MrBeast brought cultivated meat into the mainstream after tasting cell-based chicken at Upside Foods’ California facility. His visit offered millions of young followers a rare look at how meat can be grown from cells without slaughter. The moment gave alternative protein a cultural boost, helping shift perception from niche food tech to something familiar and accessible.
When the world’s most influential YouTuber steps into a food lab, the impact stretches far beyond the tasting table. This week, a quiet visit to a California facility created loud ripples across the alternative protein world. Millions of young viewers who shape online culture watched something unfamiliar become approachable in real time.What made the moment stand out was not hype or spectacle. It was normalisation. Seeing a creator known for viral challenges and generosity calmly learn how meat can be grown from cells reframed a long-running debate. Cultivated meat was no longer presented as a futuristic theory. It looked edible, curious, and surprisingly ordinary.
MrBeast samples cultivated chicken at California food tech facility
MrBeast, whose audience spans Gen Z and Gen Alpha, visited the EPIC facility operated by Upside Foods. During the visit, he watched cultivated chicken being produced and tasted the final product on camera. For an industry often boxed into climate reports and regulatory headlines, the cultural exposure mattered.Upside Foods founder Uma Valeti captured the philosophy behind the visit in a simple line that quickly resonated online. “What if we can have the best of both worlds… LOVE chicken and LOVE chickens!”Cultivated meat has spent years fighting labels like artificial or lab-made. Those narratives thrive on distance and misunderstanding. A creator-led moment does the opposite. It invites audiences inside the process without lectures or fear-based messaging. Viewers see curiosity instead of caution.For Upside Foods, the timing is critical. The company has faced the same pressures hitting the wider sector. High costs, political resistance, and investor anxiety have slowed momentum. At the same time, it remains the first cultivated meat company to receive US regulatory approval and one of the most closely watched players in the field.
Industry voices have already described the visit as a cultural turning point. Not because it solves scaling or policy hurdles, but because it shifts perception. If even a small fraction of MrBeast’s audience begins to see cultivated meat as normal food rather than experimental science, the ripple effect reaches restaurants, retailers, and regulators.In food innovation, technology builds products. Culture builds demand. This moment sat squarely at that intersection.
