Startup Series: Hoxton Farms’ Cruelty-Free Fats

Max Jamilly, CEO and Co-founder at Hoxton Farms. And today, we're talking about fat. 

Hoxton Farms, a London-based startup, grows and sells animal fats without animals. They aspire to be an ingredients provider; cultivating fats via bioreactors and selling cruelty-free and sustainable fats to other food brands, starting with meat alternatives. 

It's been a challenging time for the alt-meat space, and we were eager to hear how Max feels the industry will develop and the role Hoxton Farms can play therein. He's also got a vision for how Hoxton Farms can expand beyond that initial market over time. Hoxton raised a series A led by Fine Structure Ventures and Collaborative Fund in late 2022, in which MCJ is proud to have participated. So grab a plate and let's dig in.

In this episode, we cover: 

• [1:37] Intro to Hoxton Farms
• [2:36] Founders' background: Max Jamilly and Ed Steele
• [5:51] Meat alternative industry: Challenges and opportunities
• [9:00] Expansion potential beyond meat alternatives
• [12:56] Cost parity with traditional animal fats
• [17:08] Scalability, production, and commercialization plan
• [18:51] Consumer appetite for meat alternatives
• [24:49] Regulatory environment and labeling requirements
• [32:56] Hoxton Farms' pork fat cultivation process
• [34:48] Potential for genetic engineering in cultivation
• [40:18] Overview of Hoxton's facility
• [42:48] Capitalization and financing history
• [46:13] Importance of branding and merchandise
• [47:21] Hoxton Farms is hiring!

Episode recorded on June 26, 2024 (Published on July 18, 2024)

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant