Better Bite Ventures Founding and General Partners Simon Newstead and Michal Klar (R)
Singapore- and Hong Kong-based Better Bite Ventures has announced the launch of a US$15 million fund to support startups developing climate-friendly meat, dairy, egg and seafood alternatives in Asia.
Its anchor investors are leading impact investors, growth-stage fund managers, family offices, and food and tech entrepreneurs from Asia, the US and Europe.
Better Bite Ventures, which invests primarily at founding, pre-seed and seed stages, has already backed ten companies in the region. Fund I plans to back a total of 20-30 ventures.
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Better Bite Ventures was founded by General Partners Michal Klar and Simon Newstead, who have a combined 20 years of experience in the plant-based sector and a track record of investing and venture building in food and tech.
Klar was previously Head of Product and Customer Experience at Allegro (first tech unicorn in Poland, acquired by Naspers) and previously held a top role at Naspers. At the same time, Newstead is an entrepreneur-turned-impact investor who held senior positions at mobile game company Frenzoo and vegan confectionery company Bite Society.
According to Klar, while many alt-protein funds exist worldwide, most of them focus on Western startups. “Better Bite is the first to invest only in startups based in Asia Pacific. We believe the time has come for Asia to have its own dedicated fund for alt-protein, just like it has happened with VCs in other sectors,” Klar told e27.
The VC fund claims it follows a simple, fast, transparent decision process and founder-friendly terms. “Having been founders ourselves, we know how helpful having truly supportive investors can be. Being responsive with founder-friendly terms, a lack of red tape and a focus on long term sustainability, we aim to be a trusted partner right from the start,” said Newstead.
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According to Better Bite Ventures, the opportunity for impact and growth is significant. A Johns Hopkins University analysis shows that alternative protein products could save up to 93 per cent in greenhouse gas emissions, 89 per cent in water and 98 per cent in land use, compared to conventional animal proteins.
As per Boston Consulting Group, these new products could reach a size of over US$290 billion by 2035 (11 per cent of the overall protein market), with two-thirds of consumption coming from Asia Pacific. While these are still early days for alt protein in this part of the world, there are plenty of early proof points that consumers embrace the products. “For instance, our portfolio company in Indonesia has been able to partner with major brands like Starbucks, Domino’s, Pepper Lunch and IKEA, building plant-based meat products for them. One of the products at Starbucks became best selling food item in the first month,” Klar shared.
In addition, major chains are launching plant-based options across the region. For example, Burger King offers plant-based whoppers in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Japan, and Korea.
“Of course, there are challenges. One of the main barriers is affordability. These products still need to get much cheaper to attract mass-market consumers. They are on the right trajectory as they scale up, but it will take some time.” Klar further added that local startups have an obvious advantage over international products with extra costs related to import.
Speaking of the trends in the alt-food market, Klar commented that a wave of plant-based seafood startups is emerging in the region. Early days were defined by milk and meat replacements, but more and more startups are working on alt-seafood products these days. “And this is very important in Asia, the world’s largest seafood market. We have already invested in some alt-seafood startups and hoping to support many more.”
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Below are the short descriptions of the companies Better Bite Venture has invested in so far:
- Blue Canopy (China): develops mass-market alt protein ingredients using biomass fermentation.
- CellX (China): a cultivated meat startup
- Change Foods (Australia): reinvents cheese with precision fermentation technology
- Fable Food Co: transforms mushrooms into meat, co-founded by Michael Fox and Jim Fuller, headquartered in Australia
- Green Rebel Foods (Indonesia): plant-based meat and dairy startup
- Me& (Australia): addresses a large human milk and infant nutrition market with cell-based technology
- Meatiply ( Singapore): develops cultivated poultry
- Next Gen Foods (Singapore): owner of the plant-based chicken brand TiNDLE
- Umami Meats (Singapore): addresses sustainability issues of seafood by developing cell-cultured fish,
- An unnamed stealth molecular farming startup.
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