Upside Foods

Upside Foods conducted multiple layoff rounds as the cultivated meat industry faced headwinds. In February 2024, the company made "selective role eliminations" while pausing its Chicago production facility. In July 2024, CEO Uma Valeti announced 26 more employees would go, citing the need to "reduce top-heavy structures." The layoffs came as Florida banned cultivated meat sales and venture capital dried up for the sector. Valeti said "our focus must now narrow to a tighter set of priorities."

Upside Foods faced a politically charged environment as states moved to ban cultivated meat. Florida's ban took effect July 1, 2024, and Alabama followed. The company, which received FDA and USDA approval in 2023 to sell cultivated chicken, found itself at the center of culture war politics. Conservative legislators framed lab-grown meat as a threat to traditional agriculture. Upside Foods advocated for consumer choice but saw its addressable market shrink as bans spread.

Upside Foods cultivated meat technology. FDA approved for human consumption.