Fork & Good acquires Orbillion to accelerate global rollout of cultivated red meat

Fork & Good has announced the acquisition of Orbillion, bringing together two pioneers in cultivated pork and beef to create what the companies described as a cost-effective platform for producing red meat ingredients at scale. The combined company now serves customers across North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, with what it said is the largest intellectual property portfolio in cultivated meat.

“We’re already working with customers in North America and East Asia and are excited to bring Orbillion’s relationships in Europe and the Middle East online,” commented Niya Gupta, Co-Founder & CEO of Fork & Good (pictured left). “We’re not asking food manufacturers to wait five to 10 years for supply chain solutions – we’re giving them the ability to improve their products and create that resilience right now.”

The merger follows mounting pressure from global trade disruptions, rising tariffs, and supply chain volatility that continue to inflate food prices. Fork & Good said the acquisition offers food manufacturers a hedge against these risks, providing diversification through cultivated meat ingredients that can be supplied more quickly and reliably than conventional livestock.

Traditional red meat production depends on multi-year livestock cycles, whereas cultivated production can dramatically shorten lead times. Four countries currently account for around 70% of pork imports and 40% of beef imports globally – markets where the merged company already has customer relationships.

The new entity aims to deliver immediate value to food companies through functional ingredients that enhance taste, binding, shelf life, and clean label characteristics. Both Fork & Good and Orbillion have established commercial traction through offtake agreements and paid development partnerships with large global food manufacturers. Among these is Luiten Food, which welcomed the move as a sign of forward-thinking collaboration.

“Serving the customer of the future requires innovation,” added Lennert Luiten, CEO of Luiten Food. “Our vision is to integrate Fork & Good’s cultivated meat with familiar meat and plant-based options, paving the way for a new generation of products that satisfy our taste buds and support a sustainable future.”

At the heart of the deal lies a shared technological focus. Fork & Good has developed a streamlined, efficient process for cultivating pork muscle cells, while Orbillion was the first company to scale beef muscle cells successfully. Both have prioritized lowering production costs and addressing cultivated meat’s most pressing scale-up challenges.

By combining expertise, the two companies aim to serve a broader range of customers while adapting to different regional regulatory frameworks. Operations will continue at Fork & Good’s pilot facility in Jersey City, New Jersey, with Orbillion’s UAE subsidiary serving as a strategic hub for the Middle East.

“We learned the lesson the hard way, when launching Modern Meadow, the first cultivated meat company, thinking technology is all and customers follow,” said Gabor Forgacs, Co-Founder & CSO of Fork & Good. “We now know better, and this acquisition allows us to widen our customer base and the technological repertoire that is needed to accomplish this.”

The merged company will continue operating under a margin-first model – one focused on demonstrating techno-economic viability at mid-scale before committing to large-scale expansion. This disciplined approach, Fork & Good said, is designed to prove sustainable unit economics in a sector that has often struggled with cost and scalability.

While the cultivated meat industry has faced headwinds in recent years, Fork & Good and Orbillion see the merger as a sign of resilience and progress. They believe the underlying technology has matured to a point where creating tastier, more affordable, and technically robust products is achievable.

Beyond commercial opportunity, the partnership is framed as a response to a broader global need for food system resilience. As climate shocks, disease outbreaks, and trade restrictions continue to disrupt supply chains, the ability to produce red meat ingredients independently of livestock and land use offers governments and companies alike a potential buffer against future crises.

“The combination of our strengths allows us to deliver greater value to our customers by offering a broader portfolio of products and a stronger foundation for long-term partnership,” said Patricia Bubner, CEO of Orbillion (pictured right in main photo), who will now take on the role of COO at Fork & Good.