When it comes to the world of alternative proteins, these four Singaporean businesses are leading the way. Everything from “meat” made from chickpeas and jackfruit to milk made from plants to seafood made without fish, these alternative proteins from Singapore are expected to enter the mainstream in the future after receiving substantial funding. Oh, plus one cheeky world’s first cultivated meat that’s only currently available in Singapore. We highlight intriguing new innovations and businesses to watch.
Beyond Meat, Impossible, and Gardein—you’ll likely be familiar with these brands as the frontrunners of the alternative protein industry. It’s an industry estimated to be worth $140 billion over the next decade. With such growth potential, many are eager to grab a slice of this alternative protein pie. Here’s a list of Singaporean alternative protein up-and-comers you should know about.
1. Shellfish? More like ‘cell’ fish: Shiok Meats
The alternative protein market is dominated by companies making burger patties and sausages, but seafood was uncharted territory until the female-founded startup Shiok Meats took it on. The team’s objective is to shake up the conventional seafood farming sector by creating cell-based crustaceans.
When Dr. Sandhya Sririham saw shrimp being farmed in sewage and washed with bleach, she was inspired to start the company alongside Dr. Ka Yi Ling. Not only have problematic agricultural methods attracted attention to the need for an alternate supply, but so have concerns like the destruction of mangroves and the use of slave labour.
At the present, 1 kilogramme of lab-grown shrimp costs roughly US$5000. Sririham intends to cut the cost to roughly US$50 in order to make it more accessible. They expect prices to decrease more as the firm increases its manufacturing. Supported by a spectacular variety of investors, Shiok Meats has closed a US$3 million bridge fundraising round in early July of 2020.
They are intending to build up their first production factory in Singapore to prepare for the commercialization of cultured seafood in the next 2-3 years. Their investors include the CEO of Monde Nissin (the parent company of Quorn, a UK-based meat substitute producer), Y Combinator, a seed money startup accelerator that has previously invested in Twitch and Airbnb, and Big Idea Ventures, a venture capital fund that invests in the most innovative companies working on plant-based food, food technology, and alternative proteins.
2. ‘Got (cell-based) milk’?: TurtleTree Labs
At any moment in time, there are 264 million dairy cows on earth, producing 600 million tonnes of milk every year. The dairy industry is a major component of our currently unsustainable global food supply chain. TurtleTree Labs is working to tackle this very issue.
The founders Fengru Lin and Max Rye are currently focusing on breast milk. Don’t get it twisted, they aren’t attempting to create milk proteins from genetically modified microbes to replicate human breastmilk. They are using a ‘cell-based’ process, which is currently in the process of being patented, in an attempt to grow mammary gland cells which actually lactate milk.
Turtletree’s technology has significant advantages compared to conventional ones. It is 22 times cheaper than the human breast milk that is sold in hospitals for premature babies. Additionally, it only takes about 2% and 17% respectively of the water and energy that is needed for conventional cattle milk to produce the ‘cell-based’ milk. Recently, they have secured US$3.2 million in seed funding from investors such as Green Monday Ventures and KBW Ventures, owned by Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal, a prince of the House of Saud. They plan to use the extra funding for R&D purposes by creating more prototypes and hiring more scientists.
3. Jackfruit hijacked: Karana
Karana plans to “re-image Asian cuisine.” Despite how bold the concept is, they might have a good shot. In 2021, they launched their pork alternative made from jackfruit. Those who are turned off by processed plant-based meat or “lab-grown” alternative proteins may be tempted by jackfruit because of its “already meaty texture.” In addition to being inherently pest- and drought-resistant and heat-tolerant, jackfruit is also quite simple to cultivate. As the consequences of the climate crisis and COVID-19 continue to reveal the vulnerability of the present food supply system, this derivative will grow in significance. Since “upwards of 60% of the world’s jackfruit production goes to waste,” there is a plethora of this wonder food available, and Karana is on a mission to bring it to a wider audience.
Karana closed its seed investment round with US$1.7 million in July 2020. Investors include Big Idea Ventures, the Temasek-backed fund devoted to plant-based food, and Germi8, a VC company that specialises in agri-food entrepreneurs. Karana will use the money to introduce its first line of plant-based meats and dim sum goods to the Singapore market, with the Char Siew Bao serving as the flagship item (a traditional barbecue pork bun in Chinese cuisine). According to Crichton, “Asian comfort food” is now their main emphasis. A part of the money will be utilised to boost its R&D capabilities by forming a regional food-tech team.
4. The Start of Something New: Growthwell
Ever since its founding in 1989, Growthwell has supplied the Southeast Asian market with “fake meat” made from wheat gluten, a staple ingredient in many dishes popular in Chinese Buddhist cuisine. Brothers Colin and Justin Chou succeeded their father, Chou Shih Hsin, as heads of the family firm. In the years following, the brothers established the successful vegetarian restaurant chain Greendot in 2011 and the online marketplace Glife Technologies in 2017.
Temasek, the Singaporean sovereign fund, invested US$8 million in the firm in April of 2020. With the goal of addressing Singapore’s food insecurity, Temasek has already funded alternative protein firms including Perfect Day Foods and Sophie’s Kitchen. Growthwell intends to put some of its newfound resources into other plant-based businesses. But what or who is the intended recipient? ChickP, an Israeli company, is creating a protein source from chickpeas. Growthwell plans to employ ChickP’s chickpea-protein isolate (which contains 90% of the protein) to create items for the Asia-Pacific market, such as prawn and squid meat substitutes. The majority of the money will go toward opening a new research and development centre in Singapore that will focus on moisture extrusion capabilities and a fully automated production line. This centre’s mission will be to increase Singapore’s food self-sufficiency as part of the city-strategy state’s to protect itself from external supply shocks brought on by the pandemic. In the near future, they also want to create other products like chickpea milk and ice cream.
Special Mention to GOOD Meat
In December of last year, Green Is The New Black was invited for the launch of the world’s first cultivated meat sold at a butchery. While it’s not from Singapore, Eat Just’s cultivated meat division, GOOD Meat, has partnered with Singapore’s Huber’s Butchery, a family-run business that produces and supplies meat products, to become the first butcher shop in the world to sell and serve cultivated meat.
But what exactly is cultivated meat? Well, instead of killing animals, animal cells are grown in a bioreactor to produce cultivated meat.
Officially available to the public just last month, Huber’s Butchery at Dempsey now offers cultivated chicken kebab, fried cultivated chicken skin salad, and cultivated chicken stew accessible to guests as part of set lunches. The $28 set lunch will be offered once weekly while supplies last.
Depending on the level of customer demand, Eat Just’s co-founder and CEO, Josh Tetrick, said the company is striving to make the cultivated chicken dishes a regular item on the menu. He also said that, again, depending on the demand, cultivated chicken skewers would be offered for takeout in the near future.
Remember the chicken shortage last year when Malaysia banned exports of 3.6 million chickens? GOOD Meat aims to help solve future potential hiccups such as that. This year, Eat Just announced plans to build a $61 million meat production plant in Singapore with the capacity to produce “tens of thousands of pounds” of lab-grown meat annually. Tetrick believes that the new facility, which has a bioreactor with a capacity of 6,000 litres, would enable the business to swiftly expand its output while simultaneously reducing expenses.
If you’re just around the corner, why not have a look at Huber’s and try out the lunch set? Trust us when we say that it’s not only good, but it’s surprisingly good.
FEATURED IMAGE: via Karana | IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A spread of Asian food laid on a table