Former HP Indigo product and strategic marketing managers Eshchar Ben-Shitrit and Adam Lahav set up Redefine Meat in 2018. Ben-Shitrit was also formerly vice president of marketing at Highcon. 

The duo are now respectively CEO and chief business officer, while former HP Indigo general manager Alon Bar-Shany joined as chairman last year. Bar-Shany is also the chairman of Highcon.

Redefine Meat spent years examining the muscle and molecular structure of meat from different animals in order to work out how to 3D print a variety of of meat products, something it describes as ‘New-Meat’.  

The products are made using only plant-based ingredients, such as soy and pea proteins and are primarily targeted at carnivores who want to reduce the amount of meat in their diets.

Bar-Shany at the Chotto Matte event 

Celebrity chefs such as Marco Pierre-White have endorsed the Redefine Meat offering, describing it as “the cleverest thing I’ve seen in 40 years of being a chef”, and he has included New-Meat on the menus at his restaurants. 

Redefine Meat now employs 150 people and received $135m (£99.4m) in backing earlier this year to support its expansion plans.  

The firm is poised to ramp up manufacturing with a new production site in the Netherlands about to go on-stream.

It held an event at Chotto Matte restaurant in London earlier this week, where influencers and chefs were able to taste dishes made with different types of New-Meat products, including lamb mince, lamb flank, and beef flank. 

Chotto Matte founder and owner Kurt Zdesar said he had not previously been willing to put other meat substitutes on his menus. 

He said the New-Meat offering helped to answer a big question in terms of the well-documented environmental and sustainability issues around traditional meat production.

“There are a lot of people who don’t necessarily want to eat a plate of vegetables that want the sort of protein that’s missing from their plate, and here’s finally a solution for us.

“For the first time, if you’re not eating meat, you get that satisfaction you want. With our techniques and flavours you’ve got a dish that passes as meat and will satisfy those people who want today not to eat meat, but still get their meat experience. And that’s what we loved about it.”

Chotto Matte is using New-Meat mince for the Vegan Wagyu Gyoza dish on its regular menu. 

Bar-Shany said the 3D printing method used Redefine Meat’s own proprietary technology. 

"Unlike printing the quality is not determined by putting a tiny pixel on a surface," he quipped. 

The lunch was prepared by Head Chef Chris Woodford, assisted by students from West London College and Central Bedfordshire College –  showcasing the support from London chefs for the next generation of hospitality professionals via The Chefs’ Forum Academy curriculum enrichment programme. 

Redefine Meat plans to add new products to the range including thick-cut steaks. 

Along with Israel, the initial target markets are the UK, Netherlands and Germany.