Life at Mzansi Meat: Part 2

For a startup like us, developing an industry from the ground up is all about collaboration. We’re proud of the team we’ve assembled over the last two years and while we’re busy moving into a new lab facility, reaching scale and focusing on research and development, we wanted to walk you through a typical day in the life of our Mzansi Pioneers.

1. It all starts at our state-of-the-art lab facility at BioCiTi Labs in Brickfield Canvas.

Our BioCiTi Labs facility is in Brickfield Canvas.

We meet up to discuss plans for the day over a quick coffee. We do this meeting standing up at all times to avoid time wasting. It’s in this session that we discuss things like cell maintenance, bioreactor monitoring, and progress on specific experiments led by different scientists on the team. For instance, Pieter (research scientist) is busy working to create the most cost-effective basal media. Or Elanda (research scientist) who’s working to create the most efficient scaffolding for cell growth. Then we have Kyle (senior scientist), who is busy developing cell lines for some exciting new species. More on that soon!

2. After the lab, we’ll meet in our office space across the hall where we’ll compile data for the day. We’re in a comfortable space with plenty of room for focus time, but the team is always around if we need to reach out.

Our office space is just around the corner from the lab.

While the banter flies, the lab hums with contagious energy. There’s a diverse mix of personalities and energies in the room and we’re united by the drive to change the world by changing how we eat.

Who wore it better?

3. Whatever happens in a day, we dedicate time to planning new experiments, reading papers, and studying industry trends. We’re a small team and everyone gets a say. Often, we’ll host tours with investors or students interested in pursuing a career in biotechnology.

4. Before closing the day off, we have an R&D check-in to discuss the progress of projects and our cultivated meat production targets and timelines. Sometimes we even get a table tennis tournament going before the day ends!

Table tennis anyone?

It’s tough to predict exactly what will happen in a day, but that’s it in a nutshell. Stick around for more life at Mzansi updates coming soon!