Selling Shovels and Pickaxes to the Cultivated Meat Pioneers

You've heard of the companies seeking to build new brands of animal-free meat, but you hear a lot less about the B2B companies working behind the scenes to give those pioneers the tools they need to succeed.

One such company, Matrix FT, recently debuted what it's calling Ohio's first cultivated chicken nugget, featuring chicken cells grown on the scaffolds and microcarriers it produces. Via a technology called electo-spinning (more like this than this), Matrix FT is creating edible, animal-free, cost-effective ingredients that cultivated meat companies can use in their media to more effectively grow their meat. And now the company's starting to work with plant-based meat companies to improve texture, as well.

Recently Matrix FT's founder and CEO Eric Jenkusky stepped down from his role, and their executive Teryn Wolfe assumed the helm of the company. In this interview, we talk with Teryn about what circumstances in her life led her to be running an alt-protein food tech company, what she views as the big hurdles in the space, and why she thinks it's taking longer for cultivated meat to reach your plate than many had predicted.

Discussed in this episode

• Using electro-spinning for plant-based meat (cool tech here on this too)
• Using electro-spinning for cultivated meat
• Teryrn recommends the Good Food Institute's deep dive into cultivated meat science
• She also recommends New Harvest's resources

About Teryn Wolfe

Teryn Wolfe is the Interim CEO at Matrix Food Technologies, where she was the former Vice President and Director of Corporate Development and Strategic Relationships. Before joining Matrix F.T., Teryn founded and managed Measurement Matters, based out of Colombia. She is also the founder of a startup that helps female artisans and entrepreneurs get their products to market, and a NGO. She is Fulbright Research Scholar Alumni, a former Adjunct professor and possesses a diverse, international professional background, marked with unique experiences that have been driven by curiosity, determination and desire to deliver on creating meaningful, positive change in the world. Teryn lives in Columbus, Ohio with her son, Adrian, and her dog, Penny Lane. She spends her free time reading, cooking, playing, conjuring up new business ideas and planning logistics of adventures to come!