Upside Foods shows new products and a chicken cell line that grows without a key costly growth factor

Upside Foods/Cultivated chicken

Upside Foods unveiled cultivated ground chicken, blending chicken cells with plant proteins, and a new cell line eliminating PDGF (platelet-derived growth factors), which cost $20,000–$30,000 per gram. Ground products take 7–14 days of cell growth versus ~7 days more for whole cuts; neither product had FDA clearance yet but offered pathways to lower-cost production.

• Ground chicken: blends cells with plant proteins; faster production than whole cuts (7–14 days vs. 21 days total)
• PDGF elimination: new cell line grows without the most expensive culture media component at $20K–$30K per gram
• Production advantage: allows substantial cost reduction while maintaining growth effectiveness
• Regulatory status: both products require separate FDA approvals before market introduction