What’s in a name?
Names are personal. They evoke emotions and memories that transport us to another time and place. As we rename our company today, I reflect on the name Memphis Meats and the incredible journey we have been on over the last five years. I fondly remember our scrappy first “headquarters” and smile when I think about the team members who have joined me on this adventure.
I’ll never forget when I tasted our first beef meatball. I was nervous. How would it taste? As I savored that first bite of delicious, cultured beef, I immediately knew I could love meat in a whole new way.
Back in those early days, it was easier to be a skeptic and dismiss the dream of bringing delicious, humane and sustainable meat to the world as science fiction. Many called me crazy. But a precious few saw the vision and the potential and encouraged me to go for it. I’ve never looked back.
I think about the many milestones “Memphis Meats” has made — pioneering and leading the cultured meat industry, building an incredible community around the idea that food can be a force for good — and I’m filled with excitement. After we introduced the world’s first cultured beef meatball in 2016, we quickly made history in 2017 with the world’s first cell-cultured chicken and duck. They taste deliciously like the “real thing;” because, of course, they are.
I’ve been joined by more than 100 team members who are just as passionate and committed to the vision of making meat that is better for the world. And I’m honored to have so many incredible world-class investors like SoftBank, Temasek, Norwest, Threshold Ventures and Atomico as well as food industry leaders Cargill and Tyson Foods, and renowned impact investors Bill Gates, Richard Branson, John Mackey and Kimbal Musk.
We’re growing up, and we need a name that shares our vision, our aspirations and our meat — with the world. We wanted a name that captures the optimism and the tremendous potential to transform our food system and our favorite foods for the better. And a name that could hold and honor the hopes and desires of all the people who have joined us on this journey thus far.
Welcome to UPSIDE Foods.
Developing our new name, UPSIDE Foods, has been an emotional process. Memphis Meats has been a family to me. Even my dog is named Memphis! (Of course, when I told my kids about the new name, they excitedly replied “now we get to have another dog!”).
Luckily, I won’t be saying goodbye to my Memphis family or our beloved dog. We are simply saying hello to many new family members, who we call UPSIDERS. We’re debuting a new look and a new way to express ourselves with this change. And we’re also entering a new chapter both for our team and for the cultured meat industry as we prepare to launch UPSIDE Food’s Chicken. It will be available by the end of this year, pending regulatory review.
One thing that won’t change with our name is our promise and vision to bring delicious, healthy meat to tables by reimagining how it is made. UPSIDE captures the optimism and the big-picture impact our work can have on our taste buds and our bodies, on animals, and on the planet.
We’re building an “Upside” world where every person can eat delicious, nourishing food, without compromise. A world where the Earth is thriving, with a food system that sustains all of its inhabitants and its environment.
Welcome to the UPSIDE of meat. Join us.
