Scientists can now successfully create fish fingers or fish balls from salmon or trout stem cells by growing them in a nutrient medium and combining them with plant proteins. Companies such as BlueNalu, Finless Foods, Bluu Seafood and Avant Meats are developing cultivated fish and seafood, but according to available information, they do not yet have approval for commercial sale. Unlike these companies, Wildtype has received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration to produce cultivated salmon that can be served in restaurants in the United States.
Alternatives to Dairy Products
When it comes to dairy products, companies mostly focus on producing whey protein or casein. This technology differs from animal cell cultivation. Precision fermentation uses microorganisms to produce specific proteins, which can then be used to make beverages, cheese and other food products. Some of the best-known companies in this segment include Remilk, Perfect Day, Vivici, New Culture, Formo and Those Vegan Cowboys, each at a different stage of development. Some supply protein ingredients to food manufacturers, while others are developing their own finished products or collaborating with established brands. In cooperation with Israeli dairy company Gad Dairies, Remilk launched The New Milk in November 2025, making it available in cafés and restaurants in Israel. In January 2026, it also appeared in selected supermarkets.
Egg Protein from a Test Tube
Another area of development is the production of egg proteins. The aim is not to create an entire egg with a shell, but to produce specific proteins that perform a similar function to traditional egg ingredients in food production. One company producing egg protein is The EVERY Company. Onego Bio, meanwhile, is developing Bioalbumen, a fermentation-produced ovalbumin that is the main component of egg white and is used in sauces, desserts, baked goods and other foods. The goal is to produce this protein in a controlled way through fermentation rather than obtaining it directly from eggs.
An Investment? Yes, but Indirectly…
None of the companies mentioned above is currently publicly listed, meaning investors cannot buy their shares on the stock market. Although secondary markets for shares in private companies do exist, access is usually limited, and these shares are not available in the same way as ordinary publicly traded stocks. However, this does not mean that investing in the sector is entirely out of reach. There are companies operating in biotechnology, fermentation, enzymes and food ingredients that may supply the necessary raw materials or production capacity. Indirect investment opportunities include Novonesis, DSM-Firmenich and Ginkgo Bioworks. It is important to bear in mind, however, that the success of these companies certainly does not depend solely on foods produced in laboratories. Investors should therefore consider each company's overall business, financial performance and share valuation, rather than focusing only on the potential of this emerging food segment. Ultimately, the same principle applies to every investment.
A Dividing Line
While biotechnology is opening up new ways of producing food and could help reduce environmental impacts, countries are taking different approaches to these developments. In 2023, Italy became the first country in the world to ban the production, sale and import of cultivated meat derived from animal cells. The law also applies to animal feed made from such meat. Singapore provides the opposite example. In December 2020, it approved the sale of a specific cultivated chicken product from Eat Just, becoming the first country to approve the sale of cultivated meat. However, this approval applied to a specific product and cannot automatically be extended to all cultivated foods.
A Promising Study from Finland
Finnish researchers have also investigated the potential environmental benefits of new food technologies. A study published in the journal Nature Food in 2022 modelled how replacing some animal-based foods with novel or plant-based alternatives could affect the environmental footprint of European diets. In the modelled scenarios, global warming potential, water consumption and land use could be reduced by more than 80%. The alternatives considered included cultivated milk, microbial proteins, insect meal and kelp. However, these findings represent modelled scenarios rather than a guarantee that every new food product will achieve the same reductions.
The Big Question: Will the Public Accept Food from a Test Tube?
Despite their potential environmental benefits, one of the biggest obstacles to the wider adoption of foods produced through cell cultivation or precision fermentation remains consumer acceptance. For manufacturers, the challenge will therefore be not only to improve the technology itself and increase production volumes, but also to explain clearly how these foods are made, what safety checks they undergo and how they could benefit both consumers and the environment. Reducing production costs will also be important. As I mentioned in my previous analysis, costs remain relatively high in areas such as cultivated cocoa. The fact that a technology works in a laboratory or on a smaller production scale does not necessarily mean it will be economically competitive when used for mass production.
