Shares in Agronomics bounce as announces cultivated dog food venture

Shares in Agronomics were up to 8.3 per cent to 19.50p; shares in Delivery Hero were up 20.7 per cent to €44.94; and shares in Zevia were up 15 per cent to $4.85.

Shares in Agronomics were up to 8.3 per cent to 19.50p in the week ending March 25, according to the Future Food Finance FoodTech Index.

The share price jump at Agronomics came in a week when the investment group partnered up with Roslin Technologies, known for the world's first cloned mammal, to launch Good Dog Food and Agronomics executive director Jim Mellon said cultured meat will be a larger market than electric cars.

In an interview with The Times, Mellon, a billionaire investor who heads up Agronomics, an AIM-listed investment company with a focus on clean meats, said consumers are becoming more open to meat alternatives as they become more schooled in the environment and animal welfare.

Mellon believes we will see the end to large herds of cows within ten years as cultivated milk can be used for yoghurts and other byproducts.

“If the value of the electric vehicle market is predicted to be $3.6 trillion we think this cultivated meat materials market is worth $5 trillion,” he told The Times.

“Around 80 billion animals are slaughtered every year, two trillion fish, we can’t go on like this.”

Mellon said he believes the war in Ukraine, highlighting the fragility of the food supply chains, has speeded up the need for food alternatives. 

In the same week, Agronomics inked an exclusive deal with Roslin Technologies to create the Good Dog Food business, in a move to create a more sustainable pet food sector.

Good Dog Food will develop a novel range of pet food products made using cultured meat. 

In the US alone it is estimated dog and cat food is responsible for 65 million tons of CO2-equivalent methane and nitrous oxide and almost a quarter of meat produced in the country, according to the company’s research.

Mellon, who will act as chairman of Good Dog Food, said: “An untapped sector of the agricultural market is the production of pet food via cellular agriculture. We are delighted to be able to announce our first joint venture in the cultivated meat field, to focus on the production of cultivated pet food.”

Elsewhere, shares in Delivery Hero were up 20.7 per cent to €44.94. 

But its shares are down around 60 per cent on the year, although its stock is still 24 per cent higher than it was three years ago.

Simply Wall Street has a good overview of Delivery Hero’s recent share price performance.  

And finally, shares in organic tea maker Zevia were up 15 per cent to $4.85.