Meatly
6 known investors
Meatly produces cultivated (lab-grown) meat for use in pet food, offering an animal-free protein alternative for pets. It positions its product as a sustainable and nutritious option in the pet food industry.
Also known as Good Dog Food · Meatly Chicken
Investors · 6
Also in the syndicate · 1
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements- Undisclosed amountSeries AMay 2026 · 3 sources
Clean Growth Fund (lead), JamJar Investments (lead), Oyster Bay Venture Capital (lead), Agronomics, Pets at Home
Source ↗
Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Meatly is a UK-based cultivated meat company that grows real chicken meat from animal cells for use in pet food. Cells were taken once from a single chicken egg, and the company states this sample is sufficient to produce cultivated meat on an ongoing basis. Production takes place in steel bioreactors in which cells multiply in a nutrient solution, without slaughtering animals. Meatly describes its chicken as containing the essential amino acids, fatty acids, minerals and vitamins needed for pet health, and says its process is monitored to exclude unwanted chemicals and bacteria.
The company was founded in 2022 and was previously known as Good Dog Food. It received UK regulatory authorisation in 2024 to sell cultivated meat for use in pet food and, in February 2025, supplied cultivated chicken for a limited retail release of "Chick Bites" dog treats made with plant-based dog food brand THE PACK and sold at Pets at Home in Brentford, London. Meatly and its partners describe this as the first commercial sale of cultivated meat pet food worldwide and the first commercial cultivated meat sale in Europe. As of 2026 the company was selling only small product samples while scaling up.
In May 2026 Meatly closed a £10.4 million ($14.2 million) Series A to build a 20,000-litre bioreactor facility in London, described as the largest cultivated meat production site in Europe, with fit-out beginning immediately and product releases expected in 2027.
Founding story
The company was founded in 2022, previously operating as Good Dog Food, with the stated aim of creating food for pets without the environmental cost of conventional meat production. Jim Mellon, executive chairman of Agronomics, describes Agronomics as having founded the company and acted as founding investor. Owen Ensor is founding CEO.
Business model
Meatly manufactures cultivated chicken as an ingredient and partners with pet food brands that have pet nutrition and health expertise, which formulate and sell finished products; retail distribution to date has run through Pets at Home, which is also an investor.
Sales of cultivated chicken to pet food brand partners for incorporation into finished pet food and treat products; as of 2026 only small samples and limited exclusive partner launches were being sold, with broader product sales targeted within three to five years.
Traction
UK regulatory authorisation in 2024; limited retail launch of Chick Bites at Pets at Home Brentford in February 2025 as the first cultivated meat pet food on sale; £17.4 million ($23.7 million) raised in total across seed and Series A rounds by May 2026; continued sale of small product samples pending scale-up.
Latest developments
In May 2026 Meatly announced the close of a £10.4 million ($14.2 million) Series A led by three new institutional investors — Oyster Bay Venture Capital, Clean Growth Fund and JamJar Investments — alongside existing backers Agronomics and Pets at Home, bringing total funding to £17.4 million. The proceeds fund a 20,000-litre bioreactor facility in London for continuous production of cultivated chicken for the UK pet food market, with fit-out underway and first product releases expected in 2027.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Meatly presents itself as the first company to sell cultivated meat tailored to pets and the first company to sell cultivated meat commercially in the UK and Europe, positioning early commercialisation and low production cost as differentiators in a sector where many peers remain at lab stage or face regulatory delays. Its CEO stated in 2025 that the company had raised about 1% of total European cultivated meat investment.
Focus on pet food as a market with fewer regulatory barriers than human food, combined with vertical integration in culture medium and bioreactor manufacturing to reduce unit costs, and demonstrated regulatory approval and retail sales rather than lab-stage research.
Technology
Cultivated meat production in which chicken cells, derived from a single sample taken from one chicken egg, are proliferated in nutrient culture medium inside large steel bioreactors. Meatly is vertically integrated across culture medium formulation, bioreactor engineering and production systems: it developed its own chemically defined, protein-free medium costing £0.22 per litre in 2024 and manufactures its own bioreactors, reporting a roughly tenfold reduction in bioreactor cost in 2025.
Go-to-market
Exclusive product launches with pet food brand partners and retailers ahead of broader availability; the February 2025 Chick Bites release with THE PACK at Pets at Home served as an initial real-world retail trial, with wider product sales planned in the following three to five years and releases from the new London facility expected in 2027.
Pet food and treat brands as direct customers, and pet owners as end consumers via retail partners; the company targets the UK pet food market first with planned expansion across Europe.
Geography
Headquartered and producing in the United Kingdom, with production and the planned 20,000-litre bioreactor facility in London; initial commercial sales in the UK and stated plans to expand across Europe.
History
Founded in 2022 as Good Dog Food and later renamed Meatly, the company raised £7 million in seed capital from Agronomics and Pets at Home. In 2024 it reduced the cost of its chemically defined, protein-free growth medium to £0.22 per litre and obtained UK regulatory clearance to sell cultivated meat for pet food. In February 2025 it supplied cultivated chicken for the Chick Bites launch with THE PACK at Pets at Home, and in the same year cut bioreactor costs roughly tenfold by manufacturing equipment in house. In May 2026 it closed a £10.4 million Series A to fund a 20,000-litre London facility.
Risks & controversies
Commercial availability remains limited to small samples and partner launches, with broader sales targeted three to five years out and output from the new facility not expected until 2027, leaving scale-up execution and production cost reduction as central open questions for the business and the wider cultivated meat sector.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 5
launches, deals, and filingsSeries A round joined by Oyster Bay Venture Capital, Clean Growth Fund and JamJar Investments alongside existing investors Agronomics and Pets at Home; proceeds to fund a 20,000-litre bioreactor facility in London.
$14.2M source ↗
Fit-out began immediately on a 20,000-litre bioreactor site in London, described as the largest cultivated meat production facility in Europe, with product releases expected in 2027.
Meatly, with plant-based dog food brand THE PACK, launched a limited release of 'Chick Bites' dog treats combining plant-based ingredients with Meatly Chicken, on sale at Pets at Home in Brentford, London. Meatly described it as the first cultivated meat pet food sold anywhere, and itself as the first company to sell cultivated meat in the UK and EU.
Pets at Home, one of Meatly's largest investors, became the first retailer to sell pet food made from cultivated meat; further collaborations with THE PACK and Pets at Home were planned.
Meatly received regulatory clearance in the United Kingdom to sell cultivated meat for use in pet food.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Meatlymeatly.pet · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Meatly do?
- UK company producing cultivated chicken from animal cells for use in pet food products.
- Who are Meatly's investors?
- Meatly's investors include Agronomics, Clean Growth Fund, JamJar Investments, Oyster Bay Venture Capital, Siddhi Capital.