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

Dr. Mark Post was using numerous approaches to ensure the perfectness in one of his new innovative tissue culture beef product that was manufactured from the muscle grown in his lab. His team was making sure to incorporate the same taste as that of a traditional beef hamburger. A pilot project went successfully for the company when Sergey Brin, a co-founder of Google, had provided the Post with much of the funding to make the burgers.

This innovation in the industry would definitely disrupt the existing beef producers. However, through a competitive advantage of eco-friendly food this product might capture a prominent share in the market as it was an animal welfare food and had far less environmental impact than traditional beef products.

The next step was to provide an umbrella of a new venture to take this product to the market but Post encountered multiple challenges in making this a commercially viable product. He had to reduce the cost to a reasonable range as it had cost roughly $330,000 to make a single burger.

To introduce the product in the market, Post also needed the right partner(s), but the decision dilemmas were who should he merge with? Either should integrate with the partner(s) from the traditional beef industry who is established in the beef production and supply system, a retailer, or a partner who had not operated in the beef industry? How could he expect established companies to react to this disruption of traditional ways?

Awareness regarding this lab-made product was also crucial because the general public would show the skeptical behavior of overt scientific involvement in their food that could hit the revenue for the company. Post had to communicate in a most effective way that the product has the same natural effect as these muscle tissues developed in his lab was in the same way as it grew in cattle.