Cultured meat could be sold in Switzerland in three years’ time
Lab-grown beef burgers may be available in coming years.
Keystone
The retiring CEO of Bell Food Group, Lorenz Wyss, expects burgers made from cultured meat to be available in Switzerland in around three years' time.
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“However, you probably won’t be able to buy the products in supermarkets straight away, but in restaurants first,” he noted.
In an interview with the Neue Zürcher Zeitung published on Friday, the Bell boss explained that it is possible that only individual components, such as fat, will be cultured to begin with. Bell acquired a stake in the Dutch cultured beef producer Mosa Meat in 2018 and expanded this holding in 2020.
The original goal of offering a burger made from cultured meat for CHF10 ($11) by 2021 has since been abandoned. But that’s the same for everyone in the industry, according to Wyss. Nevertheless, the CEO, who is stepping down from his role at the end of June after 13 years, reaffirmed his commitment to the company’s aims in this area: “If the technology works, it will be a real addition to traditional meat production, and we have to be part of it.”
However, Wyss now takes a critical view of the group’s other investments abroad. “A large part of this would probably no longer be done today,” he said. Large parts of the German company Zimbo, for example, have been divested over time. “The high expectations of being able to sell specialities such as Thuringian bratwurst at a reasonable price on the German market were not met by a long shot.”
On the other hand, the purchase of German ham specialist Abraham and a focus on ham paid off. “We have a market share of 20% to 25% and can talk to retailers on an equal footing,” said Wyss.
Adapted from German by DeepL/kc
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