Alt Protein Watch: Meatable, Kaiko, Everiday Foods and more feature in our round-up

‘Alt product, not alt protein’: Meatable eyes global stage beyond Betagro investmentCultivated meat firm Meatable has its eye on the international market by partnering with conventional protein producers, and has been boosted by recent investment from Thai giant Betagro.

The Dutch firm has highlighted a markedly different growth strategy compared to many cultivated meat firms in the market, shying away from building its own infrastructure or plants and instead looking to integrate itself into the existing supply chains of traditional meat companies.

“We have to understand that these companies are already comfortable with meat, and what they need to accept cultivated meat is the assurance that we are not out to change what they are doing but instead offering a different source of meat for them whilst still letting them maintain control over the process,” Meatable CEO Jeff Tripician told FoodNavigator-Asia.

Silkworm protein: Post-exercise ‘consumption moments’ can normalise insect-based foods, says KaikoKaiko, a Japanese silkworm protein brand, believes that linking the functional benefits of insect-based foods to familiar consumption moments can drive consumer acceptance and normalisation.

The firm produces protein powder from silkworms, which are naturally low in fat, rich in protein, and contain all essential amino acids – nutrients the human body cannot produce on its own.

“People tend to question why they should consume insects, which is completely understandable.

“Silkworms, due to their unique mulberry leaf diet and long history of domestication, provide exceptional nutritional value. When ground into powder, they resemble matcha in both taste and appearance, making them an easy addition to modern functional foods,” said Yoko Muroi, marketing and PR manager at Morus Inc, the company that created the Kaiko brand.

Real food only: Education and price the main hurdles for niche products that are wholesome – vegan start-up Everiday FoodsSingapore-based Everiday Foods has identified a gap in the market for clean eating, but the vegan start-up sees educating consumers and justifying the higher prices of wholesome foods as its main challenges.

When asked about the recent Australian study that questioned the nutritional value of plant-based products, Everiday Foods founder Riyana Rupani clarified that her brand does not market itself as a plant-based start-up even though it is vegan.

“We decided to produce plant-based foods because we want to be all inclusive. Whatever your health conditions or preference, whether you are vegetarian, gluten or lactose intolerant, we want everybody to be able to enjoy our foods,” said Rupani, who pointed out that there are no additives, excess sodium or high amounts of unhealthy fats in Everiday’s products.

As for the plant-based products surveyed in the Australian study, she refers to those that try to emulate meat as ‘frankenfoods’, products that were put together in a factory and are not made of natural ingredients.

Go big for bugs: APAC insect protein sector needs substantial big brand and retailer support to move past longstanding ‘nascent’ The Asia Pacific insect protein industry will need a substantial amount of both big brand and retailer support alongside regulatory developments in order to move past its longstanding ‘nascent’ status towards more mainstream progress.stage

Insect protein has been recognised as a food source from a traditional point of view for centuries, and even by modern standards the use of this as an alternative protein source to make more modern product interpretations such as snacks and pastas has been in the works for at least around a decade.

However, many years on the sector remains firmly in the ‘nascent’ stage, in obvious contrast to other alternative protein sectors such as plant-based and precision fermentation which have grown leaps and bounds in terms of commercialisation in the past decade -FoodNavigator-Asia takes a closer look at the challenges and hurdles standing in the way of faster prowess for this industry.

India’s protein boom: 90% funds poured in last two years, says Rainmatter – WATCHIndia’s protein sector, be it protein supplements or protein-rich functional foods, is booming, says venture capital fund Rainmatter.

Dilip Kumar, Investor in Health at Rainmatter, told NutraIngredients-Asia that about 90 per cent of the firm’s investments in protein firms took place only in the last two years.

Rainmatter is an initiative by Zerodha – an online platform for investing in stocks, derivatives, mutual funds, exchange-traded fund (ETF) and bonds etc.

Aside from companies producing protein supplements and functional foods, Rainmatter also invests in businesses that operate in the health, fintech, and climate sectors.

To date, it has invested in 12 Indian companies that have a protein element to it – be it producing protein supplements or protein shakes, energy bars, or even protein chocolates.