Viewpoint: could cultivated meat's real route to mainstream markets be as hybrid food ‐ why this makes sense?

Summary From beginnings as an esoteric research topic, cultivated meat (produced from cells originating from the meat producing animals) has developed with increasing pace from a research concept and is starting to break into restaurant markets in Singapore, USA, and Israel. However, there remains a significant journey in the global food ecosystem in order for it to reach mainstream retail. This viewpoint piece will probe how combining the best from plant‐based meat alternatives and cultivated meat disciplines may end up addressing consumers desires, delivering on sustainability, palatability, nutritional balance and economic viability. Combining cultured meat elements with plant material creating hybrid food products may provide viable routes to market.