It is claimed to be the world’s largest Series A round for a cultivated meat company.

Paris-based cultivated foie gras startup Gourmey raised 48 million euros ($48 million) to construct a 46,000-square-foot plant to produce lab-grown foie gras, and later for the production of other kinds of cultivated poultry meat. Earlybird Venture Capital led the round which also saw participation by Keen Venture Partners, Omnes, Discovery Ventures, Thia Ventures, Future Five, and Fidji Simo. (Vegconomist)

“We are going one step further as this new funding will allow us to finalize a 46,000-sq-ft cultivated meat hub in the Paris region with our first commercial production facility and a state-of-the-art innovation center,” Gourmey said on its LinkedIn page. “We also plan to triple our world-class team to 120+ in this next phase with tons of new exciting opportunities for all the inquisitive minds out there willing to make an impact through delicious food.”

Gourmey: Countering the negative perception around foie gras

While conventional foie gras has been associated with animal cruelty, the lab-based product from Gourmey is created by growing stem cells from fertilized duck eggs in fermenting tanks.

Because original foie gras is rather expensive, the equivalent product from Gourmey could rather price competitive, making acceptance by consumers much more easier.

Another factor working in favor of Gourmey: The sale of foie gras has been banned in many countries including most of the Austrian provinces, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

According to Bloomberg, producers warn that there could be a shortage of foie gras this Christmas with 30% to 40% fewer ducks coming from French producers this year.

However, Gourmey still needs to obtain regulatory approvals for its product.

The battle against climate change

“Food is the single strongest lever we can action as individuals to slow down climate change. Today, we are thrilled to see our vision of a more sustainable food system come to life as we are moving from R&D to production and commercialization with the building of one of the largest cultivated meat plants in the world,” said Gourmey co-founder and CEO Nicolas Morin-Forest in a statement.

The new plant will take between 18 months and two years to build, and is slated to be Europe’s largest cultivated meat hub.

It would likely be able to produce tens of thousands of pounds of high-quality cultivated meats for Gourmey.

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