SeaWith, one of South Korea's leading cultivated meat start-ups, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Gyeongsangbuk-do province and Uiseong county to build an industrial-scale plant for its cultivated beef in the Uiseong Biofood Valley, Green Queen reports.
The company plans to invest 20 billion won, about $14.9 million, in the Food Tech Research Support Center now under construction, and to raise its workforce there to 46. The province and county will help with administration, financing, research, technology trials and commercialisation. Plant-based food maker Ograe Agricultural Cooperative will separately invest 25.5 billion won in a protein food plant at the same centre, creating 37 jobs.
SeaWith grows meat from the cells of Hanwoo, the prized native Korean cattle, using a seaweed-based technology, and will start with meatballs under its Welldone brand. Co-founder and chief executive Keum Joonho said the company has stored more than 7,000 vials of Uiseong Hanwoo cells selected with AI, and that three 500-litre bioreactors there are producing its approval batches.
The planned plant, meant to meet Good Manufacturing Practice, would have three 2,000-litre bioreactors and capacity of 400 tonnes by next year, later rising to 1,200 tonnes a year. SeaWith works inside a regulation-free special zone created in Gyeongsangbuk-do in 2024 to speed cultivated meat research and scale-up. The 2,660 square metre food tech centre, funded with 14.5 billion won of public money, is due to open in 2027.
Keum stressed that the agreement is non-binding and subject to approval. The company plans to apply to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety this year and will start commercial production only after approval; CellMeat and Simple Planet are also seeking approval. Keum said cultivated mince could stabilise costs and support Hanwoo exports while farms focus on premium cuts.
Polling cited in the report found 90% of Koreans willing to try cultivated meat, with price the main purchase factor for 65% and taste and texture for 62%.
Photo: mino park / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Source: Green Queen
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