Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Next Meats, a Japanese foodtech startup, has announced that it is building a first-of-its-kind, eco-friendly production facility called the Next Factory in Niigata Prefecture.
This factory aims to be a “one-stop hub dedicated to alternative protein products” and will include both an R&D lab and a production line. It will incorporate solar panels and other sustainable technologies. Its completion is scheduled for next summer.
Next Meats selected Niigata Prefecture as a key base in large part because it is the home territory of co-founder Ryo Shirai, though the company headquarters itself is in Tokyo.
It is also forming alliances within Niigata. One is with Kameda Seika, a local snack manufacturer, with which it is co-developing a new consumer product. There is also an agreement with Nagaoka University of Technology to study epigenetics and its new applications in developing alternative meat products.
Next Meats has set out a vision of replacing all animal meats in people’s diets by 2050.
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