Hoxton Farms partners with Mitsui Chemicals to advance global biomanufacturing

Our portfolio company, Hoxton Farms, a UK-based cultivated fat innovator, has announced a strategic partnership with Mitsui Chemicals Group, one of Japan's leading chemicals manufacturers. The collaboration aims to create the world’s most scalable biomanufacturing platform, unlocking new possibilities for cell-based innovation across industries.

Bringing Advanced Materials to Biomanufacturing

At the core of this partnership is the integration of Mitsui Chemicals’ advanced materials into Hoxton Farms’ pilot facility in London. These bioreactors, designed for ultra scale-out, low-cost cell cultivation, offer a radically affordable, scalable platform for producing cultivated fat and other cell-based products at industrial volumes.

As part of the collaboration, Mitsui Chemicals has also made a strategic investment in Hoxton Farms, reflecting a shared commitment to supporting the next generation of sustainable manufacturing infrastructure.

Unlocking Scalable Manufacturing to Grow the Bioeconomy

Global demand for low-emission, biology-driven alternatives to petrochemical and animal-based products is surging. From clean-label food to regenerative medicine and bio-based chemicals, industries and governments alike are turning to biomanufacturing as a pillar of future economic growth.

In Asia, Japan has placed industrial biomanufacturing at the center of its Bioeconomy Strategy, with South Korea and China also leading government-backed initiatives to strengthen local biotech infrastructure. However, scalable, cost-effective manufacturing capacity remains a major bottleneck.

By combining Hoxton Farms’ bioreactor engineering innovation with Mitsui Chemicals’ deep expertise in advanced materials, infrastructure, and global manufacturing, this partnership aims to fill that critical gap, starting with Hoxton Fat and expanding rapidly to new applications.

Complementary Strengths, Shared Vision

Hoxton Farms is best known for Hoxton Fat, a cultivated pork fat grown from stem cells. It’s healthier than traditional animal fat, customizable, and designed as a drop-in solution for food manufacturers, replacing both animal fats and plant oils. Behind the product lies one of the company’s core innovations: a low-cost, modular bioreactor system that makes cultivated fat commercially viable at scale.

Mitsui Chemicals, on the other hand, brings decades of expertise in materials science, process engineering, and international manufacturing partnerships. The companies will co-develop and deploy new materials that increase the efficiency, durability, and scalability of biomanufacturing hardware.

Beyond Food: A Platform for Tomorrow’s Bioproducts

While cultivated fat remains the immediate target, the scope of this partnership reaches far beyond. Hoxton Farms’ flexible platform can be adapted to produce other cell-based ingredients and bioengineered products — from cosmetic actives to cell therapies and sustainable materials.

This next-generation infrastructure is designed not only to meet climate goals, but to unlock industrial innovation across Japan, Asia-Pacific, and globally.