It is no secret that working at a startup means facing new challenges and surprises every day. And yet, nothing could have prepared us for the impact of COVID-19. When the pandemic hit, and Singapore went into a two-month nationwide lockdown, we knew it was the opportunity for us to step up to the challenge and contribute to the national effort.

Scaling up rapidly to deliver telehealth services to workers

Our first challenge came in supporting the health of 300,000 migrant workers, who were locked down in their dormitories during the circuit breaker (CB).

In early 2020, Doctor Anywhere started providing teleconsultation services, inclusive of same-day medication delivery, to migrant workers staying in dormitories. When the service was first introduced, demand was low as workers could visit a physical clinic or an on-site medical centre in their dormitory.

However, this changed when CB began.

“Initially, it had just been two of us doing the consultations on an ad hoc basis,” shares Dr Yang Guirong, Assistant Medical Director at Doctor Anywhere. “With the increased demand, we had to change our processes to sustainably serve all the workers. We assembled a team of 10 doctors to work on this almost full-time, along with a separate administrative team, and had multiple DA clinics to package and deliver their medication.”

Additionally, due to the type of mobile devices workers owned and connectivity issues, we had to tweak our service delivery. Instead of a video call over the Doctor Anywhere app, our doctors conducted their consultations over WhatsApp or phone calls.

Communicating over WhatsApp had a silver lining. Although most workers had a basic grasp of English, there was still a small language barrier between doctor and patient.

With conversations over text, the patients could rely on language translation apps or fellow workers who had a better command of English for translation.

Also Read: Morning News Roundup: Doctor Anywhere raises US$27M Series B funding led by Square Peg

Another group of workers who needed telehealth support were seafarers working onboard ships. Given the international climate then, these seafarers were facing challenges in flying back to their countries after completing their job assignments.

From June 2020, we partnered with MPA to issue “Fit-to-Fly” certificates to facilitate their return home. With these certificates, our seafarer friends were allowed to fly back to their countries and reunite with their family members.

Since this began in June 2020, we have served more than 1,400 seafarers.

Filling in the gaps in Singapore’s healthcare system during Circuit Breaker and beyond

During CB, most residents were uncomfortable with visiting the clinic, even if they were feeling unwell. This was an opportunity to demonstrate how Doctor Anywhere’s services complemented Singapore’s existing healthcare infrastructure.

Since the start of 2020, we started enhancing our service delivery by ensuring tech and security infrastructure were ready to scale. Most crucially, we installed additional safeguards to ensure patient confidentiality and privacy, as we continued to expand our services.

We also moved towards utilising API management software, as our services required us to process more than two million API calls each month. As traffic to the Doctor Anywhere app grew by 70 per cent during COVID-19, this proved key to ensuring a smooth user experience, despite the increased system load. It also freed up time from managing individual APIs so that we could focus on the real work of improving our product.

Doctor Anywhere utilises a multi-cloud data environment for data management. The breadth of our services meant that several data sources, such as physical and virtual consultation databases, had to be integrated for any useful user insights.

With the cloud data warehouse, fragmented data sources were seamlessly combined into a coherent representation of our users.

Harnessing the power of ML and AI, we could then delve deep into this data for an in-depth analysis of user behaviour. This enabled us to quickly identify services that needed to be improved, as well as new pain points that were emerging.

Also Read: Snap yourself using your smartphone, Nervotec app displays all your vital health signs within a minute

These data-driven insights were complemented with qualitative observations – whether through user surveys or conversations with partners. With this foundation, we were thus able to swiftly scale up and develop new features like online clinics, wellness subscription programmes, home-based health screening and vaccination packages, mobile doctor and nursing services, etc.

For example: During CB, we noticed an increase in consultations for stress-related issues, such as insomnia. This was unsurprising, given the intense stress brought on by the pandemic.

To investigate further, we conducted a user survey in June 2020, in which our users (particularly aged 18 to 34) shared that they were receptive to therapy over video-call for conditions such as stress, depression and anxiety.

This prompted us to launch the Mental Wellness module in October 2020, where users could seek support from licensed psychologists and counsellors discretely via video call. We also embarked on a unique marketing campaign, using relatable local anecdotes and engaging visuals to educate the public on mental health.

In addition to video consultations, Doctor Anywhere runs eight clinics around the island. We revamped our clinics for a better customer experience. This included overhauling hiring processes and refreshing operational procedures, such as our courier delivery system.

“A memorable incident was the move of one of our medication operations to a new, more suitable location. It had to be done overnight to avoid impacting existing operations in the day. About 10 of us started at 9 PM and we only finished at 8 AM, the next day. Right after that, we began our 24/7 medication delivery services!” reminisces Dr Yang, who spearheaded this project. “It certainly was challenging but was definitely worth it.”

The result: by early 2021, we could offer round-the-clock telehealth consultations, with a three-hour medication delivery time throughout the year.

In addition to our clinics, we also have a mobile medical team that carries out home-based services. This includes health screenings, vaccinations and home nursing services. Time-saving and convenient, the biggest benefit of these services is that it cuts down on unnecessary trips to the clinic or hospital for our users.

Raising the health literacy of Singaporeans

As we know, the adage “If you build it, they will come” has been disproven many times. Similarly, while our services were ready, we knew it was important to build greater consumer confidence and trust in telehealth.

Also Read: These later stage funding rounds had made March an even more exciting month

Even in early 2020, telehealth was still a new concept to most Singaporeans. As such, alongside the scaling up of our services, we concentrated on specific offline and online marketing campaigns, to highlight conditions and use cases where telemedicine is useful. Most poignantly, the convenience to see a doctor for acute and non-critical conditions without going into a clinic was a key benefit during CB.

This was particularly helpful for patients with stabilised chronic health conditions. These patients required regular doctor consultations to check on their health status and refill their medication prescriptions. Yet, during CB, many were hesitant to physically visit a doctor.

The DA app allowed these patients to fulfil their routine health check-ups with a doctor and refill their medication, with same-day delivery. This empowered patients to remain in control of their medical conditions, while also allaying their fears of physical doctor visits. As a testament to the value of our services, we saw a multiple-times increase in consultations from patients with chronic conditions during this period.

Building on our growth for the future

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to challenge us to be more agile and adaptable in our operations while keeping our users at the heart of what we do. What has been key to our efforts is the selflessness of our team, who step in to cover for each other whenever we need an extra pair of hands.

Since 2020, we have seen a five times growth in the usage of Doctor Anywhere’s services. We expect that as more Singaporeans grow accustomed to telehealth services and recognise the convenience that it brings, the usage of digital healthcare platforms will gradually become a more ingrained lifestyle habit.

Beyond Singapore, Doctor Anywhere also has a regional presence in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of telehealth in the healthcare ecosystem, by about five years by our estimate.

Also Read: How technology can influence the beauty and cosmetics industry

As each market faces its own unique challenges in navigating through the pandemic, it is critical that our teams keep a close ear on the ground, and continue to innovate and refine our products to meet each market’s needs. Establishing regional tech hubs in Singapore, Vietnam, and India in early 2021 is one strategic move to ensure that DA continues to scale and develop innovative solutions effectively.

“Our mission is to be the largest tech-enabled omnichannel healthcare provider in Southeast Asia,” says Wai Mun Lim, founder and CEO of Doctor Anywhere. “Tech-enabling offline businesses are also a key component of our strategy. This is also how we differentiate ourselves from competitors, and one of the key reasons our investors invested in us.”

More than just a medical app that connects patients to doctors, Doctor Anywhere is evolving to become an integral lifestyle platform. We blur the lines between traditional healthcare and alternative wellness solutions, to offer holistic, 360-degree health and wellness support to our users at every stage of their lives.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. This season we are seeking op-eds, analysis and articles on food tech and sustainability. Share your opinion and earn a byline by submitting a post.

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Image Credit: Doctor Anywhere

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Do you make full use of the mobile subscription plan that you pay for, or are you simply paying extra for something that you have never used or will never use?

If you are someone who falls under the second category, a new telco startup in Singapore is here to change your ‘destiny’. This blockchain telco is urging you to take a closer look at its unique mobile package subscription model.

The two-year-old startup Gorilla Mobile has rolled out a service-on-demand model, called ‘SwitchBack’, which converts your unused data into redeemable non-expiring ‘Gorilla Go Tokens’. You can use these tokens to redeem other services like international direct dialling calls and travel roaming data.

Founded in 2019, Gorilla Mobile originally started as travel SIM card company that focused on business travellers who had plenty of unused travel roaming data.

The startup has already raised US$3 million in seed capital and targets to close a US$5 million Series A round shortly. The money will be used for developing its product roadmap and expanding into Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam in the first phase.

The telco startup intends to enter Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan in the longer term.

In this interview with e27, Gorilla Mobile founder Xanne Leo talks about its business model, its marketing strategy and trends in the telecom sector.

How did you come up with the idea of SwitchBack for users?

The objective was to address the issue of unused travel roaming data for business travellers.

By converting the unused roaming data into digital tokens Gorilla GO, users can reuse them to purchase another data plan in a different city or country. This is perfect for business travellers who may have their trips cut short or those on multi-city business trips.

Also Read: Singapore’s new virtual telco Zero Mobile offers subscribers chance to use service for free

Think of Gorilla GO like a carnival coupon where you can use the coupon universally and interchangeably at any stall in the carnival. In our case, you can use Gorilla GO with any telco service across 61 countries.

What is Gorilla Mobile’s business model? Can you talk about the pricing?

Gorilla Mobile runs on a service-on-demand model, the first in Singapore. This model provides access to a full suite of services anytime without a contract, subscription fees, or activation charges. Users pay only for what they use, when they use it, ensuring a fair and modular way of using and paying for mobile services.

Right now, customers can sign up for Gorilla Mobile’s Switch25 Mobile plan at SG$25 (US$33) through the Gorilla Mobile website.

In the coming months, we will unveil new services including a global roaming travel data SIM Card, digital international direct dialling (IDD), and global office telephonic solutions.

What are the different marketing strategies you have taken to educate the market about your offerings?

We launched our Switch25 Mobile plan on 18 June 2021. In line with the launch, Gorilla Mobile has rolled out the #RethinkMobile campaign on its website, calling on Singaporeans to look at their mobile phone bills and examine their mobile package subscription and actual usage: what they are paying for versus what they actually use.

Low prices have always been the motto of many telco companies. Aside from providing tokens, what are some other reasons that users should subscribe to Gorilla Mobile?

Our service-on-demand model is the first in Singapore. This is one of the reasons why we stand out.

Other than this, telecommunications services are traditionally offered to users in a fragmented way and give a disjointed user experience. For example, we rely on an on-premise office telephony system for calls while at work and we switch to our mobile phones while on the go or at home.

The pandemic situation has changed all that for us; the partial work-from-home and work-from-outside arrangements have dramatically changed the way we communicate.

Many companies are removing on-premise telephony servers and equipment, switching to cloud-based unified communication solutions, and using a mix of communication tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams with their mobile phones and softphones on laptops.

This change is definitely here to stay.

Also Read: Circles.Life co-founder on expansion, price wars, and learning eight languages

Seeing this shift, Gorilla Mobile will be introducing our Digital Office Telephony services in our mobile app in Q4 this year. We are converging the cellular mobile network services and office telephony capabilities and digital IDD services in the mobile app and offering it as an all-in-one mobile communications solution.

More than an mobile virtual network operator, we see ourselves as a mobile communications service provider offering a full suite of digital mobile services and a unified experience for today’s PMETS and businesses.

What are the key trends you’re identifying in emerging markets around digital transformation and telcos?

Converging trends hold great promise for the next generation of digital financial inclusion.

There are various blockchain technology platforms reinventing finance for the mobile era and have created decentralised financial systems that are fair, safe, and universally accessible. Without mobile data and high-fidelity connectivity, this would not be possible.

Gorilla Mobile recognises data as an enabler for digital financial inclusion. We advocate for affordable seamless global mobile connectivity to drive mobile money access for one and all. It is a right for the common man to access basic financial services.

As of 2019, there were 1.04 billion registered mobile payment accounts and 37.1 billion transactions transacting approximately US$690 billion yearly across the globe. The market grew 20 per cent during 2019, and it is expected to maintain that positive trend over the coming years.

More value is circulating in the mobile money system. The total value in circulation has significantly surpassed the total value of outgoing transactions.

The common users of mobile are using it to make small transactions or just to send money to other users. The ‘micro’ transaction costs and the friendly process of using mobile money between users are some of the key factors that will help to maintain the growing demand for mobile money.

This growth and scale is a positive signal for the industry as it demonstrates higher levels of customer trust, greater relevance for users, and the capacity of mobile money to digitise an increasing amount of capital.

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Image Credit: Gorilla Mobile

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GrowSari, a tech-enabled B2B platform that helps small convenient stores (known as ‘sari-sari-stores’ in the Philippines, has raised an undisclosed amount in Series B financing round from a group of existing and new investors.

They include Robinsons Retail Holdings, JG Digital Equity Ventures, and Wavemaker Partners, besides Tencent, Pavilion Capital, International Finance Corporation, ICCP SBI Venture Partners, and Saison Capital.

This round brings GrowSari’s total funds raised to date to over US$30 million.

With the fresh capital, the company plans to bankroll its geographical expansion plans to reach 300,000 stores across the Philippines.

Unlike Singapore and the US, where there are fully air-conditioned round-the-clock departmental stores like 7-Eleven, the Philippines has sari-sari stores.

Sari-sari stores occupy an important economic and social location in the Filipino community. They are small convenience stores that are generally either family-run or privately-owned, operating within the shopkeeper’s residence.

Founded in 2016, GrowSari is on a mission to help sari-sari store owners transform into comprehensive service hubs for the nation’s grassroots communities.

Also Read: B2B e-commerce in Asia is increasingly successful. Here’s what we can learn from them

GrowSari aims to tap into the sari-sari stores’ potential to be the biggest and most accessible distribution channel in the Philippines by driving efficiencies in route planning while collecting valuable insights on store behavior.

Through its app, sari-sari stores can access better pricing for more than a thousand fast-moving sari-sari store stock-keeping units (SKUs) from the largest brands across all the major FMCG categories.

This is in addition to microfinancing support and assistance, and multiple e-services including telco, bills payment, and remittance.

“GrowSari aims to empower and significantly increase the earnings of sari-sari stores in the Philippines by providing direct access to a wide assortment of affordable products, e-businesses, and financial assistance,” GrowSari co-founder ER Rollan said.

“Through GrowSari, we want to use proprietary technology to accelerate financial health for Filipino sari-sari store owners, helping them to use, protect, and grow their business in the long run and transforming sari-sari stores into comprehensive service hubs for the Philippines’ grassroots communities,” added CTO Siddhartha Kongara.

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Image Credit: Lance Lozano

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Singapore-based climate-tech fund Circulate Capital today announced a US$14 million first close of its new VC fund, called Circulate Capital Disrupt (CCD).

CCD, a companion strategy to the US$106 million Circulate Capital Ocean Fund (CCOF-I), will invest in targeted innovations in materials and deep technology solutions to combat plastic waste and advance the circular economy.

In addition, CCD will participate in select, high-growth investment opportunities across the waste management and recycling value chain in South and Southeast Asia, alongside CCOF I that prevent plastic pollution by the tons and have a climate impact.

Circulate Capital Disrupt will benefit from the pipeline, diligence, and portfolio management systems of the Circulate Capital Ocean Fund – including impact measurement and inclusion of a gender lens. It will announce its inaugural investments later this summer.

“It’s time for Circulate Capital to strengthen our strategy to fight ocean plastic by also investing upstream to capture a range of exciting investment opportunities at the nexus of climate-tech and plastics that can help us take recycling into the next century,” said Rob Kaplan, CEO and founder of Circulate Capital.

Also Read: Lack of visibility, track record deter VCs from investing in firms combating plastic pollution: Rob Kaplan of Circulate Capital

“The new fund leverages our partnerships with leading corporations and the existing Asia-based portfolio to invest and scale disruptive technologies that have the potential to deliver outsized financial and impact returns. Applying climate-tech innovations to the plastics crisis may be the key to finally stemming the tide, and presents climate-focused investors with the potential for meaningful financial and impact outcomes,” he added.

Circulate Capital is an investment management firm financing high-growth opportunities at the nexus of climate-tech and plastics, recycling and the circular economy. It aims to deploy catalytic capital in partnership with leading corporations and investors to scale solutions that advance the circular economy and prevent the flow of plastic waste into the ocean in South and Southeast Asia.

By broadening the scope of its investment focus with the new fund, Circulate Capital will accelerate its mission of developing a circular economy for plastic.

Its four unique investment theses are:

1- Innovative materials: Reduce carbon footprints by rethinking the materials a product is made from and at the same time improve circular outcomes. For example, bio-based solutions for conventional plastic packaging or textile fibers.

Also Read: Sustainability: the new business reality

2- Delivery Models: Reimagine how a product can be consumed or delivered. For example, think of a next generation bottle of laundry detergent where you can get a refill from a vending machine, and it comes in a design that can be reused multiple times.

3- Advanced recycling tech for fully circular recycling at the molecular level: This is all about recycling technologies at the end of use of plastics by breaking the waste back down to its original inputs.

For example, circulatecapital.comrecycling your mixed textiles (e.g. cotton-poly blend t-shirts) back down into cotton and the building blocks of polyester for new clothes.

4- Deep technologies that apply big data and artificial intelligence to expand circular supply chains. Examples are an AI image recognition and recycling sorting technology company or one that is digitising logistics to improve efficiency and circularity at a global scale. The more efficient these value chains, the less waste and the lower their carbon intensity.

Announced in October 2018, the impact VC firm formed Circulate Capital Ocean Fund (CCOF) with US$106 million raised from several large corporate partners and Limited Partners, including PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Danone, Dow, Procter & Gamble and Unilever, and backed by USAID.

In under three years, the CCOF invested about US$40 million in seven companies across the region.

In an interview with e27 in February, Kaplan said that companies combating plastic pollution/other environmental issues don’t get due attention from the VC community.

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Image Credit: Circulate Capital

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Flexitarianism is becoming the new buzzword, globally.

The world is undergoing a food revolution. Many consumers are consciously cutting down on meat consumption and are turning ‘flexitarians’.

Sustainable food products such as plant/cell-based meat, egg, milk and fish are now increasingly finding a place in consumers’ food menus.

The primary reasons for this are the growing sense of sustainability, awareness about unhealthy dietary habits, climate crisis, unsustainable farming and agriculture methods, and a new awakening to clean label foods.

What makes alternative protein substitutes even more attractive is that they offer the same taste and texture as meat products.

With about a 15-17 per cent growth rate, Asia is the fastest-growing alternative food market in the world. Its global market share is projected to grow by 10 per cent by 2029.

Of the US$3.1 billion capital invested to date into the alt food industry globally, about US$230 million went into Asian startups.

In Asia, Southeast Asia has been leading this food revolution. The region has one of the highest economic growth rates in the world, with a very high animal protein consumption. This is where sustainable food companies sniff a tremendous opportunity.

The region indeed is already home to numerous sustainable food startups. 

But why is Southeast Asia witnessing great growth? What is attracting global alt food startups and investors into this region?

Let’s start with Singapore.

Singapore

Of all the countries in SEA, Singapore is witnessing the fastest growth. There are already over a dozen big and small alternative food companies, besides a couple of VCs and accelerators. 

The names include renowned foreign brands like Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods, and Quorn; homegrown ones such as Shiok Meats, TurtleTree Labs, Next Gen, Float Foods, OmniMeat, Karana, and Tindle; and accelerator Big Idea Ventures

Also Read: Shiok Meats wants to bring cruelty-free shrimp products to your dining table with its US$12.6M Series A

“Singapore has long been known as a unique global business hub, and it is now becoming more relevant in the foodtech space, too,” says Andre Menezes, co-founder and COO of Next Gen, a plant-based meat startup.

“In setting up in Singapore, we were attracted by the strong infrastructure to support food technology innovations, especially plant-based foods. We have established our research and development (R&D) centre here. We have access to high-profile investors, multinational partners, and world-class chefs, which enable us to serve the multicultural palates here in Asia and around the globe,” adds Menezes, who started the company in October 2020, along with fellow German Timo Recker. 

In February this year, Next Gen closed a US$10 million seed round from a clutch of investors, including Temasek and K3 Ventures.

As he rightly points out, food security, government support for innovative technologies, and highly skilled human resources are some of the major factors drawing alt food startups into the island state.

From a food security standpoint, Singapore’s “30 by 30 goal” highlights the government’s focus on food security and self-sufficiency. The ultimate goal is to produce 30 percent of local nutritional needs locally by 2030.

As for government support, agencies such as the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and A*STAR have been actively promoting R&D in sustainable food production and future foods.

In 2020, the government launched the Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI) research institute to facilitate R&D and food safety in alternative proteins. It also committed S$144 (US$107) million to invest in alternative protein investment.

“Singapore’s highly skilled human resources and R&D centres help lighten the burden of big capex investment and innovation cost,” says Fengru Lin, co-founder and CEO of TurtleTree Labs. A biotech startup producing milk using cell-based technology, TurtleTree in 2020 raised US$6.2 million from the likes of Green Monday Ventures, Eat Beyond Global, KBW Ventures, and Verso Capital.

The onset of COVID-19 pandemic has also resulted in a major shift in the way we eat.

“Recent and frequent spikes in animal disease transmission have shown that these are no longer one-off occurrences. Current global animal and poultry farming practices are not sustainable. I believe this wave of consciousness for a better solution will drive the industry forward to bigger, brighter outcomes,” according to Vinita Choolani, CEO and founder of Float Foods. A plant-based egg venture, Float Foods last week scored US$1.7 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round, led by Insignia Ventures Partners and DSG Consumer Partners.

“Alternative protein companies will play an important role in Singapore and wider global pursuit for food security, as these novel food solutions are projected to be less resource-consumptive than traditional protein production,”  TurtleTree’s Lin goes on.

Thailand

Thailand, a food manufacturing country, has seen an uptick in terms of alternative food products in the recent past. 

According to Smith Taweelerdniti, founder of Bangkok-based Let’s Plant Meat, the adoption of plant-based meat products is primarily driven by a belief among Thais that refraining from harming animals is a boon for this life and hereafter.

Also Read: No animals were harmed in the making of this ‘meat’ burger

Let’s Plant Meat offers alternative meat products made out of four plants: soy, rice, coconut and beetroot. The company, founded in 2020, is already selling its products in more than 120 outlets of a major supermarket in the country. This signals a growing demand for alt food products in the local market.

According to Krungthai Research (in Siamese), Thailand’s plant-based food market will grow from THB28 billion (US$880 million) in 2019 to about THB45 billion (US$1.4 billion) in 2024. This growth will primarily be driven by major companies like CPF, Thai Union, Nestle, Unilever, which have already entered the market with a lot of fanfare.

Having said that, the industry needs to overcome several challenges to further accelerate growth. Prices of plant-based meat are higher compared to traditional animal meat. Retailers charge a high margin for plant-based meat. They, however, charge almost nothing to sell animal meat because of the government price control.

“More price reduction from big companies will make plant-based meat products more affordable and easy to find. CPF launched the brand called Meat Zero and offers its ready-to-eat, no-meat burger with bun for THB35 at 7-Eleven stores,” he adds.

Alongside plant-based meat products, seed-based milk products are also gaining traction in Thailand. Sesamilk, which offers an alternative to dairy milk, is already a hit. The product is available in about 500 stores (online and offline) across Thailand. The product is also exported to Japan, Macau, Hongkong and Vietnam.

“The domestic market is interesting. People are more concerned about health than ever before. With the growth of social media and small influencers, people are now more open to accepting better options that make sense for them,” Taweelerdniti notes.

Indonesia

Indonesia’s alt protein industry is still in its infancy. The archipelago is far behind Singapore where 39 per cent of the population are flexitarians and most people are aware of the environmental costs of animal-based meat production.

In Indonesia, the intake of animal-based meat products is still on the rise. There is little awareness about the alt food industry in the country. The environmental awareness and related actions mainly revolve around the harms of plastic usage.

“In weddings with 200-plus attendees, there are usually only three vegans (myself and my husband, and another person). The mainstream crowd cannot even tell the difference between vegans, vegetarians, and pescatarians,” says Helga Angelina, co-founder of Burgreens, a plant-based eatery chain.

“We need aggressive market education to create awareness that animal-based meat consumption is neither healthy nor sustainable and that consumers can still enjoy the sensory pleasure of eating meat with alternative/plant-based proteins,” adds Angelina, whose startup raised US$2 million from Teja Ventures and Unovis Asset Management early this year.

Other than Burgreens, there are no alt food companies in Indonesia. This is mainly due to poor infrastructure. “We don’t have the infrastructure in place to support startups in the alt protein industry. Investments in this area mostly come from abroad,” she says.

The future indeed is bright. But the players need to invest in significant market education, she remarks. “We should collaborate to enlarge the market pie and accelerate plant-based eating adoption; not compete with each other but together disrupt the conventional meat industry,” Angelina shares.

Rest of Southeast Asia

Other economies like Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam are also slowly waking up to the reality that sustainable food is the way forward. Consumers in these markets have started showing interests in safe, organic- and plant-based foods in recent years.

Also Read: Why Sesamilk thinks plant-based milk is healthier than cow milk and has a bright future

According to global data and consulting company Kantar Worldpanel, consumers in Vietnam are eating and drinking plant-based alternatives that are perceived to be natural and healthier. 

There are several companies such as Phuture Foods (Malaysia), WTH Foods (Philippines), and Bewina Company (Vietnam) operating in these economies. They are slowly gaining traction in their respective markets.

However, regulatory hurdles, inadequate infrastructure, and the lack of awareness among consumers are some of the major issues these companies need to tackle in order to tap this lucrative market.

The future

Overall, the outlook for Southeast Asia’s alt food industry is more optimistic than ever. In 2020, Euromonitor reported 226.900 tonnes in meat substitute was consumed in Southeast Asia, demonstrating a growing appetite and demand for plant-based meat within the region.

According to ADM’s consumer research study, this surge could be due to a variety of factors, including the potential health benefits derived from a meat-free diet, consumers’ conscious intent to reduce their impact on the planet, as well as the good taste of plant protein sources.

“What we can say from this point is that, as consumers become more conscious of their dietary intake and impact on the environment, the industry will continue to grow rapidly,” says Next Gen’s Menezes.

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Lead image credit: Burgreens

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