Mexico City, September 2024.- Forma Foods, a startup company incubated at Tecnologico de Monterrey, the top Mexican university in engineering and technology according to the QS World Ranking 2024, is leveraging cutting-edge 3D printing technologies to produce plant-based meat that not only looks and tastes like real meat, but also promotes a more sustainable and ethical approach to future food.
Forma Foods' plant-based meat printing could revolutionize the future production of meat products, especially in remote communities, democratizing access to high-quality protein.
At the same time, in addition to developing cutting-edge technologies, Forma Foods is committed to the vision of a more sustainable future: In contrast with high costs, complexity and demand for space required by traditional livestock farming, plant-based meat production is much more efficient and environmentally friendly, being able to produce 1.8 kilograms of meat per hour, more than 100 times the production of a cow.
Lab-developed meat from Forma Foods emulates the texture, consistency, and flavor of traditional “carne asada”, offering a viable and attractive alternative for meat lovers and vegan consumers.
To this end, Grissel Trujillo de Santiago and Mario Moises Alvarez, researchers and academics from the School of Engineering and Sciences at Tec de Monterrey, experts in tissue engineering, and co-founders of the company, are applying a technique that both have invented and perfected: chaotic printing.
“These chaotic flows have nothing to do with disorder or turbulence, they produce microstructures in a fast and mathematically predictable way; they generate very fine thin layers that mimic the architecture of animal tissues,” explains Trujillo, Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) at Forma Foods.
100% plant-based
Supported by Tec de Monterrey, Trujillo and Alvarez completed a research stay at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University where they specialized in tissue engineering. In 2017, upon returning to Mexico, they began to combine the technique that they both had invented with the knowledge derived from the research carried out in Tec de Monterey and abroad, to manufacture living tissues for medical and food purposes. Initially, they only explored the production of animal cell-based meat, but the high cost of the process led them to innovate also with 3D printed vegetable pastes.
Forma Foods not only mimics skeletal muscle tissue, but also fat and connective tissue, using pea protein to simulate muscle tissue, an oriental prebiotic fiber for connective tissue, and coconut oil for fat tissue.
The team has created products very similar to arrachera and carne al pastor, staples in dishes representative of Mexican culture. “Eating an arrachera taco is not the same as eating a sausage or ground beef taco,” Trujillo says, emphasizing how their product authentically integrates into Mexican cuisine.
Fully Mexican integration
With financial support from Tec Ventures and Saya Bio, an investment fund focused on biotechnology and health, Forma Foods has made significant advances in its technology and research. They overcame the challenge of adapting 3D printing technology to produce meat, transforming viscous pastes into a product that achieves the consistency of real meat, thanks to the development of a specialized printhead patented since 2019.
“We integrate technological elements that have been previously used (for other purposes), using them in an innovative way that creates a drastically different and proudly Mexican technology,” says Mario Moises Alvarez, Chief Technology Officer, who adds: “With a growing demand for food and limited resources, innovative solutions such as printing plant-based meat are essential for the future.”
Gaining Market Confidence
Forma Foods focuses on three pillars: gaining consumer trust, establishing strategic alliances with key collaborators to position its products in the market, and offering innovative and unique products.
Tec de Monterrey was the first to support and trust Forma Foods’ research and products, which are currently being served at special events offered at the Monterrey Campus.
Recently, the meat produced by the company attracted attention from the restaurant industry. Chef Rodrigo Rivera Rio of Koli in Monterrey, which recently was awarded with a Michelin star, expressed interest in this plant-based meat and requested a version printed in the shape of a beet. “The customization capacity offered by 3D printing allows for the creation of unique shapes and textures, opening up a range of culinary possibilities,” Alvarez said.
Forma Foods' target market is not limited to vegan consumers. Their plant-based meat is also designed for people looking to reduce their meat consumption for health, ethical or environmental reasons. Global demand for meat continues to rise, and traditional solutions will not be able to satisfy such demand in a sustainable way.
A New, More Productive and Sustainable Food Perspective
The future of food will depend on our ability to innovate and develop new ways of producing highly nutritious protein. Forma Foods’ work could be key to feeding the world sustainably for decades to come. “We must think about future needs and develop new products that are already necessary today and will be even more so in the years to come,” Trujillo emphasizes.
The scope of the Forma Foods project could also have a positive impact on people's health by offering a healthier alternative, on the environment by generating less methane gas, considered a greenhouse gas, and on sustainability by reducing water consumption and the space needed to raise livestock.
