The alternative protein industry, which includes cell-based and plant-based companies, has been mushrooming over the last few years spurring a movement to change the way we eat. The products may be different but their collective goal is to repair our broken food systems and achieve a more sustainable future by reducing global meat consumption and replacing them with other protein-rich solutions.
Food security is a precarious issue, especially in Singapore, where arable land is scarce and produce is generally imported. However, the Singaporean government is strategically focusing on producing 30 per cent of the population’s nutritional needs by 2030 through an innovative route. With scores of industry experts, like-minded investors, and an open-minded dining scene, Singapore offers a promising ecosystem for the following food tech companies to thrive and launch their global crusade to change how food is made, distributed and consumed locally.
A meat alternative for Asia
Karana is the
Singapore food start-up positioning itself as Asia s first whole-plant-based meat brand. Its flagship product a pulled pork substitute is made entirely from jackfruit, oil and salt, without processed ingredients or preservatives.
Started in 2018 as demand for meat alternatives was growing, Riegler said he saw a gap in the market for meat substitutes designed specifically for Asian cuisines. We saw a huge need to identify products that had more local applications for APAC, said Riegler, now 35, who built a career working in agricultural supply chains across Southeast Asia. Pork is the number one meat that s consumed in this region and that s where we didn t see a lot of products really addressing a need.
February 05, 2021
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Always on the hunt for new dining spots? We bring you sound bites on where to eat, including new restaurant and eatery openings, the best places for your after-work tipple, and what’s new in the food scene.
What’s new right now? Indulge in a free-flow of delicious cocktails, wines and nibbles at Atlas, go plant-based with Baker & Cook’s new menu, or check out Friends Bak Kut Teh’s renditions of both herbal and peppery bak kut teh.
1. Baker & Cook Dempsey has a plant-based menu
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Baker & Cook has unveiled a new plant-based menu that’s available exclusively at its Dempsey restaurant.
December 28, 2020
A selection of foods made using jackfruit-based pork alternatives from Singapore-based Karana, Asia’s first whole-plant meat company.
Karana
Blair Crichton was four years old when his parents helped him understand the connection between the meat on his plate and the animals it was derived from. Horrified, he put down his fork and refused to eat meat.
That was 31 years ago, and today the Hong Kong-born banker turned entrepreneur is co-founder of Asia’s first whole-plant meat company, Karana.
From junior school at Kellett School, he went to boarding school in Australia, where it was more challenging to not eat meat. He resumed his vegetarian diet at Durham University in the UK where he did an undergraduate degree in politics, philosophy and economics and wrote a paper on the moral value of animals.