Arik Kaufman

CEO, Steakholder Foods

Arik Kaufman, Co-Founder & CEO, Steakholder Foods – Meat the Future: Leading Innovation in Plant-...

🎥 Mar 31, 2025 📺 ICR ⏱ 28m 👁 72 views

Summary: With a rising global population and growing urgency around sustainability, one industry under the spotlight is cultured meat. Vegan and plant-based products have made strides in recent years, but today’s guest is pushing that progress further—pioneering new ways to create sustainable alternatives without compromise. Arik Kaufman is an accomplished entrepreneur and the CEO and co-founder of Steakholder Foods. Armed with strong values and a clear vision of how to approach urgently-needed changes in the food industry, Arik set out to develop printed meat in 2019, resulting in a...

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About Arik Kaufman

Arik Kaufman, CEO and co-founder of Steakholder Foods, has discussed the company's focus on developing 3D-printed cultured meat products and hybrid products that combine plant-based ingredients with cultured biomass. He stated that the company, which is publicly traded on the Nasdaq, owns a Belgian subsidiary called Peace of Meat that develops avian biomass and cultured foie gras. Kaufman noted that the company has no income yet but is progressing in research and development, and he described hybrid products as the "near future of cultured meat," saying they could be the first such products to enter the market. Kaufman has also commented on challenges facing the cultured meat industry, including the lack of regulation outside of Singapore and the need for subsidies to support disruptive startups. He described the company's valuation as "undervalued compared to our technological achievements" and said that being a publicly traded company is both a challenge due to market climate and an advantage because it allows anyone to become a stakeholder. Kaufman emphasized that Steakholder Foods' processes are patent-protected and that the company aims to produce products that "an animal cannot produce."

Source: AI-verified profile updated from Arik Kaufman's recent appearances. Browse all interviews →

Transcript (39 segments)

Tom Ryan0:00

Hey there, it's Tom Ryan, founder and CEO of ICR. Before we get into the next episode, I wanted to ask that you subscribe to the show. It'll help us get even more unique and interesting guests on the podcast and in turn continue to educate management teams and the growing ecosystem that creates value for fast-growing private and public companies. And while you're at it, head over to Apple Podcasts and leave us a five-star rating. Very much appreciated.

Arik Kaufman0:25

If you can create vaccines in a few months, processes that in the past took years to create, it's only a question of harnessing the right technology to develop another way to create meat. Rapid advancements in technology are transforming our approach to some of humanity's oldest and most essential industries. From medicine to food production, these innovations are redefining traditions and reshaping the future. So we understood that you need to harness technology and we need to focus on products that we can produce today and that will make a difference today, and that's what we are doing.

Tom Ryan1:08

Being a public company can be hard. Small missteps can have outsize consequences. I'm Tom Ryan, founder and CEO of ICR, and over the last 25 years, we've helped thousands of companies understand and navigate the stock market and the media. We'll demystify these and other increasingly complex stakeholder groups so you can focus on what you do best: building your company and unlocking your true potential. This is Welcome to the Arena from ICR.

There's a spotlight right now on cultured meat products, driven by a growing global population and an urgent need for nutritious food options that address the environmental impact of industrialized farming. While vegan and plant-based products have gained significant traction in recent years, today's guest is pushing boundaries even further, pioneering cutting-edge meat alternatives that don't compromise on quality or flavor. Today we're joined by Arik Kaufman, an accomplished entrepreneur and the CEO and co-founder of Steakholder Foods. Driven by strong values and a bold vision for the future of sustainable food, Arik has led Steakholder Foods in the development of 3D-printed fish and steak, eco-friendly alternatives to conventional meat products that maintain the authentic flavors and textures consumers crave. With its innovative food printing technology, Steakholder is pushing this growing industry forward. Arik is all-in on alternative animal products. He's the co-founder of three other food tech firms, two of them can be found on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. He's also a founding partner of the Blue Sound Waves, a partnership and investment vehicle led by Ashton Kutcher, Guy Oseary, and Effi Epstein. Let's enter the arena with Arik Kaufman.

How did this opportunity come to you about Steakholder Foods, and why did you decide to enter the industry?

Arik Kaufman3:03

So I was a lawyer for many years, M&As, a lot of M&As, a lot of licensing agreements. At a certain point of time, I decided to open my own practice, and then I became the business development director of Clalit Health. It's like the largest HMO in Israel, second largest HMO in the world. I was exposed to many, many different cultures, a lot of giant companies. I've been there for like seven, eight years, and then I was eager to try to do something of my own. It's a true story. We sat in a restaurant here in Israel, they just brought us a new plant-based burger—I won't mention the name, something international—and we ate it. I felt from one end that there was a lot of buzz around this new product, but at the other end, it didn't feel good enough. And then we decided to try to make something different. I made a call to one of my colleagues who was a genius in the engineering area, and I asked him how much will it cost to develop a printer that will 3D-print steaks. So he told me it will be around—I think the numbers were 30 million dollars—and that was it. Then we established the company. We called it MeaTech at the time because it was a combination between meat and tech. That's the name that I came up with, and all the rest is history.

Tom Ryan4:33

Well, it's amazing. And I think what would be helpful for you to explain to the audience is kind of the secular trend behind this, meaning the demographic changes around the world, the fact that the middle class keeps expanding. Why is this needed at this point in time given all of that?

Arik Kaufman4:54

So we really wanted to make a change. I think that at the time there were a lot of cannabis companies that were blooming because the regulation in the state just entered, and we really wanted to make a change. We understood that—I don't know how many people are exposed to how the meat is produced, but it's not a very nice sight. And I'm saying it not as a vegetarian; I also eat meat. And we really thought that it's time to make things different. As you said, middle-class population is rising dramatically. You can see only in China, which has I think a billion and a half citizens, the majority of them were not middle class. But as time evolves, they begin to become middle class. Middle class want to drink milk and they want to eat meat. And we understood that it's only a question of harnessing the right technology to develop another way to create meat. Because if you can create vaccines in a few months, processes that in the past took years to create—and I came from the medical and pharmaceutical sector—so we understood that you need to harness technology. We were quite romantic at the time because we started as a company that wanted to create printers that will create cultured meat, meaning real meat. But as time went by, we understood that we need to focus, and we need to focus on products that we can produce today and that will make a difference today. And that's what we are doing.

Tom Ryan6:28

And this is such a huge concept for most people; they're not familiar with it. Can you explain how the 3D food printing technology actually works and maybe what sets you all apart from other plant-based meat and fish alternatives?

Arik Kaufman6:43

Sure. So I'll start from the beginning. We started with an aim to 3D-print real meat, meaning that the printer will be integrated with real cells, live cells. They will be printed at nanometric precision and they will be kept alive after they are printed. Then incubation—you let the steak grow as you let a cow grow, a much shorter process. If the cow, it takes a few years until you can slaughter it and eat it. After you 3D-print the steak, it takes around a month of incubation, muscle fibers attach, and then you can eat the steak. We 3D-printed the largest cultured meat steak ever printed by the end of 2021, it was 100 grams, a steak. But then we understood that it's not cost-effective. The geopolitical and economical environment changed. You had COVID, and then you had the war between Russia and Ukraine, and you have interest rates that went high, and then the whole world was a different world. It didn't have the patience to wait for a product that is disruptive, and it wanted to see something that is produced today. Then we understood that the printers that we've developed are very, very high-end, and we can harness them with products that are in the market today. You begin to see today in the market whole cuts, like real steaks with fibers, with taste, that look, feel, and taste as real steaks, but they are fully plant-based. The reason that you didn't see them until now is that the hardware that creates these products is nonexistent. So the machines that create the burgers that you eat today are machines that are out there for many years, not too sophisticated. The outline of the product is exactly the same of the inline. And our uniqueness is that we know how to create very unique and high-end textures. We can really mimic the filet mignon, the ribeye, and a full range of products that are non-existent today in the plant-based industry.

Tom Ryan8:54

Well, sticking on the technology theme, I know that you worked very hard to collect numerous patents and things like that. Maybe talk about the IP and how important that is to your strategy going forward.

Arik Kaufman9:02

So it was super important for us since we incorporated the company. Our main focus was to develop things that can be patent-protected. We always looked for prior art before we started any R&D activities. And today we hold a vast portfolio of IP, know-how, and trade secrets that are fully owned by Steakholder Foods. We never had joint IPs, we never had royalties, no patent infringements. Everything was fully owned by us, and we knew it would be crucial to have a clean IP portfolio once you engage with the larger players of the world. And that's exactly the position that we are now. We are trying to sell our machines to the larger manufacturers of the world, and one of the first things that these manufacturers look at is freedom to operate. They want to ensure that what you are selling to them is really yours. And so that's crucial, and we have a clean IP portfolio today.

Tom Ryan10:04

Yeah. In terms of the business model, I know you have kind of a B2B model right now. Why did you choose that over direct consumer at this time, and why does that give the biggest benefit to your potential customers and clients at this point?

Arik Kaufman10:19

I think it's a question of cost. In order to be active as a B2C company, first of all, you narrow down your potential of takers, meaning your potential clients are only the end customers. The other way, if you're looking at a B2B business model, everyone can be our clients. We can sell to all of our competitors. And second of all, cost is key today, and the access to funds is challenging. And a B2C company needs to invest a lot in marketing expenses. And on the opposite, we only need to sell our product to a significant player in the industry, and it already expands all their market expenses. So I think it makes, today, if you take into consideration cost, commercialization possibilities, much more reasonable to be in a B2B business model.

Tom Ryan11:13

Yeah. So you're licensing and selling the technology, meaning the printers and premixes, to those companies. And who are your customers? What are some of those companies that maybe you can name for us?

Arik Kaufman11:22

We've made a deal with a company in Israel, it's like the largest tofu producer in Israel, that will be the first company that we will see our products entering the market with. It's supposed to happen really in the next months. We are really at final stages of integration of our printer in their factory. Globally, we've published that we've entered into an agreement with a company owned by one of the governments in the GCC, which is like the Emirates. That's also an international company. But we do aim, and we've published it a few months ago, that we aim to enter into an agreement with an international player by Q1 2025. And we are aiming for companies that have a proven presence in the market, international-wise. We do not look to enter into engagement with smaller startups. We are really looking to engage with the Nestles, the Unilevers, the Cargills, the Tysons—significant, significant players.

Tom Ryan12:33

Vegan and alternative proteins have come a long way in the last decade, and the market is keeping up. In the US alone, a third of all adults who eat meat and poultry report they are actively trying to reduce their intake, and the US retail market for plant-based foods is worth 8.1 billion. There's still plenty of room to grow in terms of popularizing new products and technologies. And I asked Arik's thoughts on how the plant-based market might evolve over the next 5 to 10 years and what factors will drive widespread adoption.

Arik Kaufman13:02

So if you look at the landscape of alternative proteins, I was a very big believer in the cultured meat industry because I believe that in the long run we will need to be able to produce real meat. Because if you really want to replace meat consumption, you need to replace meat with meat. That's something that I always said, and I still back up: meat will replace meat. I think that the learning curve of the integration of cultured meat, it will take a little bit more than it was expected. At the time, they talked about 2030 as already a year that this industry will be a multi-billion dollar industry. I think it will take a little bit more time because no one expected what happened in the world. But I think that we will reach the point that we will see cultured meat, like real meat that was created outside of animal, in the grocery stores. And I think that it will be side by side with traditional meat. I don't think that anyone needs to be afraid that the traditional meat industry will evaporate. No, it will always be there. But we will see different things. I think that in the meanwhile, the market awaits for more exciting products to enter the market, and I think that there we can really have a huge influence with new products that are not out there, not only rebranding of products that are there for decades. Because a plant-based burger—I used to eat a plant-based burger when I was a child here in Israel. I don't think there's a huge advancement leap with it, mainly marketing. But we see fermented products today entering the market. We will see 3D-printed products entering the market that really will affect the structure and the complexity of the products. And then we will see, I think, more consumers maybe replacing the meat products, not in total, but once a week—the flexitarians—with very, very cool and tasty plant-based products.

Tom Ryan15:07

And so for sure, the industry needs to kind of scale together. The other piece of making progress is regulations and governments. How do you look at the regulatory environment right now? Is it friendly? Is it overly complicated? What are the things that you're doing to kind of work with regulators to create that mass adoption down the road?

Arik Kaufman15:25

I have to say that regulation—I think we see advancements in regulation. You have already a few countries in the world that allow to sell cultured meat. As I said, today, regulatory-wise, the 3D-printed products that are approved to be sold—so no novel ingredients inside the premixes that Steakholder Foods is using today—are fully approved to be sold in the States, in Europe, in the UAE. So that pathway is clear. I think that the main focus in the future has to do with subsidies to these disruptive areas, because it's very difficult to be a small startup to try to disrupt a new sector without any subsidies. And I think that there are funds that are injected; they are not enough. And I believe that in the future we will see more significant funds injected through countries that will want to secure their access to alternative proteins. With respect to the title, it will be food security. They will want to ensure that they have the capabilities to produce proteins on their soil.

Tom Ryan16:40

And obviously, you're working on a lot of big ideas and a lot of projects. Maybe talk about the R&D pipeline a little bit. What kind of products or technologies are you most excited about? What are you working on?

Arik Kaufman16:50

So we have the first batch of products that is supposed to enter the market. It will be with respect to our 3D-printed meat products, a range of products that will enter the market. I think that R&D-wise, afterwards we will see the 3D-printed fish products. That's also a full range of species, of sea species, that we will be able to 3D-print to our printer. I think that the next stage that will really excite me is to see cultured biomass integrated into our printers. In the past, we've developed, as I said, the cultured ingredients. I'm waiting for someone to come to us and say, 'Okay, we know how to create this cultured biomass at a cost-effective way,' and then we will know how to mix these ingredients with our plant-based ingredients and 3D-print them. I think that once we will see hybrid products, products that contain real fat, for instance, that was developed outside of animal, it will be a very, very exciting, interesting leap. There's a huge possibility that we will see companies that will begin to create this cultured biomass as a commodity.

Tom Ryan18:01

Interesting. You talked about different species. Are there certain species that are easier to work with than others, just given the genetic makeup or however you describe that?

Arik Kaufman18:09

The answer is as follows: because if we are looking at the plant-based 3D-printed species, it's easier. So if we want to 3D-print a camel, for instance, a camel steak, we just need to assure that we know exactly the composition of a steak, a camel steak—what's the composition inside, taste-wise, structure-wise. So we know how to determine through our software how it needs to look, how it needs to taste, and we know how to 3D-print it. If we are looking at fully cultivated products, then I don't think it's a big challenge between the species. So I think that to 3D-print a real cultured camel is supposed to be the same as to 3D-print a cultured cow. But if you're looking at the whole fish area, totally different. The DNA, the way that the cells interact one with each other, it's a totally different game. But it's doable. It's doable. Potentially, you can 3D-print any species that is out there, and you can also mix them together.

Tom Ryan19:18

Obviously, your mandate is to grow the industry and the company. When you think about your own international expansion, how do you look at that? How do you prioritize the markets that you think are the most receptive around the world to kind of buying into what you're doing, buying your products, and getting on board?

Arik Kaufman19:39

So we've started now in Israel because we didn't want to wait too much, and then because the last year Israel is here at war, so we didn't want to wait until it will end and then try to expand. So we look at Israel as a beta site. There's also access to companies who want to adhere and adopt new technologies. I'm very glad that we've started here in Israel because if we would have waited, it would have taken us another year to commercialize. Now we will hopefully commercialize really soon. Europe is very interesting—the Netherlands, Germany—they have a very high level there of acceptance to alternative proteins. But the main focus is the United States. That's where we're traded, that's where most of our shareholders are, but we want to secure an agreement there in the United States.

Tom Ryan20:26

Yeah, makes sense. And you mentioned shareholders. We talked a little bit about the B2B model that you have. Do you lean in towards one economic model over another, meaning one-time sales or licensing or subscription? How is this most palatable to your customers?

Arik Kaufman20:44

So normally we sell the printer, and we have a few routes that we can sell the printer. We know how to work with companies who want to lease the printer, potentially. We know how to work with companies that want to buy the printer. That said, our main recurring revenue stream will come from the premixes. The printers are designed to work with our premixes. We know how to tailor and optimize our premixes for different companies. So a Taiwanese company, for instance, will want a totally different steak than a US company. And that's the beauty with the printer and the platform. It's a platform, and you can tailor the products in accordance to the needs of the customer. And as I said, main revenue stream will come from the premixes.

Tom Ryan21:30

Yeah, kind of a razor-razor blade model, if you will.

Arik Kaufman21:32

Exactly, exactly.

Tom Ryan21:35

What kind of financial metrics should investors think about when they think about Steakholder Foods kind of down the road as you kind of get this off the ground, and how do you think about it?

Arik Kaufman21:47

Our valuation went down, as many companies that are micro-cap companies in the last years. The whole industry of micro-companies was influenced by the very high interest rates. But that said, we continue to move forward, and now we are at a very interesting point where we are beginning to sell our products. And I believe that once the consumers will begin to see Steakholder Foods products in the market, it's a huge difference. Because food is a commodity, and if the consumers will like our products, they will continue to buy our products. So if I was an investor, there's always a high risk in investing in companies as Steakholder Foods and all the rest of the growth companies. But that said, we have a very interesting potential.

Tom Ryan22:37

Yeah. And I know you do have some partnerships in the food industry. Maybe you can talk about those and if you have plans for future collaboration.

Arik Kaufman22:45

Yeah, so we have a few engagements that we've published. We have an engagement, an agreement with VioB Farms, as I said, the largest tofu producer in Israel. We have a very interesting agreement in the GCC, which we hopefully can elaborate more in the future. We have a collaboration with ITRI, which is one of the leading research institutes in Taiwan. We hope to expand this collaboration. We have a collaboration with a Singaporean company. Singapore was the first country in the world that approved to sell cultured meat. Also very interesting, it's like a foot in the door in Asia through this collaboration. And hopefully, we will be able to disclose more collaborations in the future. As I said, we did disclose that we intend to see until Q1 2025 an international agreement, and we are working very hard to secure one.

Tom Ryan23:36

Yeah. So you have been in the food tech industry for a while and with multiple companies. What are the biggest lessons that you've learned or the mistakes that you've made that helps you better run and better think about the future with Steakholder?

Arik Kaufman23:50

I think that when we started, the world was a different world. There were a lot of dreamers. I was among one of them, and we could dream high, aim high, and we could succeed at the targets that we set at the time. But that said, I think that if I'm thinking about the future, maybe you need to balance things more. It's okay to dream, but you always need to take into account that the world can change in a glimpse, and wars can erupt, and diseases can happen, crazy elections, all kinds of stuff. The fallback needs to be very fast. I think that we did adapt quite fast to these changes, and today we are mainly focused on selling the machines. Our whole dreams that we had are really labeled as innovation, and that's not in our main core today. The larger companies, they from one end have their own innovation departments, they are mainly focused on income. Most of the time, they won't invest into dreams. They are balancing themselves. It's a little bit like biotech, you know. You're researching something, and when you achieve that and you start to scale, then they'll be interested. Until then, you're in a really interesting space.

Tom Ryan25:18

What else do our listeners need to know about Steakholder Foods? What are you most excited about?

Arik Kaufman25:24

I think that the listeners need to know that we have an amazing team at our place. That's the truth. That they can achieve everything. To 3D-print a 100-gram steak with the resources that we had at the time was unthinkable, and we've reached it. We are really capable of reaching anything. I can assure that we are doing the best to let our investors sleep good at nights. I am not sleeping good at nights, so my investors can. Not everything is up to us, but with everything that is up to us, I can assure that we are trying to do the max to begin to generate revenues, to try to enhance the market awareness of the company so everyone will know who Steakholder Foods is, and hopefully, we will succeed.

Tom Ryan26:17

Steakholder Foods has entered the market with cutting-edge, patent-protected 3D printing technology that's redefining the limits of modern food production. But beyond the tech is a bold vision for both their company and the future of the industry—a vision where real and alternative protein share equal space in the grocery aisles. Joining in what is sure to be an ongoing push towards a more sustainable future, Steakholder Foods is setting the stage for lasting change when it comes to what we choose to put on our dinner plates. At Welcome to the Arena from ICR, we're working really hard to bring you exciting guests and great content. If you found this episode insightful, please subscribe to the show on your podcast app and leave us a five-star rating. The more the show grows, the more interesting voices we can have on the podcast, and in turn, that should demystify a lot of the stakeholders around public companies and soon-to-be public companies. Thank you so much for listening. I'd like to thank Arik Kaufman for joining me on today's show. Steakholder Foods is getting their product out in front of consumers, gaining momentum, and really benefiting from a huge secular trend. I think we can all expect to hear a lot more about them over the next few years, and I look forward to checking back in with Arik and the team. This is Tom Ryan. We'll see you next time back in the arena. References to specific stocks are not intended to be recommendations for specific trading behavior. Comments presented on this podcast are intended for informational and educational purposes only and do not represent opinions or recommendations on whether to buy, sell, or hold shares of a particular stock. All investors are advised to conduct their own independent research into individual stocks before making a trading decision. In addition, investors are advised that past stock performance is no guarantee of future price performance.