SeaWith signs supply deal to cut cultivated beef production costs by 30%
The partnership comes as price remains the main barrier to consumer adoption.
SOUTH KOREA – South Korean food technology startup SeaWith has entered into a supply agreement with UK-based 3D Bio-Tissues that is expected to reduce the production cost of its cultivated beef by around 30% through the use of specialised cell culture media.
The deal comes amid ongoing concerns about affordability in the cultivated meat sector, as a 2023 survey by the APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture found that 65% of South Koreans consider price the most influential factor in their willingness to try cultivated meat.
The same survey showed that fewer than 20% of respondents were willing to pay more for cultivated meat than conventional options, although about a quarter said they would purchase cultivated beef if it were priced below traditional meat products.
Against this backdrop, SeaWith’s agreement with 3D Bio-Tissues is intended to address cost constraints by integrating the UK firm’s City-Mix cell culture supplement into its production process for cultivated beef products.
Media supply aimed at lowering input costs
3D Bio-Tissues, a subsidiary of tissue engineering company BSF Enterprise, develops scaffold-free structured tissues and cell culture supplements for multiple animal species and recently raised US$19.8 million to support expansion, including growth of this business unit.
Under the agreement, 3D Bio-Tissues will provide commercial volumes of City-Mix, a macromolecular crowder designed to improve cell growth efficiency by increasing the effectiveness of growth factors and enzymes within culture media.
The supplement works by replicating densely packed biological environments, which can increase cell proliferation rates, reduce reliance on costly growth factors, and eliminate animal-derived inputs such as fetal bovine serum.
As a result, SeaWith expects the technology to support higher yields and lower per-unit costs as it scales production of cultivated beef products under its Welldone brand, starting with beef meatballs.
The contract is valued at approximately US$400,000 for 3D Bio-Tissues, representing a commercial deployment of its technology within the Asian cultivated meat market.
Regulatory pathway in focus
SeaWith is also preparing for regulatory review in South Korea after participating in a government-backed, regulatory-free special zone in Gyeongbuk designed to accelerate research, scale-up, and price alignment for cultivated meat.
The startup has raised about US$8 million to date and has indicated interest in relocating to the Food Tech Research Support Centre in Uiseong-gun, a publicly funded cultivated meat facility scheduled to open in 2027.
Several other companies, including CellMeat and Simple Planet, are also pursuing regulatory clearance in South Korea, which industry groups such as the Good Food Institute APAC have identified as a key market for near-term approvals in the region.
Sign up HERE to receive our email newsletters with the latest news and insights from Africa and around the world, and follow us on our WhatsApp channel for updates.
