Cultured Decadence, a Madison-based cultured seafood company, has been purchased by UPSIDE Foods (formerly Memphis Meats) of Berkeley, California, according to a release from the company. The acquisition will expand UPSIDE Foods’ portfolio of cultivated meat, poultry, and seafood products. Cultured Decadence will continue to develop cultivated lobster, scallops, and other seafood and use UPSIDE’s existing technical, scientific, and production infrastructure to have a broader impact. Cultured Decadence was founded in 2020 and has developed proprietary cell lines and cell feed for a variety of high-impact seafood products, including lobster and other crustaceans. Cultured Decadence will adopt UPSIDE’s brand and remain in Wisconsin as UPSIDE’s Midwest hub.
Cultivated meat, poultry, and seafood is meat produced directly by growing animal cells without the need to raise and slaughter animals. It is not vegan, vegetarian, or plant-based. The company states that climate change is destroying the habitats of crustaceans and posing a major threat to the conventional seafood supply amid skyrocketing demand.
