.
The acquisition will allow Upside Foods to expand its line of cultivated meat and poultry to include seafood.
Amy Chen, chief operating officer of Upside Foods, said the acquisition not only was logical because of what it adds to the company’s portfolio, but also because Cultured Decadence was “culturally, a perfect fit.”
They share similar goals and objectives regarding human health and environmental responsibility, she said.
In a news release, Upside Foods described cultivated meat as “real meat produced directly by growing animal cells.” It holds the promise of eliminating the need to raise and slaughter animals, the company said.
“This next chapter for the industry – talent is going to be critical. We need the best, smartest people from every discipline,” Chen said. “The Cultured Decadence team has created an ecosystem of advisers, thoughtful partners and academics, even, who we believe can help us accelerate.”
Before starting Cultured Decadence with Johnson, Pattison, a Wauwatosa native and graduate of the University of Wisconsin, worked in finance, served in the military for four years as a tank operator, and later got an MBA.
He and Johnson started the company in Madison with an initial investment from gener8tor, a Wisconsin-based venture capital firm and accelerator for startups.
“Ultimately, we decided on Madison because of some of the resources that were available, and that would allow us to move quickly,” said Pattison.
That included building a team through Linkedin, networking and contacts at the University of Wisconsin that came to include people from India, Iran, Venezuela and the United States.
“We have four major religions represented ... it’s really important because it gives us four different points of view on food, because religion, food, they are often quite intertwined,” Pattison said.
Future of what you eat could run through a startup. It starts with lobster grown in a Wisconsin lab.