- AN POLY from South Korea won the US$ 100,000 Future Food Asia Award.
- The PlantEat Inc. from South Korea was awarded the Cargill Food For Good Award.
- Yali Bio from USA/China was awarded the Thai Wah Prize for a Circular Bio-Economy.
Singapore, June 9, 2022
For immediate release
The Future Food Asia (FFA) conference was hosted at Park Royal on Beach Road, Singapore on 7th and 8th of June. In attendance were executives from leading corporations, emerging entrepreneurs, key investors, sector experts and many other agrifood industry stakeholders.
Placed this year under the theme of “Grounds for Optimism”, the entire agenda evidenced the power of science and technology to build more resilient food systems and highlighted the transformative role Asia has and will have to play.
The awards competition saw a record participation of more than 156 start-ups from all over APAC. 14 start-ups in total pitched their innovations to a live audience in the conference room and to a larger audience that had tuned in from all across the globe.
Cargill Food For Good Award awarded to The PlantEat Inc. (South Korea)
As the world prepares itself for a growing population, the food industry is looking for innovative solutions to provide people with more options which are both affordable and delicious. The booming demand for plant-based/ alternative proteins, immunity-boosting products, natural and organic ingredients are just some examples of this ever-growing conscious consumption.
As a company with the vision to nourish the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way, Cargill is proud to present the “Cargill Food for Good Award” to South Korea based The PlantEat inc.
The PlantEat Inc. is developing plant-based chicken and milk products using a proprietary data-driven plant-based food development system, called P.A.M.S. The P.A.M.S can find matching ingredients for alternative foods and this in-silico system is 10,000 times more efficient in generating formulations than in-situ.
Representing Cargill’s jury panel for the award, Francesca Kleemans, Managing Director of Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate Asia-Pacific explained, “The PlantEat Inc. stood out from among the outstanding pool of entries we received with its innovative data-driven plant-based food development system that is able to formulate alternative foods recipes faster and more accurately. By marrying this breakthrough platform with Cargill’s global supply chain access, we see tremendous potential in being able to make great-tasting, plant-based foods available at a global scale and at an affordable cost. Specifically, we will be looking to partner and create proof-of-concept applications for Asian markets and with Cargill food ingredients, bring successful recipes to industrial scale manufacturing, and explore the development of hybrid plant-based food solutions. Congratulations once again to The PlantEat Inc on their well-deserving win – we are excited about the possibilities of our partnership to do greater good for people, product and planet.”
Thai Wah Circular Bio-Economy Prize awarded to Yali Bio (USA)
Guided by their mission to accelerate transformation of the global agri food system through new innovative platforms in biomass processing and new bio-economy products, Thai Wah has decided to award Yali Bio the Thai Wah Prize for a Circular Bio-Economy.
Yali Bio incorporated in USA is a climate smart food company, building a synthetic biology platform to tailor-make new food compositions from renewable feedstocks. The company is revolutionising the food system to produce plant-alternative fats that are good for both People and Planet, leveraging their strong expertise in engineering biology for a range of different applications in sustainable foods.
Yali Bio will receive full support from Thai Wah for their application development, pilot trial development and access to strategic partnerships in Asia-Pacific. They will also have access to Thai Wah’s global strategy, innovation and R&D teams as Thai Wah now operates in 5 countries with over 15 operations including Shanghai, Ho Chi Minh, Bangkok and Jakarta.
“We are excited and honored to award this year’s prize to Yali Bio and be part of their journey to be a world-class technology company. Yulin and his team have built a strong foundation in technology development, engineering expertise, and R&D talent with a clear value proposition to develop compelling and innovative food solutions. We look forward to partnering them across various areas of strategy, technology and geographical development given Thai Wah’s deep footprint as a leading SEA Agri-Food company, and true to our core vision to develop innovation and sustainability from Farm to Shelf”, said Ren Hua Ho, CEO of Thai Wah.
AN POLY (South Korea) rewarded with the Future Food Asia Award
Selection of the winner for the Future Food Asia Award was carried out by the jury represented by Dr. Ralph Graichen, Senior Director of Human Potential, Food and Consumer Cluster at Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR); Dr. Yuchu Zhang, Group R&D Leader, Cargill Protein Asia & Europe; Francesca Kleemans, Managing Director, Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate Asia-Pacific; and Isabelle Decitre, Founder and CEO of ID Capital.
With a focus on disruptive solutions to overcome the hurdles on the path to a more sustainable food future in Asia Pacific, the jury named AN POLY as the winner of the 2022 Future Food Asia Award.
ANPOLY transforms biomass waste into high-value and high-quality advanced material, Cellulose Nano Fiber (CNF), which can be used in the food, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and packaging industries. Cellustic®, their polymeric material using CNF can be used to produce biodegradable films with higher material strength and oxygen barrier in comparison to existing biodegradable films.
Announcing the award, Isabelle Decitre, CEO at ID Capital said “AN POLY highlights the convergence of many fields of science and innovation to address the pressing challenge of agriculture waste. Cellulosic waste is an abundant biomass, in Asia in particular, with the importance of rice cultivation. We believe the versatile application potential of AN POLY’s advanced materials offers breakthrough solutions to many industries including food. We will be proud to support this extremely promising startup in its path to internationalization.”
Future Food Asia 2022 has been made possible by continued support from our partners: Cargill, one of the world’s largest agriculture and food companies; Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore’s lead R&D public research agency; Thai Wah, a SEA pioneer in b2b plant based ingredients, noodles solutions and bioplastics; Dole Sunshine Company, a world leader in growing, sourcing, distributing, and marketing fresh tropical fruit and healthy drinks & snacks; Bühler Group, the leading global technology partner in the supply of plants and services to the food processing industry; DSM, a purpose-led global science-based company in nutrition, health and sustainable living; and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), the lead government agency responsible for strategies that enhance Singapore’s position as a global centre for business, innovation and talent.
About ID Capital
ID Capital is an investment company headquartered in Singapore specialized in the domain of AgriTech and FoodTech in the Asia-Pacific region. ID Capital is a pioneer in the agrifood sector in Asia-Pacific and has contributed effort and capital in also catalyzing the ecosystem in the region through its Future Food Asia platform launched in 2016. Its thesis is built on the fact that in this growing vertical, Asia-Pacific is the nexus between high growth and high stakes. ID Capital is also an Appointed Partner for Startup SG Equity for the AgriFoodTech sector.
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About Cargill
Cargill’s 155,000 employees across 70 countries work relentlessly to achieve our purpose of nourishing the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way. Every day, we connect farmers with markets, customers with ingredients, and people and animals with the food they need to thrive. We combine 155 years of experience with new technologies and insights to serve as a trusted partner for food, agriculture, financial and industrial customers in more than 125 countries. Side-by-side, we are building a stronger, sustainable future for agriculture. More information at https://www.cargill.com/
About Thai Wah
Founded in 1947, Thai Wah Group is one of Southeast Asia’s leading Agri-Food companies now operating in 5 countries with over 15 locations. Led by its core vision to create innovation and sustainability from Farm to Shelf, the company is a pioneer in B2B starch and starch related products such as glass noodles, vermicelli, tapioca starches and modified starches. The company’s core strengths lie in its deep R&D, farm supply chain strategy, operating capabilities and global sales and marketing network. More information at www.thaiwah.com