The latest news, trends, analysis, interviews and podcasts from the global food and beverage industry

Food-tech company Offbeast has developed what it describes as the world’s first blended whole-cut meat, combining 50% real beef with 50% plant-based ingredients while retaining a continuous, muscle-like fibre structure.

The new beef tips have been developed using Offbeast’s proprietary “Whole Cut Engineering” process, which transforms unstructured meat such as ground beef or beef fat into aligned, muscle-like fibres. A plant-based binder connects the fibres while also acting as an extender, reducing the quantity of meat required while maintaining a meat-like texture.

Offbeast said the technology has been designed to integrate with existing meat-processing lines and conventional industrial equipment. Originally developed for plant-based steaks, the process has already been implemented at production scale, with capacity of up to three metric tonnes per shift.

The company is now seeking partnerships with major meat producers to commercialise the technology and bring blended whole-cut products to market.

Unlike conventional blended products such as burgers, Offbeast’s technology is designed to create whole-cut formats, including beef strips, chunks and steaks.

The company said the process can also be adapted for other meats, including pork, while protein content remains unchanged.

In product tastings, 16 of 20 testers rated the blended beef tips as “indistinguishable from conventional meat”, with texture receiving particularly strong feedback.

The approach could offer meat producers a way to incorporate plant-based ingredients into higher-value whole-cut products rather than limiting hybrid formulations to lower-cost formats.

Alongside its product and processing claims, Offbeast is positioning the technology around potential improvements to meat producers’ margins.

According to the company’s calculations, Whole Cut Engineering could increase margins by approximately 200% to 400%, while allowing the resulting products to be sold at a lower consumer price.

Offbeast founder Insa Mohr said: “With a blended burger, inexpensive meat and inexpensive plant ingredients are combined to create another relatively inexpensive product. Our technology is different because it can turn those same low-cost inputs into a significantly higher-value whole-cut product.”

The company said the technology could therefore provide an economic incentive for meat processors to explore hybrid meat products, while also potentially reducing the amount of conventional meat required per product.

Offbeast is currently in discussions with meat producers about technology partnerships to commercialise its blended whole-cut platform.

The company, also known as Mooji Meats, was founded in 2022 by two German entrepreneurs. Its technology originated from research conducted at Harvard University, and the business subsequently participated in Y Combinator in San Francisco.