Vow, claimed to be the first Australian cultivated meat company, announced initiating the regulatory approval process with Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) in order to launch cultivated quail, Morsel, into restaurants by 2024.

The company claims its cultivated quail is safe for consumption and seeks to gain approval for its novel food by amending the food standards code. The product needs to pass FSANZ’s testing of the manufacturing process, cell line stability, and end product in order to gain the necessary approvals.

As the company gears for food service launch in Singapore by 2023, Australian consumers will also be able to enjoy Morsel by 2024 if FSANZ regulatory approval is granted.

Analyst QuickTake: The company operates what it claims to be the largest cultivated meat facility in the southern hemisphere and is expected to build a second, larger facility, slated to be operational by 2024. The company also raised USD 49.2 million in a Series A funding round in November 2022, with the funding to be deployed for further development and scaling of the manufacturing process. If the company manages to nab regulatory approval by the time its second facility comes online, it would be able to capitalize on it and possibly become a leading manufacturer of cultivated quail.