The Good Food Institute APAC

GFI is bringin' out the heavy hitters for this year’s Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit to spotlight the enormous untapped potential of alternative proteins! 🎤 On Day 1, Mirte Gosker, our APAC managing director, will moderate a panel discussion titled "Precision Fermentation: Collaborative Models to Scale and Industrialise Microbial Food Production." This session will explore key opportunities in precision fermentation and biomanufacturing, such as leveraging CDMOs to optimise production, scale efficiently, and align industry efforts for CAPEX-friendly growth. 🦠 🎤 On Day 2, GFI founder Bruce Friedrich will speak about strategies to better leverage fermentation and cultivated meat technologies, agricultural shifts that could help achieve Asia’s net-zero and biodiversity goals, and how protein diversification in APAC is driving global innovation. 🎯   ➕ Over 60 agri-food business leaders will take the stage to share their perspectives on accelerating climate adaptation strategies for food security. Check out the full speaker line-up 👉 https://lnkd.in/ekPdsnQ ❗ Register today: https://bit.ly/45GFrzh to snatch a double-discounted ticket during the super early bird discount period (available until 29 August) and use our 10 percent off discount code: GFI10

🇸🇬 🇨🇳 Last week, a first-of-its-kind hybrid conference aimed at fostering collaborations between Singapore and China brought together dozens of experts from academia, industry, and government! The gathering explored advancements in the alternative protein ecosystem, with an emphasis on innovations in efficient manufacturing, novel food ingredients like yeast protein and cultivated fish fat, and the nutritional profiles of plant-based and cultivated meats. 🌱 🧫 🥩 The conference also focused on regulatory harmonisation, scaling up, and talent development programmes in both countries, showcasing a shared commitment to revolutionising the alternative protein landscape. This conference was jointly organised by GFI APAC, 谷孚咨询 GFIC, Singapore’s A*STAR - Agency for Science, Technology and Research, and the National University of Singapore Suzhou Research Institute in China. 🤝 Singapore Institute of Technology, Shengyong Ng, Shigeki Sugii, Ants Innovate, ImpacFat, Francisco M. Codoñer, PhD, Executive MBA, Hanry Yu, Sharon Tay, Enterprise Singapore, Colin Lim, Mathieu VAN GIEL, ScaleUp Bio, Wasna, Arin Naidu, Wasamon Nutakul, PhD, Yeshi Liang, Sirui Jiang, Aparna Venkatesh

🌏 🎉 EXCITING NEWS: We’re thrilled to welcome two new The Alt Protein Project (APP) groups into our community from APAC, at Seoul National University and Nanyang Polytechnic! 🇰🇷 🇸🇬 https://bit.ly/3M08FQl They’ll join five other active groups in our region, each working to accelerate the alternative protein space. ✨ Here’s a look at just a few of the amazing achievements of APPs in APAC over the past year: ▪️ Nanyang Technological University Singapore: Engaged chemical and biological engineering students to explore the impact of their skills on the alt protein industry. ▪️ National University of Singapore: Hosted industry information sessions featuring Singaporean alt protein companies Meatiply, Pawsible Foods, and GFI APAC. ▪️ Universiti Sains Malaysia: Organised a three-part webinar series, with 600+ attendees, to introduce the role of alt proteins in sustainability, discuss the state of alt proteins’ acceptance in Malaysia, and delve into the global state of the industry of alt proteins with speakers from the University of Cambridge, GFI APAC, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, ProVeg International, and Cell AgriTech. ▪️New South Wales University: Held two barbeque sessions featuring alt proteins, conducted an industry visit to Vow, and hosted multiple community-building trivia nights and introductory talks on alt proteins for students. ▪️ University of Melbourne: Hosted multiple student information sessions on the science behind alt proteins. We’re buzzing with excitement about what all of these groups will achieve in the upcoming year, and we’re especially eager to see Seoul National University and Nanyang Polytechnic bring their innovative ideas to life within the alt protein ecosystem. 🙌 APAC students are stepping up as leaders and driving change—get ready to see them take the alternative protein field to new heights! Join us in welcoming them: https://lnkd.in/gUQ-bYSc. Arin Naidu

🌱 The Plant to Plate Course—what an inspiring workshop to create sustainable solutions for a healthy and nutritious future! 🍽️ Bühler Group and Givaudan recently organised this fascinating course at Bühler and Givaudan’s state-of-the-art Protein Innovation Centre. The three-day workshop offered a deep dive into the future of the food industry and explored cutting-edge innovations in plant-based meats and alternative proteins. The workshop featured expert-led sessions, hands-on demonstrations, and a MasterChef Challenge. 🎤 GFI APAC Corporate Engagement Specialist Jennifer Morton delivered a guest lecture on why we need alternative proteins and how to achieve them without compromising on the taste, affordability, and accessibility of animal-based products. 📶 Morton spoke about global plant-based retail sales and highlighted gaps in taste and price, along with consumer insights on blended meat and the enthusiasm for plant-based meat if product improvements were made. 👍 Aparna Venkatesh

Join us for the third edition of GFI APAC’s “Science of Alt Protein: APAC Edition” seminar in 2024, featuring renowned physicist Keisuke Goda, a pioneer in what’s known as serendipity-enabling biotechnology, which involves creating innovative tools and methods that help researchers make unexpected, yet valuable discoveries in the biotech field. 💡 🦠 One of the biggest challenges in biology is understanding the vast diversity of cells and organisms, especially the complex relationship between their structure and function. Traditional analytical methods often struggle to capture these intricate details. In this seminar, Professor Goda will unveil a revolutionary AI-powered technology for high-throughput screening of single cells and animals, specifically designed to address these challenges. He will also explore its transformative applications in food, pharmaceutical, and medical sciences. 👉 Register for FREE today: https://lnkd.in/gtUVZkkJ The University of Tokyo

📢 🧑🔬 Calling scientists with expertise in food technologies, specifically for nutrition optimisation! GFI APAC is commissioning a consulting partner to conduct a research study that maps food technologies that can address key nutritional challenges in alternative protein products. More details are in the RFP below. 👉 Please submit intent to bid: https://lnkd.in/gdRYmim3 (deadline: 30 August 2024) Wasamon Nutakul, PhD The Good Food Institute

🌏 How will alternative proteins impact land use in APAC? 🌱 A recent GFI report highlights that alternative proteins require 50 to 90% less land than conventional animal proteins, offering significant opportunities for carbon sequestration and ecosystem restoration. 👉 https://bit.ly/4ckiqnd That potential is huge, especially for APAC, which is home to 19% of the world's forests and 32% of global wetlands. 🌿 Could this be a game-changer for China and Southeast Asia? Read our latest blog by GFI APAC Senior SciTech Specialist Dean Powell, Ph.D., on the study’s implications for APAC. 👉 https://lnkd.in/gsKDED7a

📢 NEXT WEEK: Our friends at The Good Food Institute India are organising a webinar on exporting smart protein ingredients and end-products. If you are an alternative protein company or distributor, join us to learn more about India’s strengths in low-cost manufacturing and the unique opportunities the country offers to global partners. 🌏 📅 19 August, 8pm SGT 👉 https://bit.ly/3AbiMiS

🚀 Scaling up and partnerships in the alt protein industry: Expert insights you can't miss! In today's competitive landscape, the ability to scale up effectively is crucial for long-term success. Our latest blog delves into the experiences of industry leaders, offering invaluable advice on navigating this complex journey. 👀 Here's a sneak peek: 🔍 Early planning is key: Consider hardware requirements and vendor sourcing from the get-go to avoid delays later. Mihir Pershad, CEO of Umami Bioworks, highlights the opportunity of using machine learning to develop scalable processes early on. 🏗️ Infrastructure challenges: Validate your technology before committing to significant infrastructure investments. Gautam Godhwani of Good Startup advises preserving flexibility, even if it means higher short-term costs. 🤝 Smart partnerships: Don't rush into building your manufacturing facilities. Sonalie Figueiras from Green Queen Media suggests leveraging contract manufacturing to test products and markets without the heavy investment. 🌍 Diversify supply chains: Spread your resources across multiple partners to mitigate risks, as advised by Jolene L., formerly of Nurasa. Always have a contingency plan! 💡 Experienced team: Ensure you have someone with scale-up experience on your team or collaborate with a scale-up expert to avoid costly mistakes. 🤝 Choose the right partners: Andrew D Ive from Big Idea Ventures stresses the importance of selecting the right scale-up partners. Conduct thorough due diligence and build an advisory board to guide your decisions. 🕵️ Due diligence: When seeking partnerships, understand the capabilities and goals of potential partners. Protect your IP with the help of legal experts to facilitate open and constructive conversations. 🔑 Build trust: Open communication and trust are essential for successful partnerships. Continuous effort and alignment of expectations will drive innovation and progress. Dive deeper into these insights and more in our full article: https://lnkd.in/gKfgRbvx Aparna Venkatesh Bühler Group Divya Gandhi

🇸🇬 Singapore-based cultivated meat startup Ants Innovate held a private tasting to inaugurate Cell Essence®, their first-in-class functional ingredient for the production of hybrid meats that combine plant-based and cultivated ingredients! 🙌 🐜 Ants Innovate is developing a pipeline of functional ingredients for hybrid meat production to satisfy consumer demand for tasty, well-textured, yet affordable alternative meat products. In addition to Cell Essence®, which replicates the meaty flavour of conventional animal protein, these also include a scalable micro-imprinting and stacking technology for sustainably producing meat cut alternatives. 🥩 🍽️ The versatility of their porcine Cell Essence® was highlighted in the form of several cell-enhanced alternative meat dishes such as meatballs, Shanghai-style soup dumplings (xiao long bao), and meat cut skewers (featuring another functional ingredient - Scalable Micro-Imprinted Lapis Expansion or SMILE lean meat cuts), which our very own Mirte Gosker had the pleasure of tasting.  To be the first to receive breaking news updates like this, subscribe to GFI APAC’s e-newsletter: https://lnkd.in/epXJcaAQ Shengyong Ng Hanry Yu Singapore Food Agency A*STAR - Agency for Science, Technology and Research