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Founded by Roman Lauš, Mewery is on a mission to reshape the future of food with its breakthrough approach to cultivated meat. As the first European startup cultivating pork meat on a microalgae base, Mewery aims to create a healthier, scalable, and more sustainable alternative to traditional meat production. With the support of major investors like Credo Ventures and Big Idea Ventures, Lauš and his team are making significant strides toward a new era in food-tech.

Roman Lauš, founder of Mewery, brings a strong background in food technology and sustainability. Driven by a vision to address the environmental and health challenges in traditional meat production, he has led Mewery from its early days to becoming a pioneer in the cultivated meat space.

1. What inspired you to start Mewery, and what were those early days like?

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial mindset. I started in IT, where my company has been running successfully for over 20 years. Along the way, I co-founded a real estate venture, which we eventually exited, and I’ve invested in several startups. Some turned out great; others were lessons learned.

The real turning point for me came during my time with Future Port Prague. It was the largest Central European event that focused on exponential technologies and future trends that we organized to inspire people to think about what’s next. It gave me a chance to dive deep into cutting-edge innovations. Cultivated meat really stood out to me during that time—it just felt like the right balance of impactful, revolutionary, and achievable.

When COVID-19 put a stop to events, I spent a lot of time reflecting. The idea of producing meat without slaughtering animals kept coming back to me. It felt like an opportunity to do something meaningful, both for people and the planet, as I have also been a meditation and mindfulness teacher for the last 20 years. My partner Kristýna, who’s a clinical biologist, and I began to explore the science and the business potential. After about eight months of research, we decided to go for it. We brought together some brilliant scientists and launched Mewery. The early days were all about building, learning, and believing that we could actually create something that hadn’t been done before.

2. How does Mewery’s microalgae co-cultivation method work, and why is it a game-changer?

The microalgae are really what make us unique. We’re the first company to co-cultivate animal cells with microalgae, and it’s a game-changer for several reasons.

First, they help us replace expensive chemical components in the growth medium with something natural and sustainable. That alone is a big cost and environmental win. Second, we’ve figured out how to use microalgae to produce growth factors in-house, which saves money and avoids relying on external suppliers. Third, and this is key, they enable what we call scaffold-free cultivation. Normally, you need a structure to grow cells on, but our microalgae naturally create structured aggregates with the cells.

The microalgae also do something amazing—they perform photosynthesis during the process, providing oxygen to the cells and reducing cell death, especially in later stages of growth. That’s huge for scalability. On top of that, they bring added nutrition, color, and even a longer shelf life to the final product, thanks to their natural antimicrobial properties.

3. What are the main benefits of your product compared to conventional meat?

For one, it’s cleaner. There are no antibiotics and no ethical concerns tied to slaughter. Nutritionally, it’s superior—we can enrich it with vitamins, minerals, and proteins based on what consumers need. And then there’s sustainability. Producing meat with this method requires significantly fewer resources, like water and land, compared to traditional farming.

4. How did you secure early support from investors like Credo Ventures and Big Idea Ventures?

We started with my personal funds. Those first experiments were just about proving that the concept could work. Collaborating with the Academy of Sciences and Mendel University helped establish credibility early on. Big Idea Ventures came into the picture after months of rigorous due diligence. When they said yes, it gave us validation and opened doors to the global food-tech ecosystem.

Credo Ventures saw our potential a bit earlier than expected, which was a big confidence boost. It’s all about building trust and showing that we’re serious about creating something groundbreaking.

5. What kind of interest has Mewery seen from global companies, and how do these partnerships fit into your growth plan?

We’ve had strong interest from food manufacturers, meat producers, and even consultancy firms, even though we’re still finalizing our bioprocess. These companies are looking for ways to enter this space, and they see us as a partner with innovative IP.

Our strategy is to work through joint ventures. We want to license our technology and expertise to established players who already have the infrastructure and market access. It’s the fastest and most scalable way to make an impact.

6. What are the next major milestones on Mewery’s roadmap?

The immediate goal is to optimize our bioprocess within the next eight months and scale production within 200L bioreactor. After that, it’s about regulatory approval and initial tastings. By 2025, we aim to have joint venture partnerships in place and move towards commercial-scale production. Before that, we will build a pilot pre-commercial facility within the Cultured Hub in Switzerland, our scale-up partner in 2026.

7. Why do you believe Mewery’s approach is essential for a sustainable food future?

It’s simple. The way we produce meat today isn’t sustainable. The environmental impact is massive, and with the global population growing, we can’t keep doing things the way we’ve always done.

What we’re doing at Mewery addresses those challenges directly. By combining microalgae with cell cultivation, we’re creating a method that’s not just sustainable but also scalable and customizable. It’s not just about reducing harm—it’s about building a better system from the ground up.

8. For investors, why is now the right time to support Mewery, and what impact can they expect?

We’re at a tipping point. Our technology is solid, and the market is starting to wake up to the potential of cultivated meat. Investors who come in now are not just funding a product—they’re backing a movement that’s redefining how we feed the world.

The returns could be significant, but beyond that, there’s the impact. Supporting Mewery means being part of something that’s good for people, animals, and the planet.

Explore the opportunity on SeedBlink.