• Appointment Underscores Company’s Commitment to U.S. Market Expansion
• Expansion Comes on the Heels of Planned Singapore Commercial Launch Later This Year
• Company Also Adds Dean Banks, Former President and CEO of Tyson Foods, to Board of Directors
Leiden, NL – [May 22, 2024] – Meatable, the innovative food tech company on a mission to deliver cultivated meat at scale, today announced the appointment of Jeff (“Trip”) Tripician as CEO, effective June 17. Mr. Tripician succeeds current CEO and co-founder Krijn de Nood, who will continue to serve on the Board of Directors.
Mr. Tripician, an industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience in the organic and natural meat industry in the U.S., will lead Meatable as it prioritizes U.S. market expansion. This expansion will come on the heels of Meatable’s planned commercial launch in Singapore later this year, which is critical for the Company’s long term strategy to offer cultivated meat in the broader Asian market.
“I am thrilled to welcome Trip to Meatable as he is incredibly well qualified to lead us into this very exciting and important phase of growth for the Company”, said Cees de Jong, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Meatable. “With our launch in Asia planned for the fall, the next critical part of Meatable’s growth strategy is to drive expansion into the U.S., and we believe that Trip’s long and successful experience in the organic and natural meat industry will be invaluable in helping Meatable achieve those global commercialization and growth goals. We look forward to his immediate impact as we take Meatable to new heights in Asia, the U.S. and beyond.”
De Jong added, “I want to thank Krijn for establishing Meatable as the leader in cultivated pork and the innovator it is today. Krijn has always agreed that at this stage of the Company’s evolution, it is important for us to have a leader in the critical U.S. market and relocating was not an option for him. However, I look forward to continuing to work with him and receive his valuable contributions as a member of the Board of Directors. We are exceedingly grateful for his continued leadership and guidance.”
Mr. Tripician most recently served as CEO of Grass Fed Foods and prior to that, as President of Perdue Premium Meat Company. He also brings extensive experience across the U.S. meat market, with deep expertise in the U.S. supply chain, marketing of sustainable meat products, fundraising and M&A.
At Grass Fed Foods, he orchestrated a successful merger between Teton Waters Ranch and SunFed Ranch, which positioned the company as the foremost regeneratively-focused Grass Fed Beef platform in the U.S. During his time at Perdue Premium Meat Company, he spearheaded the company’s growth in premium meat brands such as Niman Ranch, Coleman Natural, and Sioux- Preme. Notably, he oversaw the acquisition and integration of Panorama Organic Grass-Fed Meats and Alexander & Hornung.
“Meatable is a one-of-kind food tech innovator with patented technology that can produce real and delicious meat at unprecedented speed, allowing product to be produced at lower costs than any other player in the industry,” said Mr. Tripician. “With global population growth stressing the world’s ability to meet accelerating demand for sustainable proteins, Meatable is positioned to lead the industry in a paradigm shift that will address key global issues including climate change, water use, soil quality, humane animal care, food security, and, importantly, consumer acceptance – delivering an affordable and remarkable eating experience that could change the world.”
Mr. Tripician continued, “Our global supply chain as it stands is not able to feed eight billion people without destroying the environment. Throughout history, technology has helped many industries evolve and solve significant challenges in transportation, medicine, communications and food. We expect cultivated meat to do the same, as an alternate solution to help feed a hungry world sustainably. The meat industry should be at the forefront of this initiative through innovation, and Meatable will play a major role in driving this meaningful change.”
Krijn de Nood, current CEO, and co-founder, said: “I am incredibly proud of the team and their accomplishments since I founded Meatable in 2018. We turned a vision and a dream into some of the most important and impressive technology in the cultivated food industry. Our insights and efforts led to a fundraise of a $100 million from strategic investors, including more than any company in our industry last year. As a result, Meatable can now deliver tasty meat in only four days, well ahead of the rest of the market, and the company is on track to launch in Singapore this year before expanding to the Unites States. I am proud to be able to hand off leadership at Meatable to Trip with a strong foundation, with a promising future ready to take on the next phase of its growth journey.”
As part of its commitment to its U.S. market entry, Meatable also announced the appointment of food and biotechnology veteran Dean Banks, former President and CEO of Tyson Foods, to its Board of Directors.
Mr. de Jong added: “Dean is an exceptional leader with a proven track record in successfully leading major food companies through every stage of their evolution. His experience in the food and technology industries and his deep understanding of the food supply chain will be invaluable to us as we develop and execute upon our growth plans.”
Mr. Banks is currently the CEO-Partner of Flagship Pioneering, a leading biotechnology company, and CEO of Indigo Ag, the leading carbon program for farmers and buyers. Previously, he was a member of the leadership team at X (an Alphabet company, formerly known as Google [X]), where he led moonshot projects across multiple industries including sustainable food. Throughout his career he has held numerous leadership and entrepreneurial roles across the food, agriculture, technology and life sciences industries.\
“Meatable has enormous potential to disrupt the cultivated meat space with its unique approach to product development and commercialization,” said Mr. Banks. “I look forward to leveraging my expertise in food, technology, and biology to work with Jeff and the rest of the Board to help Meatable gear up for its launch in the U.S.”
Mr. Banks is the latest addition to Meatable’s highly experienced Board of Directors, which consists of seasoned food and technology executives with significant expertise in the Asian, U.S. and European markets.
