CULT Food Science Corp announced that it has been listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) and has begun trading under the ticker symbol ‘CULT’.
The Vancouver-based company also said that its portfolio company, MeliBio Inc has provided a commercial update, highlighting its sales, research and development (R&D) pipeline, fundraising, and public relations efforts.
"The listing of CULT's common shares on the CSE is a great milestone for the company and our shareholders," said Dorian Banks, CEO of CULT in a statement.
“As a public issuer, CULT stands to offer investors a democratized opportunity that is the first of its kind on the capital markets, which is to participate in the important, rapidly growing, and global cellular agriculture space that is expected to materially reduce the large and negative impact that the global food supply chain currently makes on the planet every day," he added.
READ: CULT Food Science says portfolio company CELL AG TECH achieving meaningful milestones to develop cell-based seafood products
With the listing on the CSE complete, the company said that it will be pursuing options for increased liquidity for its shareholders in Europe and the United States.
In a separate statement, the company said that MeliBio continues to demonstrate growth in commercializing its novel cell-based honey and expanding restaurant distribution.
"Honey made without bees is an important innovation for the global food industry as it alleviates some of the pressure on its fragile supply chain and on the environment," said Banks in that statement. "MeliBio's multi-faceted investor update shows that it is gaining traction on multiple fronts, all of which are strengthening its competitive strategy, brand equity, and ultimate value for the benefit of shareholders, stakeholders, and consumers."
In the third quarter of 2021, MeliBio had its bee-free honey placed on the menu of several plant-based restaurants in New York City and elsewhere in New York. Its honey is being used in such innovative menu items as vegan baklava crepes and roasted honey garlic Brussels sprouts.
MeliBio has attracted over US$2 million as part of a rolling capital raise as of the current date, based on a present US$25 million post-money valuation, the company said. It continues to conduct various diligence conversations to close the US$5 million seed round of financing.
In September 2021, CULT completed an investment in MeliBio by way of SAFE at a valuation cap of US$6M. The recent up-round by MeliBio demonstrates accelerated mark to market returns for the company in just over a quarter's time, further validating its cell-based investment thesis, the company noted.
MeliBio revealed that it has identified a co-manufacturer to produce its first commercial run of plant-based honey in Colorado; is interviewing food scientists and other key professionals to develop new flavours of plant-based honey; and gained access to a new space in Oakland, California that will become an R&D kitchen.
MeliBio also announced that it has received the JUST Food Magazine Excellence Award in the category of Innovation and was one of the three winners of a global food-tech pitch competition named FoodHack that resulted in MeliBio receiving an investment from the syndicate and exposure to the European food-tech investor community. The company was also included by TIME in the 2021 edition of its annual 'Top 100 Inventions of The Year' issue.
CULT Food Science is an innovative investment platform with an exclusive focus on clean, lab-grown food that is advancing the development of novel technologies to provide a sustainable, environmental, and ethical solution to the global factory farming crisis.
Contact Ritika at ritika@proactiveinvestors.com