Towards the Future of Global Food: New Value Created through Cellular Agriculture and Co-creation
Today, I would like to introduce the field of "cellular agriculture" that our group is working on, along with a look at the exhibition that was recently held in Singapore.
New Food Options Brought About by Cellular Agriculture
"Cell-cultured foods" may be an unfamiliar term, but they refer to new foods made by cultivating animal or plant cells, including so-called "cultured meat."
Against the backdrop of global challenges such as population growth, climate change, and resource constraints, cellular agriculture is attracting increasing attention as a next-generation food production method.
Our Group aims to contribute to solving social issues in this new field by utilizing the precision molding and material technologies it has cultivated in the automotive field.
As part of this initiative, in 2022 we joined the CulNet® Consortium, led by the startup company IntegriCulture, Inc.*1, and are engaged in co-creation activities to build a standard supply chain for cellular agriculture.
Exhibition in Singapore: The forefront of social implementation
In the field of cellular agriculture, particularly in the food sector, Singapore became the first country in the world to approve the production and sale of cultured meat in 2020. Currently, many food tech*2 companies continue to gather in Singapore, making it one of the regions in Asia where social implementation is progressing most rapidly.
Last month, our company exhibited our cell culture bags at the Agri-Food Tech Expo Asia 2025 (hereinafter AFTEA 2025) held in Singapore, and I personally visited the venue.
The cell culture bags we exhibited this time are designed to enable the stable cultivation of large quantities of cells, and have the following features:
- A design that utilizes more than twice the capacity of conventional systems: Enables high-density culture and improves productivity.
- Reduced medium replacement frequency: Leads to cost and labor savings.
- Simple design with fewer devices: Contributes to space savings and greater flexibility in research environments.
There was a lot of interest in our technology at the venue, with many visitors asking questions about implementation and scalability.
o tried the "cultured quail meat" currently being served at a restaurant in Singapore. t was of high quality, and I realized that the technology is fast approaching the practical application stage.
Co-creation paves the way to the future
From a conversation with Integriculture
During the exhibition, I had the opportunity to exchange opinions with the president of Integriculture, Yuki Hanyu.
Representative Hanyu expressed his expectations, saying, "The cell culture bags will improve productivity and workability, and speed up research and development."
He also emphasized that cultured meat can contribute to the preservation of the global environment, saying, "If the production of cultured meat increases, it may be possible to adjust the number of livestock. As a result, we can reduce the generation of methane gas and deforestation for livestock farming, leading to carbon neutrality."
I conveyed my request to him, "In the field of biotechnology, which addresses social issues, co-creation through partnerships is essential, and I look forward to further collaboration in the future."
The Group has positioned "developing people and peers who pioneer the future" as an important pillar of its 2029V goals. Therefore, our efforts in the field of cellular agriculture are a symbolic model case of this.
Connecting internal and external forces to create a sustainable future
There are limits to what a single company can do to solve increasingly complex societal issues such as food, the environment, and resources.
That's why it's becoming increasingly important to combine knowledge and technologies from both inside and outside the company to co-create new value.
Our cellular agriculture initiative is made possible through collaboration between a diverse group of members, including not only our research division, but also our business and corporate divisions.
Each and every one of you will be conscious of our connections with the outside world in your daily work and take on challenges with an open attitude, which will help pave the way for the future of our Group.
To continue to be a company that is continually needed by society, we will continue to take on new challenges and promote value creation through co-creation.
*1 IntegriCulture...https://integriculture.com/en/
"CulNet" is a registered trademark of Integriculture, Inc.
*2 Food Tech... A business field that incorporates technology into the food industry to create new value.
Related Release: Following Singapore, we also exhibit at an exhibition in the Netherlands, where cell-cultured foods are becoming more widely used in society
https://www.sumitomoriko.co.jp/english/news/2025/tkotrf000000075o-att/n51910823_e.pdf