I recently asked some market insiders about key trends in APAC alt protein. Here is what they said.
Key milestones in 2021
What are the key milestones and breakthroughs of the last year?
“Regional startups prioritized product localization as a key part of their strategy. As an example, Green Rebel Foods* created plant-based versions of familiar Indonesian dishes such as beef rendang, which opened doors to major QSR restaurants in their home market.” - said
Mirte Gosker, Acting Managing Director of
The Good Food Institute APAC, Asia’s leading alt protein think tank.
Viola Chen from Shanghai-based alt protein consultancy
GFIC focused on the fact that “international and local startups, e.g. Beyond Meat, Green Monday, and Starfield, started building their own manufacturing facilities in China” - with some already up and running.
Viola also mentioned progress on the cell-ag side of the industry in China: with Joes Future Food and CellX*, the two most well-known Chinese cultivated meat startups, raising capital from mainstream investors like Matrix China and ZhenFund - as well as “a handful of Chinese fermentation-powered startups coming on the radar, such as Blue Canopy* and Geb Impact.”
Last but not least: “China included cultivated meat in its five-year national agricultural plan for the first time ever.” (
more)
Back in Singapore, Mirte highlighted Asia’s first alt proteins university module launched at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. It has since been replicated at the graduate level by the National University of Singapore, often ranked Asia’s top university.
Down under,
Thomas King, founder and CEO of alt protein think tank
Food Frontier talks about “significant investment begin to open up the local plant protein ingredient supply chain, demonstrated by Bunge’s $45M investment in Australian Plant Proteins. He also mentioned "a catalysing partnership form between Australian start-ups (Nourish Ingredients and Vow)”.
For
Bianca Lê from non-profit
Cellular Agriculture Australia, it has been the first large Australian government investment in a cell ag company. “On behalf of the Australian Government, the Clean Energy Innovation Fund invested $5 million AUD in All G Foods, a Sydney-based startup producing plant-based meat and dairy products via precision fermentation.”
Back to Mirte: “It was great to see how the benefits of scaling up manufacturing infrastructure were felt by both producers and consumers. For example, OmniFoods managed to cut the price of OmniPork by an astonishing 22 percent in 2021, bringing it into parity with conventional pork in Hong Kong.”
Disappointments and disillusionment
It’s not all rainbows and unicorns though and many challenges remain.
“It’s frustrating that 2021 came and went without any other nations joining Singapore in granting regulatory approval for commercial sale of a cultivated meat product”, said Mirte.
Bianca is glad to see “the conversation [on cellular agriculture] evolving from blind optimism to evidence-based optimism”. She says that “there is a lot of nuance in the discussion around feasibility, scaling and cost”.
Mirte pointed out something similar: “One risk we need to be watchful for in 2022 is entering the
trough of disillusionment in the media coverage of alternative proteins.”
She continued: “Expectations for plant-based and cultivated meat have been sky-high for years now - and yet, for most mainstream consumers, the current offerings still fall shy of the mark as a viable substitute for conventional meat.”
“APAC alternative protein industry started getting more strategic about resolving bottlenecks and challenges, even as heaps of work remain.” - said Mirte.
Hopes and predictions for 2022
Seems like everyone is bullish on fermentation as well as hybrids.
Bianca: “I suspect the precision fermentation companies will be incorporating their animal-free fats and proteins into existing plant-based foods and beverages - and these will be the first cell ag products to hit the market”.
Viola concurs: “We would like to see more Chinese startups tapping the enormous potential of fermentation-enabled technologies.”
Thomas pointed out that “existing wine/beer production equipment can be used in precision fermentation, and we may see more of these businesses thinking about how to make use of this off-season capacity in a new way”.
He also believes that as consumers are “gradually returning to pre-Covid patterns of dining out, foodservice outlets will continue leveraging the momentum of growing consumer interest in meat alternatives.”, pointing to recent moves of Australian chains like Grill’d and Betty’s Burgers.
For China, Viola would like to see “a product that truly resonates with local Chinese consumers, satisfies their expectations on taste and appeal, and fits into local consumption practices”, which would help plant-based offerings “to reach beyond the niche target group”.
Viola also believes that the sector “will secure more capital from highly influential investors looking for solutions to address climate change”.
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