The cultured meat producer cited the “uncertain macro environment” behind the cuts.
Upside Foods, a US-based farm-to-table chicken producer, is cutting an unspecified number of jobs. The exact number of jobs lost at the California-based company has not been disclosed, though US media reports put the number at 26. It also suggested a reduction in the size of its management team.
“Upside is focused on the next chapter of volume and marketing,” an Upside Foods spokesperson said in a statement. “To remain agile in the face of an uncertain macro environment, we have made adjustments to some programs and reduced some positions.
“We are extremely grateful for the hard work and commitment of our departing team members and continue to focus on bringing mass-farmed meat to the world.”
Upside Foods and its cultured meat counterpart Good Meat are the only two US companies to have received regulatory approval for their products from the USDA so far, which was granted in June 2023.
However, in February of this year, Upside Foods confirmed that it had ended its catering contract with Bar Crenn in San Francisco, California. The company had been serving its cell-based chicken at the fine-dining venue since July 2023 via “monthly dinner services.” It had been working with French chef Dominique Crenn, who runs the restaurant, to develop dishes using the product.
Asked when the company might receive regulatory approval for full retail marketing, an Upside Foods spokesperson said, “We are currently in that process.”
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