Cell-based crustacean producer Shiok Meats has acquired Gaia Foods, a cultivated red meat start-up based in Singapore.

Gaia Foods was founded in 2019 and in October last year created its first structured beef product using its patent-pending technology.

Shiok Meats currently produces crustaceans such as shrimp and crab, and its acquisition of Gaia aligns with its aim of expanding its product range to penetrate the cell-based animal meat market.

Under Shiok Meats’ ownership, Gaia’s technical team will remain in place to lead the development process on the cell-based red meat side of the company.

Gaia is backed by angel investors and Big Idea Ventures, which is also an investor in Shiok Meats.

“The alternative protein space is evolving rapidly, and we are very excited to collaborate and integrate with Gaia Foods,” said Sandhya Sriram, CEO and co-founder of Shiok Meats.

“They are an incredibly talented technical and scientific team with promising technology to produce 3D/structured and textured meats.

Gaia Foods co-founder, Vinayaka Srinivas, added: “This collaboration has all the necessary synergies that will make our respective capabilities even stronger. This couldn’t have come at a better time. We look forward to working together with Shiok Meats to further our technology and expand our business and markets.”

Last year, Shiok Meats raised $12.6 million in a Series A funding round led by Aqua-Spark.

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