Cultivated octopus: It’s what the world needs now, as ProVeg invites applicants to startup programme

Widespread concern over plans to open the world’s first commercial octopus farm this summer could be allayed if cultivated octopus was developed, food awareness organisation, ProVeg International, said today.

ProVeg’s startup Incubator programme is inviting founders to apply to its twice-yearly programme designed to accelerate innovative alternative protein products to the market by providing them with support including investment, mentorship and a 12-week accelerator programme.

Previous successful alumni startups of the programme include companies developing cultivated meat and fat products, processes, platforms and ingredients.

“The news that the first commercial octopus farm would be opening is disconcerting. Many of the challenges we see in our food systems can be overcome by food innovation, and we would therefore like to invite anyone considering developing cultivated octopus to come forward and apply to join our next cohort. It may sound like a moon shot – which is what the world now needs more than ever as conventional farming is pushing the boundaries further,” said Albrecht Wolfmeyer, Director at the ProVeg Incubator.

“We’ve worked with startups developing some truly groundbreaking solutions across cultivated meat, dairy, seafood, and fats, and we would love to work with more entrepreneurs tackling urgent issues like octopus farming,” he added.

Cultivated meat, also known as cultured meat, is genuine animal meat (including seafood and organ meats) that is produced by cultivating animal cells directly. By using cell types that can be arranged in the same or similar structure as animal tissues, it replicates the sensory and nutritional profiles of conventional meat, while eliminating the need to raise and farm animals for food.

The ProVeg Incubator has worked with 90+ startups since it started in 2018. Alumni companies operating in the cellular agriculture space include Formo and Remilk (dairy proteins), Culminate (fat) Cellular Agriculture (bioreactors), Sticta (growth medium for use in cultivated meat production), and Clear Meat (chicken).

The Incubator is accepting applications up until Friday 28 July for its 11th cohort, which will begin late September.

About the ProVeg Incubator

The ProVeg Incubator is the first and leading accelerator for plant-based, fermentation and cultivated food startups.

It is designed to support mission-driven startups working on solutions that have the potential to remove animals from the global food system, either by providing alternatives or with supporting technology.

It is particularly interested in receiving applications from startups developing egg, seafood, and chicken alternatives, as well as other meat and dairy alternatives, ingredients and technologies that can help substitute animal-derived staple products on a mass scale. Focus areas include functional ingredients, precision fermentation and biomass fermentation, cell-cultivation and molecular farming, along with the enabling tech, processes, and platforms.

The programme is open to startups from anywhere in the world and will be hosted online.

Startups that join the ProVeg Incubator are supported with a tailor-made accelerator programme, one-on-one expert mentoring, access to the Incubator’s extensive networks of industry contacts, and up to €300,000 in funding and in-kind services.

For more information and to apply visit provegincubator.com