World’s first lab-grown meat for pets goes on sale

Dog treats made from lab-grown meat have gone on sale in the UK, in what the manufacturers say is a world-first. Chick Bites are getting a limited release at a single pet store from Friday, but Meatly says it is expanding production and hopes to make its lab-grown meat more widely available as it scales up production.

The UK became the first European country to approve the sale of lab-grown meat when it gave Meatly the green light to produce pet food in July 2024. The company claims to be the first in the world to produce pet food using cultivated meat, which it calls a step “toward a significant market for meat which is healthy, sustainable and kind to our planet and other animals.”

The new Chick Bites treats have been made by Meatly in collaboration with British vegan dog food company The Pack. The treats are made from a combination of plant-based ingredients and Meatly’s lab-grown chicken, though the company hasn’t said what proportion is made up of its cultivated meat.

Its lab-grown chicken meat was produced from a single sample of cells taken from one chicken egg, and the company claims it is “just as tasty and nutritious as traditional chicken breast,” with the amino acids, fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins required for dogs’ health.

Chick Bites go on sale Friday, February 7th, but are limited to a single branch of Pets at Home in Brentford, England. Pets at Home is a major investor in Meatly, which it says “has the potential to significantly reduce the environmental impact of pet food.”

While this run of Chick Bites is described as a limited release, Meatly says that it has further collaborations planned with The Pack and Pets at Home while it works to scale up production, with the aim of making Meatly Chicken “more broadly available” within three to five years.

Cultivated meat products have not yet been approved for human consumption in the UK and Europe, though have been in Singapore, Israel, and most of the US — despite recent bans in Florida and Alabama. Besides political scrutiny, the industry’s main challenge is scaling production to the point where it’s commercially viable. Meatly isn’t there yet, but says this week’s launch proves that “there is an efficient and cost-effective route to market.”