France’s PARIMA Merger Marks a Turning Point for Europe’s Cultivated Meat Industry

Courtesy: Gourmey

A new powerhouse is taking shape in Europe’s alternative protein landscape. Paris-based cultivated meat pioneer Gourmey has acquired Vital Meat, another French company specialising in cell-cultivated chicken, to form a new cross-species platform called PARIMA. The deal is being seen as a watershed moment for Europe’s alt-protein sector, one that signals both consolidation and maturity in an industry that has long struggled to move beyond the lab bench.

The newly formed entity brings together two complementary scientific and commercial approaches: Gourmey’s expertise in cultivated duck and foie gras and Vital Meat’s advanced work on cultivated chicken. Together, they are building what they call the world’s first cross-species cultivated poultry platform, uniting premium and everyday proteins under one scalable technology and infrastructure.

From Foie Gras to Full-Stack Food Innovation

Founded in 2019, Gourmey quickly became one of Europe’s most visible cultivated meat startups. Its mission was both symbolic and strategic: reinvent foie gras, one of France’s most controversial delicacies, without harming animals. Working with Michelin-starred chefs, the startup demonstrated the sensory potential of cultivated duck while scaling up its production at a 46,000-square-foot facility in Paris—one of the largest dedicated to cultivated meat in Europe.

Vital Meat, meanwhile, had been developing a different kind of avian expertise. Spun out from Groupe Grimaud, a global leader in animal genetics and breeding, the company leveraged nearly 25 years of avian cell biology to cultivate chicken meat directly from cells. Its pilot-scale bioreactors, some exceeding 2,000 litres, were among the most advanced in Europe for poultry cultivation.

By combining forces, Gourmey and Vital Meat are positioning PARIMA as a multi-species cultivated poultry powerhouse, bridging the gap between luxury gastronomy and mainstream affordability.

“This merger is about more than scale, it’s about creating a European champion in cultivated proteins that can operate across species and markets,” said Nicolas Morin-Forest, Gourmey’s co-founder and now CEO of PARIMA. “Our complementary technologies will allow us to bring sustainable, delicious poultry to consumers faster than ever.”

Scaling Science into Industry

The cultivated meat industry’s central challenge has always been one of economics and scalability. While proof-of-concept has been achieved globally, from beef to seafood, the true test lies in manufacturing efficiency and cost reduction. Gourmey had previously reported production costs below €7 per kilo for cultivated duck meat, already nearing price parity with premium conventional poultry.

Through Vital Meat’s scale-up capabilities and Gourmey’s precision bioprocess design, PARIMA aims to push those costs lower while strengthening industrial and regulatory readiness. Together, they now hold over 15 patent families, 70 patent applications, and nine regulatory dossiers underway across multiple markets. The combined IP and R&D base may also help PARIMA become the first cultivated meat company in the world to gain regulatory approval for two distinct animal species, duck and chicken.

“Our combined expertise gives us a unique edge,” said Antoine Davydoff, CEO of Vital Meat and now COO of PARIMA. “By integrating our avian cell lines, feed media, and pilot infrastructure, we can scale efficiently and offer a full poultry portfolio, from foie gras to nuggets.”

Courtesy: Vital Meat

A Signal of Consolidation in European Alt-Protein

This merger comes amid a new phase for cultivated and alternative proteins globally. Venture funding has tightened, valuations have corrected, and several startups have either pivoted or closed altogether. Against this backdrop, PARIMA’s creation sends a clear signal: the cultivated meat sector is entering its consolidation era.

Instead of competing for the same funding and policy attention, European players are beginning to pool resources, intellectual property, and industrial capabilities. It’s a pragmatic shift from experimentation to execution, one where survival depends on collaboration and scale.

In a region where regulatory approval remains cautious and public acceptance is still developing, such integration may be not just strategic but necessary. Europe’s novel food process under EFSA is rigorous and slow, yet the formation of a well-capitalised, multi-species player like PARIMA could accelerate progress by uniting regulatory know-how, technical documentation, and manufacturing data under one roof.

Navigating the Regulatory and Consumer Landscape

While Singapore, Israel, and the United States have already approved cultivated meat products, Europe remains in the regulatory queue. Gourmey was the first European startup to file for authorisation under the EU’s Novel Food Regulation, and PARIMA is expected to build on that groundwork to expand into additional poultry products.

Culturally, acceptance of “lab-grown” or “cell-cultivated” meat varies across Europe. France has been vocal about preserving its culinary heritage, and Italy has gone as far as banning cultivated meat production domestically. Yet younger consumers, chefs, and investors across the continent are increasingly open to alternatives that align with climate and animal welfare goals.

By focusing on familiar formats, duck and chicken, PARIMA is strategically positioning cultivated meat not as a futuristic novelty but as a natural evolution of trusted foods, designed to maintain taste, texture, and tradition while reducing environmental harm.

Toward a Resilient Protein Future

Beyond immediate business implications, the merger embodies a larger shift toward a more resilient and resource-efficient protein system. Poultry represents nearly 40% of global meat consumption, yet conventional production remains tied to intensive feed use, antibiotics, and land competition. Cultivated poultry could slash water use and greenhouse gas emissions while decoupling production from animal farming altogether.

PARIMA’s approach, combining premium and commodity markets, reflects a blueprint for long-term resilience. By serving both high-end restaurants and mass-market channels, the company can diversify revenue streams and de-risk early commercialisation.

The Road Ahead

PARIMA’s next phase will be decisive. The company plans to expand its pilot and pre-industrial operations in France, advance regulatory filings in Europe and Asia, and pursue new funding to scale up production.

If successful, PARIMA could redefine Europe’s competitive position in the global cultivated meat race, transforming two pioneering startups into a single, full-spectrum platform capable of delivering cost-competitive, multi-species products to consumers.

In many ways, this merger marks the end of the “science project” era of cultivated meat and the beginning of the industrial phase. For Europe, it’s not just a business story, it’s a test of whether collaboration can finally unlock the promise of a more sustainable, ethical, and secure food system.

“If PARIMA succeeds, it could cement Europe’s role as the world’s proving ground for cultivated poultry, and redefine how we balance taste, ethics, and planetary limits.”