Carter, M.; Spitters, T.; Ho, S.; Webb, S.; Hyland, N.; Mee, P. J.; Fehlmann, S.; Rajesh, D.

Developing structured cultivated meat requires integrated solutions that combine scalable cell sources with edible, food-grade materials capable of supporting high density growth and differentiation. Here, we evaluate bovine mesenchymal stem cells derived from embryonic stem cells (ESC-derived iMSCs) as a scalable adipogenic cell source and develop an integrated workflow combining these cells with edible plant-based scaffolds for structured biomass generation. Cell identity and functionality were assessed using transcriptomic, morphological, gene expression, flow cytometric, and adipogenic differentiation analyses, in both adherent and suspension culture systems. In parallel, lentil, pea and soy-based scaffold formulations were screened for cell attachment, proliferation, and biomass accumulation. Soy-based scaffolds supported uniform cell distribution and robust growth and outperformed lentil-based scaffolds. Under dynamic culture conditions, bovine iMSCs cultured on soy-based scaffolds achieved high-density growth, showing biomass accumulation (cell wet weight/scaffold wet weight) reached an average cell wet weight to scaffold wet weight ratio of 15% within three days. Cultures demonstrated active glucose metabolism and retained adipogenic differentiation capacity, confirmed by lipid accumulation and positive oil red O staining. These findings demonstrate an integrated cell scaffold platform for rapid three ;dimensional biomass generation. This approach supports the development of a cell culture strategy for structured cultivated meat by combining defined cell sources with food-grade scaffold technologies to improve scalability, structure, and nutritional relevance.