Pictured is a bottle of composite material used in 3D printing. Photo: Chen Xia/GT

Israeli start-up Redefine Meat plans to launch 3D printers to produce plant-based steaks mimicking real beef next year in a bid for a slice of the fast-growing alternative meat market.

"You need a 3D printer to mimic the structure of the muscle of the animal," CEO Eshchar Ben-Shitrit told Reuters. The machines to be launched next year will be able to print 20kg an hour and eventually hundreds, at a lower cost than real meat.

"The market is definitely waiting for a breakthrough in terms of improving the texture," said Stacy Pyett, who manages the Proteins for Life programme at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands.

She said 3D printing is one technology competing to improve alternative meat texture, but "having new technologies ... doesn't necessarily solve the flavour and taste problem".