Those challenges were are the center of discussions at the Plant Cell Summit, held in Oxford, UK on Sept. 29 and 30. Hosted by the Plant Cell Institute, a global network connecting senior stakeholders across 23 countries, the summit brought together experts in science, innovation, regulation and investment to explore ways to accelerate commercialization.
Over two days of discussion, experts pointed to supply chain diversification, growing climate awareness and demand for sustainably sourced ingredients as factors that could strengthen the case for PCC.
Case study: Saffron 2.0
Discussing the PCC opportunity, Weslee Glenn, vice president of innovation at U.S.-based Ayana Bio, presented his company’s work to develop an alternative source of saffron in a highly troubled supply chain.
“Saffron is in an interesting spot right now,” he said. “There’s all sorts of geopolitical turmoil surrounding the ingredient with more than 90% of it is produced in Iran, and it is one of the most widely adulterated plants on the market.”
He noted that producing 1 kg of saffron biomass requires approximately 150,000 flowers and 1,000 person-hours of labor, as each thread must be picked by hand.
He added that the bioactives vary significantly depending on where the crop is grown and are particularly sensitive to temperature, making climate change a significant factor in the quality of the final material.
“It’s the most expensive spice in the world, and it’s coming at a time when more people want access to it,” Glenn said. “You can find it in very expensive skincare brands, and it’s also seen increased usage in clinical care for eye, brain and hair health.”
Another downside of products made with traditionally sourced saffron is the use of solvents, heat and processing aids to achieve the desired bioactive profile in the final product.
“So, can something that’s so geographically concentrated and in political turmoil move forward without plant cell culture?” Glenn asked.
He described Ayana Bio’s approach as distinguished by parallel screening, allowing scientists to analyze and compare hundreds of cell-line conditions, thousands of transcripts and hundreds of thousands of metabolites simultaneously.
The multi-omic analysis makes it possible to identify the biological mechanisms that drive the desired compounds, such as crocins, the carotenoid compounds responsible for saffron’s color, and adjust their concentrations.
“We can figure out which of these hundreds of conditions boost the targets, and we can link it back to the mechanisms going on inside the cell, looking at what transcripts and proteins are up or down,” he said.
Ayana Bio is also exploring the production of sage and basil, manipulating their concentrations of terpenes and phenolics.
“We can control and predict, we can switch, and we can direct flux to different classes of metabolites,” Glenn said.
While the technology enables consistent production of high-quality botanical bioactives, reducing the uncertainties associated with agriculture, the challenge is producing them at a price the market is willing to pay.
According to Glenn, PCC has moved beyond “version 1.0,″ when it gained a foothold in luxury cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, markets in which small volumes can command high prices. It is now entering “version 2.0,” with the development of ingredients for functional foods and supplements, but reaching ‘version 3.0′, where the technology is adopted at scale, will require high-volume production at significantly lower margins.
Unlocking the power of nature and building the investment case
Delegates also highlighted that a coordinated communication strategy will be essential to building consumers acceptance of PCC and avoiding some of the challenges faced by the animal cell culture or GMO industries, which struggled to maintain momentum early in their commercial development. In the case of cultivated meat, consumer concerns included fears that the technology could undermine farmer livelihoods.
Eliodora Dal Monte, sales marketing manager at Active Botanicals Research, said that PCC would never take business away from farmers, but would instead fill the gaps in supply that traditional methods cannot meet as consumer demand grows and environmental pressures intensify. She added that perceptions of PCC have shifted significantly as climate change has attracted increasing public attention.
As the market seeks to strengthen supply chain resilience, PCC is increasingly positioned as a cleaner, sustainable alternative that can enhance the bioavailability of nutrients while reducing reliance on natural resources, using less water and land, without pesticides or genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Dal Monte noted that a decade ago, companies were more interested in health claims than concerned about the environmental impacts of the ingredients but that PCC aligns with the today’s increased focused on greener technology.
Ronni Gurwicz, author and storytelling coach, highlighted the importance of storytelling in marketing, emphasizing its role in connecitng with consumers on both an emotional and rational level, including by addressing environmental concerns.
When asked to develop simple descriptions for PCC, delegates proposed phrases such as “a new form of farming that unlocks the power of nature” and “the way forward for sustainable human health and wellness.”
Another significant challenge for the industry is securing investment, given the lengthy path to market driven by the need for specialized technological infrastructure, regulatory hurdles and the time required scale up production before commercialization. The time is even longer in Europe, where ingredients must undergo the Novel Food authorization process, which can take a minumum of three years.
Glenn suggested that investors may be tempted to present PCC as a faster route to market but stressed the importance of focusing on PCC’s unique strengths and long-term value rather than making direct comparisons.
“We are often compared with precision fermentation, and I have found more success in presenting a counter-narrative,” he said. “The reality is that PCC is much better at having the activity that you need, so I think there are many more benefits here, and we have found more success with presenting it that way.”
The Oxford Declaration
The Plant Cell Summit marked the official launch of the Oxford Declaration, developed by industry stakeholders to establish a concise set of objectives designed to make the field more credible, investable and globally coordinated.
“The industry has come to realize we have some common challenges, and some of these are bigger than any one organization,” said Philippe Jutras, founder of the Plant Cell Institute, as he invited delegates to sign the agreement. “The declaration is a commitment to building a shared framework for PCC to become an established field.”
The document contains six core objectives: Industrialization, standardization, collaboration, research, commercialization and coordination.
Industrialization: The field will not reach its potential by retrofitting laboratory science to industrial realities. Processes, infrastructure and standards must be designed with scale as the primary goal, not an afterthought.
Standardization: Without comparability across institutions, trust cannot be established with investors, regulators or buyers. A shared evidence framework must be defined, starting with the highest-priority definitions and evolving iteratively.
Collaboration: Shared challenges should not be solved in isolation. Pre-competitive collaboration must focus on removing common barriers while preserving competitive differentiation.
Research: The gap between scientific potential and market deployment is too large and too costly. Translation must become systematic, with a clear focus on removing the bottlenecks between discovery and commercial operation.
Commercialization: Scientific progress without market access does not translate into impact. Friction between innovation and adoption must be reduced through alignment with buyers and regulators.
Coordination: A field that speaks with fragmented voices will not be taken seriously by capital, policy or markets. Coordination and a unified voice can facilitate this and the Declaration will guide its implementation.
