LEIDEN, NETHERLANDS — The Netherlands-based cultivated meat company Meatable announced the appointment of Jeff (“Trip”) Tripician as its new chief executive officer, effective June 17. Tripician will lead the company in its US market expansion plans.
The expansion will come on the heels of Meatable’s planned commercial launch in Singapore later this year, which is key to the company’s long-term strategy of reaching the broader Asian market.
“I am thrilled to welcome Trip to Meatable, as he is incredibly well qualified to lead us into this very exciting and important phase of growth for the company,” said Cees de Jong, chairman of the board of directors at Meatable. “With our launch in Asia planned for the fall, the next critical part of Meatable’s growth strategy is to drive expansion into the US, and we believe that Trip’s long and successful experience in the organic and natural meat industry will be invaluable in helping Meatable achieve those global commercialization and growth goals. We look forward to his immediate impact as we take Meatable to new heights in Asia, the US and beyond.”
Tripician is an industry veteran with over 25 years of experience across the US meat market, including organic and natural meat markets, with deep expertise in the US supply chain, marketing of sustainable meat products, fundraising and M&A.
Most recently, he served as CEO of Grass Fed Foods, where he orchestrated a successful merger between Teton Waters Ranch and SunFed Ranch to position the company as the one of the largest grass fed beef platforms in the United States. Prior to that, Tripician served as president of Perdue Premium Meat Co., where he spearheaded the company’s growth in premium meat brands like Niman Ranch, Coleman Natural and Sious-Preme.
“Meatable is a one-of-kind food tech innovator with patented technology that can produce real and delicious meat at unprecedented speed, allowing product to be produced at lower costs than any other player in the industry,” Tripician said. “With global population growth stressing the world’s ability to meet accelerating demand for sustainable proteins, Meatable is positioned to lead the industry in a paradigm shift that will address key global issues including climate change, water use, soil quality, humane animal care, food security, and, importantly, consumer acceptance, delivering an affordable and remarkable eating experience that could change the world.”
Tripician succeeds current Meatable CEO and co-founder Krijn de Nood, who will continue to serve on the board of directors.
“I want to thank Krijn for establishing Meatable as the leader in cultivated pork and the innovator it is today,” de Jong said. “Krijn has always agreed that at this stage of the company’s evolution, it is important for us to have a leader in the critical US market and relocating was not an option for him. However, I look forward to continuing to work with him and receive his valuable contributions as a member of the board of directors. We are exceedingly grateful for his continued leadership and guidance.”
In addition to Tripician’s appointment, Meatable elected Dean Banks, former president and CEO of Tyson Foods, to its board of directors.
Banks is currently the CEO-partner of Flagship Pioneering, a leading biotechnology company, and CEO of Indigo Ag. Previously, he served on the leadership team at X (an Alphabet company, formerly known as Google [X]).
“Meatable has enormous potential to disrupt the cultivated meat space with its unique approach to product development and commercialization,” Banks said. “I look forward to leveraging my expertise in food, technology, and biology to work with Jeff and the rest of the Board to help Meatable gear up for its launch in the US.”
