Like real: (Clockwise from top left) Synthesis’ Sea-Viche and Eggless Chicken & Chickenless Egg, Fura’s unique ant ice cream and Solar Foods’ Solein Pasta with Singapore Pesto. — The Straits Times/ANN
Huge, hulking, grown-up sums of money have been injected to drive innovation in the plant- and cell-based protein sector, yet it remains very much in its infancy.
To date, about S$317mil (RM1.08bil) has been pumped into the industry.
There are now about 60 alternative protein start-ups in Singapore offering a range of plant-based to cultivated meat products, says Sharon Tay, Enterprise Singapore’s director of food manufacturing and agritech.
Over the past four years, the number of start-ups in the plant-based space has grown from fewer than five to more than 40.
According to Singapore-based think-tank Good Food Institute (GFI) Asia Pacific, investments in alternative proteins in the Republic multiplied exponentially to US$169.8mil (RM772.6mil) in 2022, from just US$5.9mil in 2019.
On a global scale, the GFI’s investor survey results in December 2022 show that while interest in plant-based options is declining, there is new interest in cultivated meat and precision fermentation products.
Precision fermentation technology – similar to brewing beer – is used to produce animal-free dairy products. It is touted as a cheaper method to derive a product that is molecularly identical to the animal-based option.
But with rising costs, subdued demand and delays in existing products entering production or achieving scalability, industry players here remain cautious over what the future holds, despite growing awareness of sustainable eating and interest in the sector.
Has plant-based protein peaked?
Vishal Vijay, 35, director of strategic investments for agri-commodity company Agrocorp International, notes that in changing eating habits one plate at a time, consumer education has been a “slow-burn process”.
He describes it as “short-term pain, long-term adoption”, especially when consumers are more health-conscious and looking for products that have “clean labels”. This refers to food that has been minimally processed with fewer than 10 ingredients on the label, he says – something that manufacturers need to look at.
“Products should not look like a chemistry experiment. You cannot offer taste and sustainability, but compromise on health, wellness and affordability.”
Agrocorp’s tofu-like HerbYvore Plant Protein block, priced at S$5.89, (RM20.17) is made with six ingredients including pea protein.
The HerbYvore label is also launching a range of plant-based cheese soon.
Also making mincing progress with her plant-based products is Vinita Choolani, chief executive and founder of home-grown food-tech start-up Float Foods. Her OnlyEg range of legume-based egg products added a Poached Eg at the Food&HotelAsia event in April.
The egg, complete with runny yolk when sliced, was available at Little Farms cafes for a limited period in May.
More time, she says, is required to educate consumers on the benefits of cracking an alternative egg. She has plans to launch it in other cafes, as well as for retail, in the coming months.
Choolani, who is in her 50s, produces plant-based alternative protein yolks at her OnlyEg Yolk pilot plant, which opened in April in Tampines. She is looking to partner companies that can use the “yolk” as an ingredient in cakes, cookies or sauces that traditionally use chicken egg yolks.
To boost support for the sector, she has this bold suggestion: That 30% of all government tenders for food be diverted towards alternative proteins.
“We could have nasi lemak with plant-based chicken and egg, and with the same amount of proteins. This way, we show the world our conviction in the new food system, which will pave the way for mainstream adoption,” she urges.
Notwithstanding the steady stream of plant-based products entering the market in new shapes and forms, chef Eric Low, 50, principal consultant of Lush Epicurean culinary consultancy, believes the sector has peaked.
He says: “Consumers in Singapore have got over the novelty and curiosity of plant-based alternative proteins, and are now looking for the next development that will keep the sector sustainable.
“So far, it has been an ‘Okay, this is what it is’ reaction, versus a ‘Wow, I am going to get this for my everyday meals’ response.”
From his experience working with companies for the research and development of plant-based products, he highlights the common problem areas: the high cost involved, as well as the need for more variety in taste and texture.
Plant-based products usually cost up to 30% more and tend to come in the form of nuggets, mince or patties, which limits what chefs can do with them.
John Cheng, 41, chief executive of food accelerator Innovate 360, is more optimistic. The company provides a platform for agri-food start-ups to scale up and grow in Asia.
He has a bunch of plant- and cell-based start-ups – both local and foreign – that he is rolling out in 2023.
Singapore-based ones include Grasshopper, which makes ready-to-eat plant-based shawarma, and Another, which produces cell-cultured coffee, a bean-free coffee made in a laboratory.
Brands from South Korea include Pensees, churning out cell-cultured beef, and Wemeet, which makes plant-based Korean fried chicken meat from mushrooms.
It is early days yet for the sector, which brims with untapped potential, he says.
“There is still a lot of work that needs to be done, in terms of taste and nutrition, the format of the plant-based meats, and flavours suitable for the Asian palate.”
Enter cell-based protein
Cheng notes that the nascent sector could receive a boost from the recent approval of cell-cultured meat produced by Californian food companies Good Meat and Upside Foods in the United States – the first time American regulators green-lit the sale of lab-grown chicken.
This move could have a positive impact on Asia and spur more start-ups to produce slaughter-free meat here.
Cheng says companies manufacturing alternative protein fats are also on the rise. This refers to the practice of incorporating cell-based fats into plant-based meat products, which is said to enhance flavour and texture, and help bridge the gap between lab and conventional meat.
Later in 2023, Singapore start-up Love Handle and Dutch cultivated-meat company Meatable will launch a hybrid meat innovation centre here, to create hybrid combinations of plant-based proteins and cultured-meat products that taste more like animal-based meat and are lower in cost than pure cultivated meat.
It is expected that more cell-cultured products will hit shelves here soon, as local cell-based meat manufacturer Esco Aster will set up an 80,000sq ft plant in Changi by 2025. Esco Aster is now supplying small batches of cultivated chicken cells to Good Meat for the production of its chicken nuggets, fillets and satay skewers.
Once operational, its ambitious goal is to produce at least 400 to 500 tonnes of cell-cultured meat annually.
Good Meat, the first to receive regulatory approval in 2020 from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) for its lab-grown chicken, also has an upcoming 30,000sq ft facility in Bedok Food City that will house a 6,000-litre bioreactor, which will produce tens of thousands of kilograms of lab-grown chicken annually.
But despite these anticipated openings, bold statements and hefty investment infusion in the sector, chef Low points out that there has yet to be a breakthrough in terms of supply volume or affordability.
While the US has started to grant regulatory approval for these products, other countries are slower in jumping onto the cell-cultured bandwagon.
He adds: “Many have yet to secure funding or gain knowledge to start trials. They are also watching how Singapore and the US are doing it, as well as their investment cost and benefits in return.”
Insects and jellyfish
Amid the caution for the many unknowns ahead, the most novel alternative proteins in the market now are something familiar to people – pests.
In April, 16 species of insects, such as crickets and silkworms, were approved by the SFA for human consumption.
Pouring the way forward is eco-conscious bar Fura, which opens in mid-August in Amoy Street.
After watching Netflix documentary Seaspiracy (2021), Fura’s co-founders – Danish-American chef Christina Rasmussen, 28, and Singaporean Sasha Wijidessa, 27 – had a two-hour discussion about the way forward for the food industry.
Wijidessa – who trained as a bartender, then worked with Danish distillery Empirical in Copenhagen before returning to Singapore – says: “Food tech sounds buzzy and trendy, but a lot of the technology to farm more food creates immediate solutions that cause long-term harm.”
At Fura, their menu creation is all about ensuring new ways to eat that will not break the balance of the ecosystem.
Eating pests that are in abundance, such as jellyfish or crickets, could help to restore some balance. If so, they could then move on to using other ingredients.
“It shows that we are adaptable and that no one has to feel like he or she made a sacrifice or was inconvenienced,” she adds. — The Straits Times/ANN
