Friends & Family Pet Food teams with Novel Farms for sustainable cultivated meat solutions

In a notable advancement for the pet food industry, Friends & Family Pet Food (FnF) recently announced a partnership with Novel Farms, a biotechnology startup dedicated to creating cultivated meat through cutting-edge microbial fermentation. This collaboration is set to bring a 'new class' of pet food to the market—one that is both cruelty-free and sustainable, offering an ethical alternative to traditional pet food ingredients. With cultivated meat expected to reduce environmental impact, this initiative aims to offer healthier options tailored specifically for pets' unique nutritional needs.

Based in Berkeley, California, Novel Farms is known for its innovative use of microbial fermentation to produce cruelty-free bioscaffolds. These bioscaffolds are designed to support the growth of cellular-based meat, including varieties such as quail, chicken, pork, and even mouse meat. Notably, this technology does not require animal slaughter, setting a new standard for ethical pet food production. For pet owners concerned with animal welfare and environmental impact, Novel Farms offers a promising, high-nutrition alternative that addresses both concerns.

For obligate carnivores like cats, which require animal proteins to meet their dietary needs, cultivated meat could be a game-changer. Traditional pet food often relies on by-products from human meat production, but cultivated meat can be formulated to provide the essential amino acids, proteins, and nutrients that pets need without compromising ethics or sustainability. Michelle Lu, Founder & CEO of Novel Farms, noted, “Cultivated pet food makes perfect sense as an entry point for getting cultivated products to market, and pet food is a high-impact strategic target for us.”

Joshua Errett, CEO of FnF, sees cultivated meat as a transformative opportunity for the pet food sector. "Just like all food, pet food is a meat-focused industry that could use some innovation," he explained. "Cultivated meat and fish represent a once-in-a-generation opportunity to remake pet food to what our dogs and cats want and need to eat, not simply whatever is left over from the human supply chain." With a dedicated platform for customizing animal-free ingredients, FnF partners with top-tier startups and scientists to improve nutritional value—reducing saturated fat and increasing essential amino acids while maintaining the protein quality pets require.

FnF has adopted an asset-light, partnership-focused approach to drive innovation in pet food. Its collaboration with Novel Farms, alongside previous partnerships with companies like UMAMI Bioworks, underscores its commitment to fundamentally changing the pet food landscape by offering safer, sustainable alternatives to conventional meat. As an Oakland-based company, FnF leverages collaborations to ensure that each ingredient is ethically sourced, nutritionally optimized, and capable of scaling to meet future demand.

FnF and Novel Farms are part of a broader shift in the pet food industry toward cultivated meat and other alternative proteins. A growing number of companies are exploring sustainable and cruelty-free alternatives to traditional ingredients, responding to the demand for eco-conscious pet products. Cult Food Science, for instance, recently teamed with UMAMI Bioworks to create Marina Cat, a line of cat treats made from cultivated fish. Marina Cat treats offer cats essential nutrients such as Omega-3 and DHA, all while reducing the environmental impact associated with traditional fish farming.

Other innovators, like Meatly, are launching unique products such as canned pet food made from cultivated chicken, developed in partnership with Omni, a sustainable pet food company. This canned food provides pets with essential vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids without the ethical compromises associated with industrial farming. As the industry grows, companies like UMAMI Bioworks have utilized stem cell biology and machine learning to develop sustainable seafood, pushing the boundaries of what cultivated protein can achieve.

The shift toward cultivated meat is especially relevant given that pet food contributes significantly to global meat consumption. Studies indicate that the environmental impact of feeding pets, especially cats and dogs, accounts for roughly 30% of the meat industry’s emissions. Cultivated meat offers a solution by drastically reducing land and water usage, greenhouse gas emissions, and reliance on antibiotics and hormones. As the global pet population grows, the ecological footprint of feeding pets could be reduced substantially by transitioning to cultivated alternatives.

For pet owners and manufacturers alike, the shift to cultivated meat offers the dual benefits of sustainability and ethical production. It provides the potential for improved resource efficiency and a reduced need for traditional livestock farming, supporting broader climate goals and setting new standards for pet nutrition.

FnF and Novel Farms expect to debut their first cultivated meat prototypes in 2025, with products likely to launch in the San Francisco Bay Area. As more companies overcome regulatory challenges and as consumer awareness grows, the cultivated pet food market is poised for expansion. Meatly, for instance, is actively seeking regulatory approval in the UK and Europe, while UMAMI Bioworks and Cult Food Science are preparing for global market entry.