Edge Foods
Setting the Scene
Lab-grown meat promises a future of ethical eating, but there's a catch: the protein synthesis used in growing this meat is often either unethical or inefficient.
Unethical: Traditionally, proteins are extracted from animals, a process that actually harms them.
Inefficient: An alternative method involves using bacteria to create proteins, but this generates unnecessary byproducts, complicating and increasing the cost of the process.
This week’s company delivers an innovative solution to synthesize proteins for lab-grown meat and other cultured products efficiently and humanely.
In a Sentence
Edge Foods is a biotechnology company that manufactures a cell-nurturing powder to create recombinant proteins used in cultured meat and cosmetics.
Recombinant proteins: Proteins that are artificially made to facilitate cell growth in a lab setting.
Cultured meat and cosmetics: Provides a sustainable and cheap alternative to conventional meat and cosmetic production without compromising ethical standards.
Bulleted Version:
- Recombinant proteins trigger cell cultivation the way baking soda is key to sweet treats; Edge Foods manufactures an affordable and efficient ‘baking soda.’ 🧁
The Basics
- Headquarters: New York, NY 🗽
- Employee Count: 3
- Investors:
- Business model: B2B (sell product to cultivated food and skincare brands)
- Early traction: 41 customer discussions leading to 19 sample requests (9 tied to LOIs)
Due Diligence
WHAT WE LIKE
📈 Market opportunity: The market size for cultured meat alone is valued at $221M and is expected to double within the next few years.
😅 Cost efficiency: By reducing the usual 60-80% of production costs tied to Growth Factors, Edge Foods offers significant savings in the industry, streamlining both time and financial resources.
🌱 Sustainable future: With the global population continuing to climb, Edge Foods is positioned to address the growing need for sustainable meat, contributing to the forecast that one in every ten meat portions will be an alternative source by 2035.
POTENTIAL RISKS
⚠️ Customer caution: Despite offering cost-effective alternatives, Edge Foods may face slow adoption rates due to customer caution around new biotechnologies, potentially leading to extended testing periods and longer sales cycles.
😳 Innovation from the big players: What’s preventing well-established, well-funded companies in the cultured meat sector from innovating their own protein production methods to reduce costs?
⚖️ Regulatory Challenges: Navigating FDA approvals and ensuring compliance with biotech and food production regulations could present significant hurdles for Edge Foods, impacting their product's time-to-market and overall adoption.
Founder Profile
Manny Tamargo, CEO: PhD in tissue engineering from Columbia University.
Comps
ORF Genetics: Backed by Technology Development Fund.
Bright Biotech: Backed by FoodLabs and HackCapital.
RosterBio: Backed by Dynamk, Bioeconomy Capital, Vanedge Capital.
Tiamat: Backed by True Ventures, 8090 Industries, Sustainable Food Ventures, Social Impact Capital, Cantos, and others.
Why Edge Foods
Positioned to revolutionize both the cultured meat and cosmetics industries, Edge Foods manufactures an affordable, sustainable, and high-quality solution for protein cultivation, giving them a distinct edge in the market. 🧪