Arik Kaufman, Co-Founder & CEO, Steakholder Foods – Meat the Future: Leading Innovation in Plant-based Meat for a Sustainable Tomorrow

Summary:  With a rising global population and growing urgency around sustainability, one industry under the spotlight is cultured meat. Vegan and plant-based products have made strides in recent years, but today’s guest is pushing that progress further—pioneering new ways to create sustainable alternatives without compromise.​ Arik Kaufman is an accomplished entrepreneur and the CEO and co-founder of Steakholder Foods. Armed with strong values and a clear vision  of how to approach urgently-needed changes in the food industry, Arik set out to develop printed meat in 2019, resulting in a more sustainable and authentic alternative to conventional meat.  Today, with its innovative 3D food printing technology, Steakholder is at the forefront of this growing industry. Arik has also founded three other food-tech firms, two of them (cell-grown milk developer Wilk and cultured honey company Beeio Honey) on the Tel Aviv stock exchange, and is a founding partner of Blue Sound Waves, an investment partnership led by Ashton Kutcher, Guy Oseary, and Effie Epstein. In this episode, we explore how Steakholder Foods is shaping a future where alternative proteins and traditional meat coexist, and what it will take for cutting-edge technologies like 3D printing to gain widespread adoption in a rapidly evolving market. Highlights:The impact of a growing population and climate change on the cultured meat industry (4:36)How 3D printing meat works, and what makes Steakholder's approach unique (6:42)The importance of IP and in-house innovation at Steakholder Foods (8:50)Steakholder Foods' business model (10:05)Steakholder's customer base and target audiences (11:19)The status of regulation with cultured meat technology (15:25)Differences between 3D printing variances of cultured meat (18:08)Arik speaks on the potential for international expansion (19:35)Arik discusses collaborations and partnerships in the food industry (22:42)Arik reflects on lessons learned working in food tech (23:49)What Arik is most excited about at Steakholder, and plans for the future (24:46) Links: Arik Kaufman on LinkedIn Steakholder Foods on LinkedIn Steakholder Foods Website  ICR LinkedIn  ICR Twitter  ICR Website  Feedback: If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, marion@lowerstreet.co.