Summit Asia 2023 brought together key players in the alternative protein and plant-based food space from the APAC region and world-wide. The two-day program was filled with presentations and panel discussions across two tracks, focusing Consumer & Industry Challenges and Sustainable Processing & Delicious Food Innovations. The audience took the discussions to the next level, with thoughtful questions and engagement following each presentation, enriching the exchange of information for everyone.

Here are some key takeaways and open questions from Summit Asia:

Food is deeply rooted in culture, traditions, and norms. These differ per country, and Asian countries have different cuisines and expectations compared to European or American diets.

The alternative protein sector needs a different offering in the APAC region. Meat is not the center of the plate in Asian cuisines and is just a part of the total dish, so alternative protein innovations need to work doubly hard to bring these products to consumers. Similarly, the market needs to adapt to the taste preferences, meaning less burgers and nuggets and more Asian plant-based dishes, like beef(less) rendang. 

There is a lot of promise and opportunity in the plant-based market, and we have come along way, but there is still room for improvement. For example, taste and texture is good, but there’s another step to make it amazing.

Plant-based dairy is underserved at the moment, specifically ice cream and cheeses, leaving the opportunity for growth and development. Asian consumers are looking for low cost and high nutrition, which they currently get from traditional dairy products. Understanding their motivations and behaviours better will help the sector improve. For example, APAC consumers are looking for rich and creamy plant-based milks with indulgent flavours.

Consumer adoption is very important to drive demand. There are people who have had a bad experience with an alternative product several years ago, and as a result they still dismiss the sector altogether. Therefore, an average product will not do – it needs to be amazing and deliver on taste, texture, and price.

Retail and food service each play an important and distinct role in bringing new alternative protein products to consumers. Food brands may choose to only sell their well-seasoned, finished products in supermarkets making it easier for consumers to be introduced to them in a delicious way. Alternatively, chefs can be provided with the natural, raw product allowing them the creativity to season and serve in a way that suits their restaurant and customers. Both methods aim to ensure consumers get the best tasting version of a product, with the hope they return for more.

Upcycling byproducts from the food system is a growing focus, such as canola proteins, resulting in low environmental footprint and high functionality. Other side streams such as okra, palm kernel meal, sugar cane, and palm fruit are currently being investigated to be transformed into high-value food ingredients.

Cultivated meat is now on the menu in Singapore, but the regulatory frameworks for the approval process vary greatly from country to country. Harmonisation is needed, otherwise the world rollout will be very slow.

Hybrid products made of plant proteins and proteins obtained from precision fermentation are the next step in the protein transition. Technologies like machine learning can be leveraged to decrease development times (and cost), reducing the time spent in the lab by 50-60%. Still, approximately $9 billion more investments are needed per year to ensure the competitiveness of fermentation approaches in protein production.

The industry needs to continue working together to tackle the challenges and additional hurdles we face, including legislation, subsidies, margin requirements, etc. We acknowledge the playing field is unfair, but we need to lean into this and overcome the barriers together.

Open questions:

• Sustainability: although not as much of a priority in many APAC markets relative to Europe and the USA, it is of growing importance. The plant-based industry is often associated with sustainability, but how do we make sure we are and what are the comparisons or benchmarks to cross reference?
• Is “alternative proteins” the right terminology to use, or is there something better? We heard that “cultivated” works well, as it evokes the connection with plants, growing, nature, and farmland. Or “complementary proteins”, as it considers them as equals and encompasses plants, microbes in fermentation, and cultivated technologies.
• Has the sector found the right balance between innovative products made with new technologies and foods focused on wholesome, natural ingredients that resemble something that is homemade? Similarly, are we addressing the root cause of the current issues in our food system – such as scarcity of resources, soil degradation, monocropping, greenhouse gas emissions, food waste, and accessibility & affordability – or are we focusing on band aid solutions that are better, but won’t really fix the problem? Our time at Open Farm Community highlighted a small-scale and local effort to support and sustain Singapore’s food system.

View the full Summit Asia photo gallery here. 

Looking to next year and beyond, we expect to see more development in plant-based eggs, alternative seafood, and cultivated meat, as well as continue to address the open questions that arose during Summit Asia. Stay connected with the Bridge2Food community to learn more and join us for an upcoming event in 2024. See you then! 

A special thank you to Arjan Jongkees and Dr. Lutz Grossmann for chairing tracks 1 & 2 during the Summit, and contributing additional takeaways for this summary piece.