Kelp Blue founder Daniel Hooft discusses the ups and downs of farming giant kelp and his journey from the oil industry to aquaculture.
Plus: Malaysian farm-to-restaurant platform Secai Marche raises Series A funding.
In 2024 Asia-Pacific agrifoodtech startups have shown resilience against global market headwinds, securing $4.2 billion in funding and 31% of the global investment in the sector this year.
For a sector that deploys cutting edge tech in everything from logistics to pathogen control, the food industry is still stuck in the dark ages when it comes to finding co-manufacturers, says Keychain CEO Oisin Hanrahan.
“There was a feeling that supply chains seemed to work reasonably well until around 2010. And then things start getting really messy,” says supply chain consultant Matt Lekstutis.
The ROI for customers is “about reducing food waste, opening up new markets, and having food that is fresher and tastier,” says the Singapore-based startup.
Opinion is a key milestone on the way to making Impossible Foods’ flagship products available in the EU, pending final approval by the European Commission and EU Member States, says the firm.
The fact Plantible has secured long-term offtake agreements and is able to scale in a modular fashion –scaling out rather than scaling up with proven tech—has helped build trust with investors, says its CEO.
In addition to honey and ancient grains, the company has now launched a coffee product that’s being distributed in the US and Europe.
Plus: chatbots for cultivated meat are here.
“It’s not just about plant-based, it’s about coming up with elevated products in every category,” says CTO Dr. Karim Pichara.
Shiru is “building a comprehensive platform that will revolutionize ingredient discovery across multiple molecular classes,” claims founder and CEO Dr. Jasmin Hume.
Aspire has “signed a term sheet” and is “working to close our financing at the end of the month,” says CEO David Rosenberg. “Demand still remains strong, but we have to scale up and produce consistently.”
Nourish Ingredients, an Australian startup creating novel fats via fermentation, has struck a deal with Chinese biomanufacturing co CABIO Biotech in which CABIO will manufacture Nourish’s first product Tastilux at commercial scale.
Rich’s will also explore using Phytolon’s colors in several of its products pending regulatory approvals, says Phytolon, which genetically engineers yeast to express pigments found in beets and prickly pears.
A resounding win for Donald Trump in the US election is prompting enthusiasm in some quarters of the food industry and intense anxiety in others.
High-tech shrimp farming company Oceanloop reels in a fresh round of capital.
“Our new report provides proof that with the right technology there is a commercially viable path to market” for cultivated meat, claims SuperMeat CEO Ido Savir.
Beyond Meat returned to growth in the third quarter, posting a 7.6% year-over-year rise in net sales to $81 million driven by lower trade discounts and targeted price increases.
Brands and retailers submitted $200 million of manufacturing projects on Keychain in the last month alone, says cofounder Oisin Hanrahan.
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