Ivy Farm Technologies says its cultivated beef, made from F1 crossbreed Wagyu cells, shows a 98% in-vitro digestibility rate — above conventional beef at 91% and chicken at 72% — as the Oxford-based company secured UK regulatory approval this month to sell the meat as a pet food ingredient, foodtech-japan.com reported.
The approval came after procedures with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). Ivy Farm, which had originally aimed to launch cultivated meat for human consumption and opened a pilot plant in Oxford in 2022, will supply the beef to pet food manufacturers as an ingredient. It is working with UK pet food company Fold Hill Foods on commercialization, and the first commercial-scale production is scheduled for completion in early 2027, according to PETFOOD Industry.
Meatly set the UK precedent in 2024
Ivy Farm follows Meatly, which obtained UK approval for cultivated chicken as a pet food ingredient in July 2024 and launched the dog product “Chick Bites” in limited sale in February 2025. Ivy Farm’s Wagyu beef approval is the second cultivated meat authorization for pet food in Britain.
Ivy Farm Technologies has received its first regulatory approval to supply its cultivated wagyu beef as an ingredient for pet food in the UKhttps://t.co/qPnLjxXYAW
Friends & Family expands cultivated quail products to Hong Kong
Meanwhile, U.S. company Friends & Family Pet Food launched dog and cat products made with cultivated quail meat in Hong Kong last month, on the e-commerce sites PetProject and HKTVmall, after first selling them in Singapore. The company obtained sales approval for cultivated pet food in Singapore in 2025 and launched there in April this year; the products, which can contain up to 70% cultivated quail combined with nutritional yeast and postbiotics, are currently sold for skin and coat care and dental and gum care. The company told Green Queen that Hong Kong has no pre-market approval system for cultivated pet food, so it imports the Singapore-approved products under the territory’s pet food guidelines. Friends & Family lists six retail stores in Singapore.
Pet food as a first market for cultivated meat
Cultivated pet food is now on sale in the UK, Australia and Singapore. Some companies, such as Friends & Family and Meatly, have developed cultivated pet food from the outset, while others — Ivy Farm, Magic Valley and Bene Meat Technologies — are developing cultivated meat for humans but aiming to commercialize through pet food first. As cultivated food for human consumption takes time to reach market, pet food is becoming one route for cultivated meat companies to get products onto shelves sooner.
Questions readers ask about cultivated pet food
What exactly is cultivated pet food? It is pet food made from meat grown from animal cells in a facility rather than from slaughtered animals. Ivy Farm’s approved ingredient is beef grown from F1 crossbreed Wagyu cells, while Friends & Family uses cultivated quail meat at up to 70% of its products.
Why are companies launching in pet food before human food? Regulatory approval for human food takes longer, so pet food lets cultivated meat companies reach commercial scale sooner. Ivy Farm’s first commercial-scale production is planned for early 2027, supplied as an ingredient to pet food makers.
Where can cultivated pet food be bought today? According to the reporting, products are on sale in the UK, Australia and Singapore, and Friends & Family now sells its cultivated quail products in Hong Kong through PetProject and HKTVmall.