Novameat targets hybrid meat growth with plant-based protein blocks

Novameat is taking a hard left turn from the all-vegan pitch and aiming straight at the meat aisle’s middle ground. The Barcelona food tech company, led by founder and CEO Giuseppe Scionti, is selling plant-based protein blocks to traditional meat processors so they can make hybrid products inside existing factory lines.

The strategy is simple and more practical than trying to convert consumers one burger at a time. Novameat says processors can mix its ingredients with meat at a chosen inclusion rate, using current meat-processing infrastructure rather than building new systems around a fully novel product. The company says that approach can deliver more protein, more fiber and less saturated fat, with some blends reaching Nutri-Score A. Scionti has described the goal as creating a “balanced protein solution.”

That matters because the plant-based meat category has lost momentum, while hybrid products are gaining traction in Europe. Industry reporting in April 2026 put meat and seafood alternatives at just 4% of the overall plant-based food market by value sales. In that kind of environment, supplying ingredients to conventional processors may be a smarter route to scale than asking shoppers to accept a fully meat-free replacement. Novameat has been explicit about that philosophy, saying it is not trying to replace meat, but to rethink it.

The company’s new push also builds on a longer technical arc. Novameat first gained attention for 3D-printed plant-based meat prototypes, then moved toward a micro-extrusion-based process designed to produce fibrous, whole-cut textures. That background is now being repurposed for blended formats, including its pulled vegan beef, which Novameat is selling to meat manufacturers as a bridge into the hybrid-meat category.

The timing is backed by capital. In September 2024, Novameat raised €17.4 million, or about $19.2 million, in an oversubscribed Series A led by Sofinnova Partners and Forbion BioEconomy, with support from Praesidium, Unovis Asset Management and Rubio Impact Ventures. After that round, total funding was reported at about €25 million, giving the company more room to expand production and push into new European markets.

For a sector that has spent years chasing the idea of replacing meat outright, Novameat is making a cleaner argument: work with the processors that already have the equipment, sell them ingredients they can use immediately, and let the blended product do the heavy lifting.