Aussie alternative meat pioneer Nourish Ingredients sets up in The Netherlands, betting on Europe’s food-tech ecosystem as the global vegan flesh market stumbles.
Key Takeaways
- Nourish Ingredients has established its global commercial hub at BioPartner 5 in Leiden, the Netherlands.
- The site will house labs and a demonstration kitchen.
- CTO and co-fouinder Anna El Tahchy has relocated to Europe to lead the operation.
- Europe’s food innovation ecosystem and grant opportunities were major drawcards as the US federal administration has shown hostility towards meat analogue products.
- The facility is expected to be fully operational by 2026.
Key background
Canberra-based Nourish Ingredients was founded in 2019 by ex-CSIRO lipid engineers James Petrie and Ben Leita to tackle the “fat gap” in alternative proteins. The company’s precision-fermented fats mimic the flavour, aroma and mouthfeel of animal fat, which are critical for making plant-based and hybrid foods taste like the real thing.
The Netherlands hub positions Nourish Ingredients alongside food-tech peers such as Vivici — backed by DSM-Firmenich and Fonterra — at the Leiden Bio Science Park. CEO James Petrie says the move reflects the company’s ambition to plug directly into Europe’s global food manufacturers and innovation networks, accelerating the rollout of its Tastilux and other fat products.
The US appears to have become infertile ground for lab-grown meat products. In early January, Heatmap News reported that incoming US Health Secretary Robert Kennedy jr, derided lab-grown meat as “an unsafe and unnatural corporate science experiment designed to enrich techno-billionaires”.
Despite this, Nourish Ingredients recently achieved a significant US regulatory milestone: its proprietary Tastilux was deemed “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) by the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) Expert Panel, for use as a flavouring in food in the US.
Another Australian meat analogue company, Vow, raised US$49 million and launched in Singapore in 2024, in preparation for a planned global expansion. Its cultured quail product is set to hit Australian menus soon after the Australian government approved its sale in June.
Tangent
Nourish’s European push comes at a precarious time for the alternative protein sector. Once hyped as the death knell for traditional meat, plant-based meat sales have slumped in key markets as consumers balk at high prices, health debates and disappointing taste. Beyond Meat’s revenues have shrunk for four consecutive years, while smaller startups have collapsed or sold for cents on the dollar.
Analysts call it the end of the “fake meat frenzy,” with venture money drying up and major retailers trimming shelf space. For ingredient suppliers like Nourish, however, the downturn may present opportunity — offering food companies a way to improve taste, texture and sustainability in products that consumers might actually buy again.
Big number
96% — the percentage drop in Beyond Meat’s share price from its 2019 Nasdaq peak, symbolising the collapse in investor confidence in the meat analogue sector.
