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The Cultured Hub, a scale-up facility established through a joint venture between Bühler, Migros and Givaudan, has expanded its services with the addition of plant cell culturing capabilities.

The facility was originally created to accelerate cultivated meat and advanced fermentation technologies. It has now extended its infrastructure and expertise to plant cell-based processes, aiming to further support the growing field of alternative ingredient production.

This expansion comes as rising commodity prices, climate volatility and increasing pressure on agricultural systems are driving demand for resilient and sustainable sourcing pathways.

Plant cell cultivation can enable controlled, year-round production of key plant compounds, independent of constraints such as farmland, weather, pests or disease. Bühler noted that this remains an emerging field, with costs driven by sterile bioreactors, energy-intensive controlled environments and the complexity of plant cell biology.

Ian Roberts, chief technology officer at Bühler Group, said: “Plant cell cultivation represents an important new frontier in sustainable food and ingredient production. Many of the same challenges we see in cultivated meat – the need to scale, reduce cost, and ensure quality at industrial levels – also apply here.”

Scaling from flasks to pilot systems is technically demanding and often beyond the capabilities of early-stage companies. The Cultured Hub aims to address these challenges through its expansion, providing access to advanced bioprocess equipment, expert process development support and a neutral platform for collaboration.

To mark the milestone, the Hub hosted an event bringing together start-ups, corporate leaders and researchers, to explore how plant cell culture can complement traditional agriculture and strengthen global supply chains for high-value ingredients such as cocoa, coffee and citrus.

Participants discussed the pressures facing these ingredients’ supply chains, and how plant cell culturing can help to stabilise ingredient availability. Start-ups pitched their technologies and solutions to industry leaders specialising in cocoa, chocolate and coffee processing, fostering collaboration.