Vow Brings Cultivated Meat Home with Forged: Australia’s First Lab-Grown Quail for Consumers

Courtesy: Forged By Vow

After years of transforming fine dining, Australian food tech pioneer Vow is bringing cultivated meat into home kitchens. Under its Forged brand, the Sydney-based company has officially launched its first direct-to-consumer range of lab-grown meat products, including Smoked Cultured Quail Spread, Foie Gras, and Croquettes, marking a milestone for both the company and the global alternative protein industry.

This launch makes Australia one of the only countries where shoppers can buy cultivated meat for home use, joining Singapore and, soon, the United States. For Vow, it’s a major step in a journey that has evolved from research and restaurant pilots to consumer-ready innovation.

From Lab to Luxury: The Forged Story

Founded in 2019 by George Peppou and Tim Noakesmith, Vow quickly emerged as a leader in the cell-based meat sector by taking an unconventional route. Instead of replicating beef or chicken, the company explored cell lines from over 50 species, from kangaroo to crocodile, before choosing Japanese quail as its first commercial product.

Vow’s focus on taste, creativity, and sustainability helped it carve a unique identity in a crowded market. The company’s debut of Forged Parfait in 2023, crafted for fine-dining restaurants, showcased how cultivated meat could redefine gastronomy rather than imitate it. Now, with Forged available to consumers, Vow aims to make these premium experiences part of everyday life.

The new Forged range includes:

• Smoked Cultured Quail Spread, a rich, buttery blend of 40% cultured meat, unsalted butter, and hickory smoke, priced at A$14.99 per 180g jar.

• Cultivated Foie Gras, made from 51% cultured quail, a humane alternative to the traditional delicacy, sold in packs of five (A$25) or ten (A$50).

• Quail Croquettes, frozen and ready-to-fry, combining 30% cultivated meat parfait with mashed potatoes, shallots, and port wine (20 for A$30, or 40 for A$60).

“Legally we can’t call it butter, but it is butter,” the Forged team jokes on its webshop, a nod to both labeling laws and the brand’s confident culinary positioning.

How Cultivated Quail Is Made

At the heart of Vow’s innovation is a process modeled after fermentation rather than factory farming. The company begins with a tiny sample of quail cells placed in a nutrient-rich medium that allows them to grow naturally into muscle tissue over 79 days.

The result is real animal meat, not a plant-based imitation, produced without slaughter, antibiotics, or microplastics. By controlling the environment at a cellular level, Vow achieves consistent flavor, texture, and nutritional quality while drastically reducing environmental impact.

Courtesy: Forged by Vow

Scaling Up a New Food System

Vow’s consumer launch follows its regulatory approval from Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) earlier this year, the first of its kind in the region. This approval comes after a similar green light in Singapore, where Vow’s Forged dishes have been served in high-end restaurants since 2024.

To support commercialization, the company has expanded its production capacity to 35,000 liters, including a 20,000-liter food-grade bioreactor, the largest of its kind globally. It also achieved the largest cultivated meat harvest in history, yielding 538 kilograms, and plans to reach 10,800 kilograms per month by 2026.

Despite a temporary 30% workforce reduction earlier this year, CEO George Peppou emphasized that the company remains financially strong and focused on efficiency. “We’re building from a position of strength, not weakness,” he said, underscoring Vow’s commitment to scaling responsibly in a tightening investment climate.

Australia Joins the Cultivated Meat Race

With Forged’s Sydney rollout, Australia becomes part of a small but growing club of nations offering cultivated meat to consumers. The launch mirrors new product debuts by Mission Barns in the US, which is introducing cultivated pork meatballs at Berkeley Bowl West, and Eat Just’s Good Meat chicken, now sold in Singapore.

Vow’s approach, however, sets it apart: while others aim for mainstream proteins, Forged is crafting culinary-driven products that merge innovation and indulgence. It’s less about imitation and more about imagination, a way to position cultivated meat as aspirational rather than experimental.

The Maturing of a Movement

Vow’s home launch arrives amid a critical phase for the global cultivated meat industry. After a period of rapid funding and regulatory breakthroughs, the sector is now shifting toward real-world products and operational scalability. Recent moves, such as Gourmey’s acquisition of Vital Meat in France and Believer Meats’ USDA approval for large-scale production in North Carolina, illustrate a trend toward consolidation and maturity.

Against this backdrop, Vow’s expansion signals both confidence and evolution. By introducing a direct-to-consumer line, the company is testing not just consumer appetite but the logistics of everyday access, a crucial step for market normalization.

A New Era for Home Cooks

Beyond the tech, Forged’s launch represents a cultural milestone. For the first time, Australians can cook, spread, or sear cultivated meat at home, an idea that would have seemed like science fiction a few years ago.

By presenting lab-grown meat as an ingredient of culinary curiosity and creativity rather than compromise, Vow is helping shift the narrative from “alternative” to “authentic.” The company’s playful tone, design-led packaging, and drop-style product releases borrow from fashion culture, signaling that the future of food can also be stylish, desirable, and delicious.

As Forged’s first limited batches hit Sydney kitchens, Vow is already preparing new releases, including its signature cultivated parfait and even edible tallow candles. The message is clear: cultivated meat has officially arrived, and it’s ready for the everyday table.