Israel’s Aleph Farms selects Singapore partner to drive cultivated meat expansion in Asia-Pacific
Israeli startup establishes Singapore base for regional scale-up while awaiting regulatory clearance
ISRAEL – Israeli cultivated meat company Aleph Farms has entered a manufacturing partnership with Singapore-based Cell Agritech and established a local entity as it prepares to expand across the Asia-Pacific region while regulatory reviews are still underway.
The company said Singapore will act as its regional coordination centre, supporting production planning, partnerships, and future market entry across Asia, even as it awaits approval from the Singapore Food Agency to sell cultivated meat locally.
Aleph Farms has engaged Cell Agritech as a contract development and manufacturing organisation, opting to rely on external infrastructure rather than constructing its own large-scale production facilities in the region.
According to the companies, the partnership allows Aleph Farms to use Cell Agritech’s pilot and scale-up facilities, technical teams, and regulatory-compliant manufacturing environment to advance localisation and production readiness.
The collaboration follows what Aleph Farms described as an asset-light commercialisation strategy, which prioritises partnerships with regional manufacturers instead of heavy capital investment in new plants.
Singapore will function as Aleph Farms’ regulatory and innovation base, while Cell Agritech’s existing operations in Malaysia are expected to support future scale-up, creating a cross-border production structure designed to manage costs as volumes increase.
Aleph Farms said its expansion approach is based on years of process optimisation and cost modelling that allowed it to define production pathways before committing to manufacturing locations.
The Israeli firm already operates a 65,000 square foot facility in Rehovot with an initial annual capacity of 10 tonnes of cultivated steak, is developing a production site in Thailand with BBGI and Fermbox Bio, and has partnered with Switzerland’s The Cultured Hub for European supply.
In 2023, Aleph Farms signed an earlier memorandum with ESCO Aster to explore production in Singapore, although the company confirmed it is not currently using ESCO’s facilities.
Aleph Farms’ flagship product, Petit Steak, combines non-modified bovine cells with a plant-based matrix made from soy and wheat, and has already received approval for sale in Israel.
The company is still awaiting regulatory decisions in Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland, as well as pursuing approvals in the European Union and the United Arab Emirates.
Singapore, which was the first country to approve cultivated meat, has authorised several products so far, while many others remain under review as regulators maintain a cautious approval process.
Aleph Farms said its regional strategy is influenced by Singapore and Malaysia’s role as key import, processing, and distribution hubs for beef in Asia-Pacific.
The startup has raised US$147 million to date and is currently seeking additional funding to support commercial launches.
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