Upside Foods recently announced a significant adjustment to its expansion strategy, stating that it is pressing pause on the construction of its Rubicon cell-based meat production plant in Glenview, Illinois, US.

Upside first announced the new facility in September last year, expecting to produce ground cell-based chicken products at the new the 187,000 square foot site.

Amid a challenging funding environment, the company has opted to refocus its resources and efforts, choosing to enhance and double the investment in its existing Engineering, Production and Innovation Center (EPIC) in California.

This strategic pivot is designed to optimise Upside’s operational efficiency and achieve cost-effectiveness without compromising its ambitious growth and production goals.

An Upside Foods spokesperson told The Cell Base: "In the process of planning for Rubicon, we identified a more efficient and cost-effective way to achieve a similar capacity and timeline of the initial phase of Rubicon by significantly expanding our operations at EPIC. This approach will allow us to scale and commercialise our next-generation platform and products, currently under regulatory review, while extending our runway and resources for the critical work ahead.”

“We still plan to move forward with building out our full-scale commercial facility in the future,” they added.

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