Transitioning from Lab to Industry in Cellular Agriculture: Pre- and Post-Cultivation Tissue Maturation Strategies

Significant challenges remain in the development of cultured meat structures for industrial-scale cellular agriculture. Whereas most efforts have been focused on proliferating and differentiating cells, recapitulating the intrinsic architecture and mechanics of muscle tissue requires a new level of bioprocessing. This critical review synthesizes recent advances (up to 2026) in pre- and post-cultivation maturation processes determining the texture, functionality, and product fidelity of cultivated meat. These include bioprinting, electrospinning, plant-derived scaffolds, freeze-drying, and ice templating. State-of-the-art cell patterning techniques, such as mold-assisted surface patterning, edible microcarriers, and cell sheet engineering, are also reviewed. The literature shows that these approaches, when combined, promote myofiber alignment, enhance nutrient diffusion, and ECM deposition, which collectively improve structural alignment, metabolic activity, and mechanical properties. In addition, the integration of stimuli-responsive scaffolds with adaptable culture systems has allowed the field to start exploring dynamic and tunable tissue responses. In this way, these techniques have strong potential to be implemented in a truly sustainable upscaled cultured meat process, linking well with the concepts of a circular bioeconomy. This is the juncture in the field of cultured meat: precision tissue engineering meets industrial upscaling.