Hoxton Farms partnered with Sumitomo to bring cultivated fat to Asia

Together with Sumitomo, Hoxton Farms is working with food brands and regulators to bring a healthier, scalable, and sustainable fat solution to Japan and the broader Asia-Pacific region. This partnership underscores large-scale adoption of innovative fats to address urgent public health and food security challenges across Asia.

Asia's demand for meat is projected to increase by 78% by 2050, driven by rising income, urbanisation and population growth. This has already led to soaring food prices and concerns over supply stability due to climate change and disease. A 2018 African Swine Fever outbreak in China meant that 225 million pigs had to be culled (roughly 25% of the global pig population), resulting in a $111 billion economic loss for China and causing Chinese annual pork imports to rise from about 1.4 to just under 4 million tonnes.

Consumers and food brands alike are seeking healthier, resilient and more sustainable alternatives that maintain the taste and culinary traditions of conventional meat.

To address this need, Hoxton Farms has joined forces with Sumitomo, one of Japan's largest integrated trading companies, to provide a game-changing solution for the food industry: Hoxton Fat.

As part of its innovation pipeline, Hoxton Farms is exploring ways to make fat significantly healthier. By precisely controlling the fat’s composition, the team is developing versions of Hoxton Fat that are lower in saturated fat and higher in beneficial components such as omega-3 fatty acids. These nutritional profiles are designed to reduce risks associated with diet-related disease, directly addressing the public health concerns highlighted by rising obesity rates and poor nutritional quality across much of Asia.