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➥ Beyond the Holiday Feast.
As we gather for Christmas dinners, the centerpiece of the meal—be it a turkey, ham, or roast—it’s also a powerful reminder of how deeply tied our food choices are to history and farming.
This holiday season, the conversation around the future of protein is heating up. Lab-Grown meat promises a new path: familiar animal protein, without the environmental cost and land-intensive footprint of traditional livestock.
The science is here.
But the real challenge for brands is scaling it from novelty in my lab into a commercially viable product that can comfortably sit on the world’s dinner plates.
(psst… During the holiday season, I often think about how 25 years ago… I quit my senior VP position, I share more here)
➥ Food News
What's New in the World of Food?
3D‑Printed Snacks From Fruit Waste
Microplastics now in… chewing gum?
“Innovation is now indispensable in the food sector”
How to succeed in China’s expanding food market (it’s booming)
➥ Our Sponsor
Meet the Best Alcohol Replacement of the Season
As the nights get colder and holiday gatherings fill the calendar, I’ve been craving a new kind of ritual—something warm, social, and feel-good, without the fogginess that often follows a drink. And this season, I found it.
Meet Vesper, Pique’s brand-new, non-alcoholic adaptogenic aperitif—and truly one of the most exciting launches they’ve ever released. Crafted with rare botanicals and science-backed ingredients, it delivers everything I love about a drink: the unwind, the mood lift, the sense of connection… just without the alcohol.
Each sip brings a soft drop in the shoulders, a gentle lift in spirit, and a clear, grounded presence. Sparkling, tart, and herbaceous, Vesper feels luxurious and intentionally crafted—perfect for holiday parties, cozy nights in, and an elevated start to Dry January.
Because it’s new (and already going viral), it will sell out fast.
➥ Small Bites
The Problem Isn't Science, It's Scale
Cultivated meat promises a future where we can enjoy animal protein with far lower emissions and zero reliance on land-intensive farming. But the biggest challenge isn’t the science anymore. It’s scale. Making a few kilograms in a lab is easy. Producing tons of it at a price people will accept? That’s hard.
Consumers are curious, hopeful, and skeptical all at once. Their acceptance will rise or fall based on four key pillars: cost, taste, safety, and trust.
The Solution: An Engineering and Perception Challenge
For cultivated meat to break out of "novelty" status, companies need to solve two things simultaneously:
Scale Production without skyrocketing costs (the engineering problem).
Build Consumer Confidence through transparency, flavor, and familiarity (the perception problem).
The companies that succeed will make cultivated meat feel less like a science experiment and more like….
Real Food.
Consumer acceptance is driven by experience.
When cultivated meat looks, cooks, and tastes like what people already love, resistance drops. And when consumers understand how it’s made (cleanly, safely, and sustainably), trust builds quickly.
The breakthrough happens the moment people stop saying “lab-grown” and start saying “dinner.”
How to Navigate the Path to Adoption
(For brands, innovators, or anyone working in food systems)
Design for Familiarity: Shape, texture, and flavor need to mirror the foods people already feel comfortable with. Start with ground products before whole cuts.
Communicate Clearly: Simple explanations outperform scientific jargon. "Cell-grown chicken made without antibiotics" goes further than technical detail.
Reduce Barriers: Offer tasting moments, small portions, and price anchors that slowly shift expectations and demonstrate value.
Partner Strategically: Work with chefs, foodservice, and culturally relevant food leaders to build credibility and showcase culinary application.
Test Continuously: Consumer reactions change fast. Use small pilots to refine texture, price points, and formats based on real-world feedback.
The Whole Big Idea
At Food Forward, we look at food innovation through two essential lenses:
The science that makes new food possible.
The human behavior that determines whether it succeeds.
Cultivated meat is a perfect example. Scaling production solves the supply problem, but understanding consumers solves the adoption problem.
The winning brands will combine both—building products people trust, understand, and enjoy.
And every week, that’s exactly the kind of thinking we help teams sharpen.
➥ Know Your Food
Food Science Tip of the Week
Consider "flavor layering" timing rather than just ingredient selection. Focus on when different flavor compounds hit the palate.
This is why certain snacks use flavor dust on the outside AND seasoning mixed into the dough, or why some beverages have a flavor "evolution" as you drink them. The textural breakdown of the product becomes part of the flavor experience.
Inspired to develop a new product? Let's talk!
Happy Holidays from the Food Forward Team. We look forward to helping you launch your next great idea in the New Year.
Best wishes from your local Grinch,
P.S. I will be hosting an AI Innovation in the Food Business webinar on January 21st, 2026. Curious? Sign up here.