Zurich-based Sallea is raising €2.38 million to enable sustainable, cruelty-free production of whole meat and fish

Deeptech startup sallea announced a €2.38 million pre-seed funding round to help cultured food producers accelerate the production of high-quality whole cuts such as steaks and fillets without the need for animal husbandry. The sallea team has developed innovative edible scaffolds that promise to unlock the potential of cellular agriculture.

The pre-seed financing round was led by Founderful with participation from Kost Capital. This pre-seed round represents Sallea’s first capital investment and builds on $1.8 million in non-dilutive funding previously secured through research and startup grants.

Founded in November 2023 by an all-female founding team, Sallea’s technology enables the creation of precisely structured, edible and porous 3D grids – so-called scaffolds – that serve as the basis for cultivating structured whole cuts of meat and fish. These scaffolds are added to bioreactors containing cells. These cells then attach to Sallea’s scaffolds and grow into whole pieces in three dimensions, improving the nutritional profile and texture of the final product. Cultured food manufacturers can now tailor not only the size and shape, but also the nutritional profile of their scaffolds to the final product.

The company’s proprietary technology is based on research conducted at ETH Zurich by co-founders Dr. Nicole Kleger, CTO, and Simona Fehlmann, who were also joined by co-founder and CCO Anna Bünter (ex-McKinsey).

“Food grown was limited to sausages and minced meat. “Our technology has the potential to boost cellular agriculture by reducing time to market and reducing production costs for cultured whole cuts such as steaks and fillets.” said Simona Fehlmann, CEO and co-founder of sallea. “This round of funding allows us to advance our mission of setting the industry standard for edible scaffolds in cellular agriculture. We can now expand our production capabilities, enter into joint product development partnerships and double our development efforts.”

While cellular agriculture offers a sustainable and cruelty-free alternative to traditional animal husbandry – with the potential to reduce emissions from beef production by up to 90%, for example – the industry has so far been limited to low-margin, unstructured products such as sausages. Sallea’s scaffolding eliminates this limitation and helps the industry get to market faster.

Antonia Albert, Director at Founderful, commented: “Sallea unlocks the potential of cultured meat and paves the way for a sustainable, cruelty-free future. With the cultured meat market expected to exceed $370 billion by 2030, we are excited to partner with Simona, Anna and Nicole as they redefine the future of food.”

Sallea’s technology comes at a pivotal time for the cellular agriculture industry. As the sector shifts from fully integrated value chains to an ecosystem where specialist components such as cell media and scaffolds are sourced externally, scaffolds in particular are increasingly recognized as a complex but essential element. Farmers are actively seeking partnerships with companies that can offer these specialized solutions.

“While the potential of cellular agriculture is clear, scaling it effectively requires not only capital and expertise, but also innovative solutions like Sallea’s that enable the production of high-quality products that can accelerate the path to price parity and fully meet consumer expectations .” added Robin Matthew, CEO of the Elsa Group (Migros Industrie), a leading group in the Swiss dairy and alternative protein industry.

With this new funding, Sallea aims to accelerate product development and initiate pilot projects with cultivation companies around the world. The company’s goal is to become the leading scaffold provider and accelerate the transition to more sustainable animal protein production. As sallea continues to grow, the team remains focused on its mission to set the standard for sustainable, cruelty-free and safe meat and fish production by providing the missing link in cellular agriculture.

“At Kost, we care about bringing better food to more people and we are proud to support Sallea.” said Bodil Sidén, General Partner at Kost Capital. “With the strong leadership of Simona, Anna and Nicole, combined with groundbreaking technology that aims to set a new standard in sustainable meat production, sallea is on the path to success.”