Which major food companies have commercialized 3d-printed food since 2020?
Executive summary
Since 2020 a handful of foodtech startups and some large food-service partners have moved 3D‑printed food from labs into commercial channels: Revo Foods began selling 3D‑printed salmon fillets in Austrian supermarkets and Steakholder Foods has commercialized multiple plant‑based whole‑cut products and shrimp using its own printers [1] [2]. Other commercial efforts include partnerships and pilots—SavorEat with Sodexo for a 3D‑printing burger robot and Redefine Meat rolling out plant‑based whole‑cuts and expanding into restaurants—showing the technology is being commercialized mainly by specialist companies in partnership with larger food operators rather than by incumbent global CPG giants [3] [4] [2].
1. Market movers: startups turning printers into products
Startups have led commercialization: Austria’s Revo Foods—founded in 2020—says it placed 3D‑printed salmon fillets into Austrian supermarkets, calling that the first 3D‑printed food sold in grocery stores [1]. Israel’s Redefine Meat has commercially launched plant‑based whole‑cuts and raised large funding rounds to build production capacity and restaurant partnerships [4] [2]. Steakholder Foods has marketed 3D‑printed whole cuts, grouper, steak and a plant‑based shrimp using industrialized 3D printing systems [2].
2. Foodservice and contract partners: routes to scale
Commercial traction has often come through partnerships with food-service operators. SavorEat partnered with Sodexo to deploy a 3D‑printing robot for plant‑based burgers at the University of Denver, a clear example of a technology firm reaching customers via a large operator rather than a supermarket shelf [3] [5]. Redefine Meat’s expansion into hundreds and then thousands of restaurant outlets likewise illustrates a route to market driven by restaurant distribution rather than traditional CPG retail [6].
3. What “commercialized” means in current reporting
Available reporting shows three distinct commercialization models since 2020: direct-to-retail product launches (Revo Foods’ supermarket salmon), restaurant and foodservice rollouts (Redefine Meat, Steakholder and others), and automation pilots in institutional settings (SavorEat + Sodexo) [1] [2] [3]. Reports stress that most activity remains premium‑priced, niche and focused on products with higher margins while scalability, speed and ingredient printability remain constraints [1] [7].
4. Big food companies: limited evidence of incumbent CPG commercialization
Search results do not identify major global packaged‑food conglomerates (e.g., Nestlé, Unilever, Tyson) as having fully commercialized 3D‑printed food products since 2020. Instead, the documented commercial activity involves specialist food‑3D firms (Revo Foods, Redefine Meat, Steakholder, SavorEat, byFlow, Natural Machines) and their partnerships with institutional or restaurant operators [1] [2] [7]. Available sources do not mention large incumbent CPGs launching widely distributed 3D‑printed grocery products in that period (not found in current reporting).
5. Industry analysts: a growing but still early market
Market research and industry coverage report rapid projected growth—from modest market values in the low hundreds of millions in 2023–2025 to CAGR projections in the 20–40% range—but they also emphasize the technology’s nascent commercial footprint and the concentration of revenue in commercial/foodservice channels [8] [6] [9]. Analysts name the same specialist companies as market leaders rather than legacy food multinationals [9] [7].
6. Competing perspectives and limitations of the record
Journalistic and market sources consistently credit startups and specialist vendors for front‑line commercialization [1] [2]. Some market reports project rapid mainstreaming and list many “key players” across hardware and ingredients (Natural Machines, byFlow, Print2Taste, BeeHex, etc.), but these listings mix equipment suppliers with firms that have actual consumer/retail products—so “player” does not equal wide commercial distribution [10] [11]. Regulatory, safety and scale‑up challenges remain prominent caveats in the literature [12].
7. Bottom line for the original query
Since 2020, major commercially visible 3D‑printed food efforts were driven by specialist firms—Revo Foods (supermarket 3D‑printed salmon), Steakholder Foods (multiple plant‑based whole cuts, shrimp), Redefine Meat (plant‑based whole cuts into restaurants) and SavorEat (3D burger robot via Sodexo partnership)—with broader market commentary naming Natural Machines, byFlow and other equipment/ingredient firms as ecosystem players [1] [2] [4] [3]. Available sources do not show global legacy CPG companies launching mainstream 3D‑printed grocery products in that timeframe (not found in current reporting).