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This photograph on April 21, 2021 shows personnel members who prepare plant -based food samples during the laboratory of innovation laboratory based on ADM plants in Singapore. -From the imitation SATAY until the imitation of beef, a high -tech laboratory in Singapore is replicating popular Asian dishes with plant -based meat alternatives to feed the growing appetite of the region for sustainable foods. (Photo by Roslan Rahman / AFP) (Photo by Roslan Rahman / AFP through Getty Images)
Roslan Rahman | AFP | Getty images
After an increase in popularity during the era of pandemic, exaggeration and financing, for new companies, meat alternatives have decreased. But some Singapore food technology companies expect innovations in cell culture and microbial fermentation to be about to change things.
Factory-made proteins with animals, fungi or plants in trend during the 19 years COVID-19 as a new way of eating sustainably. Meat and dairy currently represent Around seventh of world greenhouse gases productionUnited Nations estimates.
Singapore, which imports most of its products due to land scarcity, was great in the sector with generous funds for research and marketing, since it seemed to increase food security.
“There are very few places in the world … With such a fusion of cultures, for real market tests with a variety of consumers of different origins,” said Mihir Pershad, executive director of Umami Biows, a local startup for cultivated seafood. Unlike plant -based protein, cultivated products have an animal cell laboratory.
The firm, founded in 2020, has expanded its operations, launching ramifications in the United States and Japan. He entered the United Kingdom last year and announced a new caviar product using sturgeon cells and plant ingredients in January.
However, Singapore consumers are likely to try a Umami Biows dish, since the company seeks regulatory approval in Singapore. Umami Biows is looking to sell a cultivated agi, freshwater eagerness commonly grill, this year, waiting for such regulatory controls and “if everything goes well,” said Pershad.
Singapore was the first country to allow the sale of laboratory cultivated meat products in 2020, with Israel and the United States after later. The United Kingdom has approved these products for use in pet food.
Alternative protein research in Singapore has also expanded. A center funded by Jeff Bezos opened at the National University of Singapore in September, and last year, state investor TeMek, through the Nurase subsidiary, presented new laboratory cooking and test facilities to support new companies.
An abused ecosystem
However, recent progress cannot mask the problems weighing in the alternative protein industry. Despite the fanfare, sales have delayed expectations due to high prices and few repeated buyers.
The sector raised $ 1.1 billion worldwide in 2024, below the $ 1.5 billion of 2023, according to the Good Food Institute Industrial Group.
The plans of the American firm Eat Just for a meat plant cultivated in Singapore are waiting, with the firm’s plans for an egg factory based on separate plants. canned. Meanwhile, an exclusive conceptual store of the retailer based on Hong Kong plants, Green Monday, closed in 2023. Few new players have arisen since then, while some new existing companies reduce or merge with others.
The challenges have stimulated the search for the soul within the industry. For Anli Geng, Co -founder of Singapore Venture Mycosortia, reducing production costs is key.
Mycosortia uses microbial fermentation to transform the Okara, a byproduct when doing tofu, a protein and fiber rich dust. The company also aims to develop a solid fermentation process that avoids the need for advanced and expensive bioreactors.
“Although Okara research is a very busy area, there are always innovation opportunities,” said Geng, adding that the industry is now looking to share facilities to further reduce costs.
The firm, based in Singapore Polytechnic, has used its FIBPROT product to make fish analogues, mayonnaise and cheese. Geng also reported high interest from food companies in his last attempt to create a powdered cocoa substitute.
In other places, alternative protein companies that seek advances in the market have been diversifying their offers to include pharmaceutical products, dyes and pet foods that can be done with the same ingredients.
Some believe in a return to foods based on simpler plants. The relative rookie to the Jungle Kitchen scene, released in Singapore in 2023, uses the Jackfruit of Sri Lanka as a substitute for minced vegan meat, while the seeds enter a Masala stew. Another product of the jungle kitchen using Indonesian Tempeh, traditional fermented soy cakes will be available soon.
“We have seen much more commitment from customers looking for minimally processed and clean label to the substitute for conventional meat,” said Soutoekha Yadav co-founder, and added that the company was launched “almost as an intentional response” to the boom- Experience In search of the alternative protein industry. The jungle kitchen products are available in Singapore, the United States and Saudi Arabia.
“In terms of alternative proteins, we believe that the future should resemble the past a lot,” Yadav added.
Recovery in view?
The latest fundraising figures offer some hope. Risk capitalist Agfunder reported that Asia-Pacific investments for innovative foods, including plant proteins and cultivated meat, increased 85% to $ 204 million in 2024.
But raising cash is still a challenge for some, with anxious investors for new companies that court enough customers to obtain healthy yields, Pershad said. He added that Singapore is doing well as a testbet, but is left behind as a final market with less than six million residents.
He believes that working with larger food companies can boost market access, but regulations for cultivated meat have another obstacle.
“There has been hope that you have three, four or five countries with frames and approvals for now, but we still don’t,” said Pershad.
Both governments and private investors must greatly intensify financing to help the alternative protein scale, according to Mirte Gosker, managing director of the Good Food Institute Asia Pacific.
“Unlike renewable energies and other climatic technologies, alternative proteins are not yet benefiting the type of massive government investments and green financing schemes that have allowed new clean energy companies to close the death valley and migrate from The laboratory bank for the manufacture of the industrial scale. “
Singapore’s success in space will continue depending on his role as a partner of innovation and pairing, Gosker said, and pointed out that nearby countries have referred to the work of the city state about regulations for their own efforts.
A standardized regional rules book, he said, will help new companies to launch products in multiple markets at the same time, a feat that few have been able to achieve.
