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Key people at Mzansi Meat.
Newform Foods, previously Mzansi Meat Co., develops a bio-manufacturing platform for industrial-scale cellular agriculture. The company offers comprehensive R&D services: cell line and media development, bioprocess optimization, and product formulation. This modular bioplatform accelerates cultivated and cell-based product integration for partners, engineered for versatility across plant and mammalian cell lines.
Co-founded by Brett Thompson and Tasneem Karodia as Mzansi Meat Co. in the early 2020s, the company began with an insight to produce high-quality meat alternatives without animal slaughter. They sought a more efficient, cost-effective market path for cultivated meat, establishing Africa's pioneering venture, driven by sustainable food innovation.
Newform Foods partners with food producers and brands, providing critical scientific and technological infrastructure to develop and commercialize cultivated food products. Its long-term vision focuses on reshaping the food future by building a scalable platform driving widespread cellular agriculture adoption, making these innovative, sustainable technologies globally accessible.
Key people at Mzansi Meat.
Mzansi Meat Co. is Africa's pioneering cultivated meat company, founded in 2020 in Cape Town, South Africa, to produce ethical, animal-free meat using cellular agriculture technology.[1][2][3] The company grows real beef from cow cells in bioreactors—without slaughtering animals—targeting minced beef, burgers, and nuggets tailored for African staples like *braai*, *potjie*, and *shisanyama*.[1][3][4] It serves South African consumers, retailers, restaurants, and eventually global markets, addressing animal welfare, food security, resource scarcity, and sustainability by using 20% of the land, 4% of the water, and emitting 26% of the GHG of factory farming.[2][5] Early traction includes pilot production, consumer excitement from chefs and chains, and investments enabling team growth, with ambitions to scale as a global foodtech leader from African roots.[2][4]
Mzansi Meat Co. launched in March 2020 amid global COVID-19 lockdowns, sparked by co-founder Brett Thompson's realization of Africa's untapped potential in cultivated meat after researching its viability.[1][2] Thompson, CEO with a decade in food, animal advocacy, and non-profits like Credence Institute and Meat-Free Mondays South Africa, teamed with co-founders Tasneem Karodia (COO, sustainability-focused) and Jayson (Jay) Van Der Walt, both driven by 20 years in animal welfare and conservation.[2][3][5] The idea emerged from a desire to end animal suffering while preserving beloved meat traditions; Thompson set aside skepticism from a family member to pursue it, noting Africa's vast resources made it a "no-brainer."[1] Pivotal early moments included connecting with investor Ryan Bethencourt of Wild Earth for funding and team-building, plus access to BioCiTi incubator for R&D.[4][6] The team, blending business acumen with biotech expertise like R&D Director Wade's 20 years in bioprocessing and bioreactors, quickly advanced from concept to pilot phase.[2]
Mzansi Meat rides the global cultivated meat wave—projected to disrupt industrial agriculture amid climate pressures, population growth, and ethical shifts—but pioneers it in Africa, where meat demand surges without proportional infrastructure.[1][2][7] Timing aligns with post-2020 foodtech investments and bioreactor advancements, filling a void in a continent with massive untapped markets, resources, and biotech talent overlooked by Western players.[1][4][6] Favorable forces include Africa's low alt-protein penetration (e.g., limited processed meats outside South Africa), sustainability mandates, and local innovation hubs like BioCiTi, positioning Mzansi to showcase continental ingenuity globally.[2][3][6] It influences the ecosystem by advocating responsible cellular ag, boosting African food security, and proving emerging markets can lead high-tech disruption, potentially inspiring copycats despite nascent local competition.[2][4]
Mzansi Meat is primed for retail breakthroughs, targeting product sampling by late 2021 and shelves by mid-2022, with five-year goals of incredible scale as a proud South African global foodtech powerhouse.[2][4] Trends like bioreactor optimization, non-animal media, and Africa-specific demand will propel it, alongside partnerships with retailers and chefs already showing pull.[2][3] Its influence could evolve from regional trailblazer to ecosystem catalyst, exporting tech while humanizing alt-meat for diverse cultures—proving ethical innovation thrives from unexpected origins like Cape Town labs. This African-rooted push redefines meat without compromise, echoing its founding lockdown spark into worldwide impact.[1][2]
