New Partnership Brings Cultivated Fish To South Korea

Singapore-based food tech company UMANI Bioworks, which creates cultivated “seafood,” has entered into a strategic partnership with South Korean biotechnology firm KCell Biosciences and bioprocess solutions provider WSG.

The collaboration aims to establish a scalable and sustainable production pipeline for cultivated fish in South Korea. The partnership builds on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the three companies on September 5, 2024, combining expertise from each to drive the commercialization of cultivated fish in the country.

KCell Biosciences will supply advanced cell culture media, while WSG will provide bioreactor hardware essential for scaling up production. The integration of these technologies will allow the production process to be both cost-effective and efficient, addressing the growing demand for sustainable fish alternatives.

Huge potential for cultivated fish in South Korea

A piece of cultivated fish from UMAMI Bioworks — UMAMI Bioworks UMAMI Bioworks creates fish that isn’t caught from the ocean

South Korea, one of the world’s largest “seafood” markets per capita, recently advanced regulatory approvals for cultivated meat. This means that there is significant potential for cultivated fish in the country. UMAMI Bioworks’ partnership with KCell Biosciences and WSG is designed to accelerate this process and serve as a model for similar collaborations across Asia.

“A critical part of UMAMI’s ambition to establish a scalable plug-and-play production solution for cultivated fish is securing partnerships with key strategic suppliers who are capable of supplying critical hardware and inputs at prices and volumes that match our customers’ requirements,” UMAMI Bioworks CEO Mihir Pershad said in a statement. “With WSG and KCell’s history of delivering high-quality bioprocess equipment and culture media, we will work closely together to optimize our production solution and to bring the first cultivated food production facility to South Korea.”

Cultivated meat – also known as “cultured” or “lab-grown” meat – is real meat made from animal cells that has been grown in a bioreactor, rather than taken from a slaughtered animal. Cultivated meat isn’t vegan, and it still often requires cells to be extracted from animals, but many plant-based eaters support it as a potential route out of traditional animal agriculture.