Disrupting the Meat Industry: Tissue Culture Beef Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

Tissue culture beef, a product made from muscles grown completely in a lab by Dr. Mark Post and his team, was improving to incorporate the taste, texture and appearance of beef that a traditional hamburger possesses.

Sergey Brin, a co-founder of Google, had provided the Mark Post with a significant fund to make the burgers, as he tasted this product. The results from the previous iteration of this product found good results.

After the perfection of this product, it needed an umbrella of an independent company around this technology to introduce this product in the market. This innovation would have significant impact on the existing beef production and supply chain. It might capture a huge share in the market because of providing an environmentally-friendly and animal welfare food, which reduces the environmental impact created by traditional beef products.

Although, the Dr. Mark Post had to encounter various challenges to introduce this product in the market. As to make a single burger it currently cost around $330,000 so he had to get the price down. On the other hand, the Post had to explore a partnership which would help to make the product commercially viable, but which way should he move: should he work with an established beef production and supply system, a retailer, or merge with a partner who do not have a presence in this industry? How should he forecast the reactive approaches by the established companies after this introduction?

However, Post also had to convey the message in a way that could reduce the skepticism of customers about the overt scientific involvement in the food: what alternatives should he adopt to create awareness that the muscle tissue grew in his lab was the same way it developed in cattle and it was also a natural product.