There’s a big problem in the food industry that we don’t like to talk about. It’s a hidden problem with roots steeped in inefficiency and a desire for “aesthetics.” It’s an issue we never saw as an issue until we realized food scarcity is imminent and in fact, existing. It’s often unseen and unheard behind closed doors, yet it’s a massive issue. That issue? Food waste and loss.

Was your gut reaction “Eww!” or “Oh yeah. That problem…”? Whether you’re a food waste fighter or not, there’s no denying it: Food waste and loss is one of the biggest yet most underrated problems facing the food industry.

Every year, a third of food produced or 1.3 billion tonnes gets lost or wasted globally. According to the UN, the global cost of food wastage amounts to a shocking US$2.6 trillion a year.

That’s almost equivalent to India’s GDP. And if food waste were a country, it’d be the third largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting country after the US and China. Just let that sink in for a moment.

As if wasting food instead of feeding 690 million hungry people wasn’t bad enough, food waste and loss contribute significantly to global warming, specifically 8-10 per cent of global GHG emissions.

That’s four times as much GHG emissions as the entire aviation industry. This is because most food waste ends up in landfill, where it decomposes and releases methane, a GHG up to 30x more harmful than carbon dioxide.

With the increasing scarcity of key resources and limited opportunities for agricultural expansion especially in land-scarce countries such as Singapore and Japan, eradicating food waste and loss should be high on any food agenda.

A rising number of companies have looked to upcycling food waste and loss as a solution, using technology and food science to upcycle surplus and otherwise discarded food ingredients and turning it into delicious and nutritious products.

Also Read: In brief: An organic disinfectant from cashew waste; Orios Venture closes $30M Select Fund I

The case for upcycling

Upcycling is based on the philosophy of using all of what we already have and doing more with less. Most of all, upcycled food is about reducing food waste and loss by creating high-quality products using the resources that slip through the cracks of our food system.

Whether it’s turning brewer’s spent grain into crunchy snacks or turning surplus bread into beer, surplus ingredients or food byproducts are used and transformed into value-added products that nourish people and the planet.

Source: Regrained

A team of experts from Harvard Law School, Drexel University, World Wildlife Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, ReFED, and others officially defined “upcycled food” in 2020: “Upcycled foods use ingredients that otherwise would not have gone to human consumption, are procured and produced using verifiable supply chains, and have a positive impact on the environment.”

Globally, we lose almost US$1 trillion in monetary or retail costs per year on food that is wasted or lost. Upcycled food captures that value, elevating it to create a sustainable and resilient food system.

Here’s the case for upcycled food:

• Upcycling is a growing trend that gives consumers the power to make conscious choices – Upcycled food enables anyone to vote with their dollar and prevent food waste via the products they buy. And guess what? Consumers like you and I want to reduce our food waste! According to Mattson, 95 per cent of us want to do our part to reduce food waste, while 60% of us want to buy more upcycled products. In fact, both Food Network Magazine and Whole Foods Market have named upcycled food as a top food trend for 2021.
• Upcycling tackles and prevents global warming – According to Project Drawdown, the global leader in ranking climate solutions, preventing food waste is one of the single most effective solutions to prevent global warming. By reducing and upcycling food waste, we can prevent food waste from ending up in landfill and contributing 8 per cent of global GHG emissions.
• Upcycling optimises the energy efficiency of our food system, helping us feed the planet with minimal resources – Considering an increasing scarcity of resources, upcycled food can help to feed a growing population without putting extra pressure on the environment. Instead of food ending up in incinerators, as animal feed, or in landfill, upcycled food makes better use of the energy expended in growing, transporting, and preparing that food.

The popularity and increasing focus on upcycling as a trend and a need, has paved the way for a better and more optimal way of producing our food and beverages.

What it takes to move the upcycling needle

Now what will it take to move the upcycling needle? Three things:

• Upcycling advocacy and education – Upcycling is still a relatively new term. While it is gaining traction in the U.S. and the U.K., here in Asia, most people have never heard of the term. If we can’t put a name to it, then how can we move the needle on it?

Also Read: Plant-based protein: Is it really meat?

That’s why the advocacy work that organisations such as the Upcycled Food Association or ReFED do, the upcycling initiatives driven by large companies such as Dole and AB InBev, and the exciting upcycled products being rolled out by companies like Renewal Mill and I Am Grounded are all so crucial to flying the upcycled flag high.

• Change in consumers’ perceptions towards “food waste”- Many peoples’ initial reaction to upcycled food looks a little like this: “Ew! This was made with something that would’ve been thrown away?!”

Thus, we need to find innovative ways to make upcycled products more fun and approachable for consumers. At CRUST Group, our upcycled beers and pun-filled demeanor acts as a conversation starter to create a fun and alternative approach to reducing food waste & loss.

• Political will and action towards better waste management and reduction practices – As with most fights to create behavioural change, impact at scale only truly happens when policies to incentivise desired behaviours or punish undesired ones are implemented.

To move the upcycling needle, we need policies and laws that incentivize and/or mandate businesses to better manage and reduce their food wastage.

A prime success story is South Korea, which has ramped up its food waste recycling rates from just two per cent in 1995 to 95 per cent in 2019, having implemented a compulsory food waste recycling program in 2013. A leader in tackling food waste in Asia, South Korea has also implemented other initiatives like tapping on smart bins to better manage food waste.

By crafting out waste-reduction programs and investing in technology and infrastructure, it was able to effectively and swiftly reduce food waste.

Even if it involves banning online binge-eating or “Mukbang” videos as China did, political will and action is needed to provide incentives for creating value-added products and reducing food waste.

Creating a truly circular food economy

There is nothing remotely efficient about 30-40 per cent of food being wasted or lost yearly– a great deal of it dumped when it’s still perfectly good to consume or loaded with nutrients. It’s about time we paid more attention to the food that is being lost and wasted throughout our global supply chain.

That means it’s about time we embraced innovative technologies and new production methods to reduce food waste and loss.

If we want a truly circular food economy that can sustainably feed the planet, then we need to turn to upcycling. The art of transforming food byproducts and surplus ingredients into a novel and nutritious products for human consumption, creating new sources of protein, nutrients, and fibre in the process—and keeping it all out of landfills.

Ultimately, we’ll need this new way of producing goods and other innovative ways of thinking to save the food the world needs and deserves.

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In 2020, SMEs were the target of 43 per cent of cyber-attacks, with an average cost of US$184,000, according to Verizon. Just in Singapore, phishing attacks against SMEs increased by 60 per cent, with devastating results in some cases, as reports further suggest that 60 per cent of small businesses fold within six months of a significant attack.

The Asia Pacific region is an ideal breeding ground for cybercrime. The general lack of cybersecurity consideration, policy preparedness and institutional oversight, paired with high digital connectivity, a large volume of cross-border data transfers and developing regulations increase exponentially the vulnerability of Asian firms.

Such weaknesses must be addressed as soon as possible in order to avoid the risk of businesses throughout the region losing over US$750 billion, according to Kearny’s conservative estimate.

SMEs and startups often believe that they will not be the target of a cyber-attack due to their relevant size or importance – but that is a myth. The best way to protect small and medium-sized businesses is to avoid common misconceptions such as “security through obscurity”. Most hackers are targeting the most vulnerable companies with an open cyber door rather than the biggest ones.

In this context, it is essential that organisations of all sizes and industries protect themselves from cyber incidents, realising and patching vulnerabilities before hackers manage to find and exploit them.

Identify, protect and detect

In accordance with the guidelines set out by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) framework, which advice on how organization stakeholders can manage and reduce cybersecurity risk by using business drivers; identifying the cybersecurity threat, protecting the digital infrastructure, and detecting malicious activity when they arise can go a long way in terms of protecting your company from cyberattacks.

This can be done through a combination of traditional cyber defence techniques, including compromise assessments, well-rehearsed incident response plans and playbooks, and other forms of vulnerability management.

Proper cyber hygiene is also key to securing open digital doors that can be exploited by attackers. Starting with the lowest hanging fruit is a good first step to improving your cybersecurity posture.

Also Read: Why Malaysia is quickly becoming a cybersecurity hub for the rest of the world

Enforce a strong password policy

Passwords are the first line of protection against any unauthorised access to your personal computer. The stronger the password, the higher level of protection your computer has from malicious software and hackers.

• A strong password must be at least eight characters long
• It should contain characters from the four primary categories, including:
  • Uppercase letters
  • Lowercase letters
  • Numbers
  • Characters
• It should not contain any of your personal information—specifically your real name, username, or even your company name
• It must be unique and dissimilar from your previously used passwords
• It should not contain any word spelt completely

Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) across your organisation

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is the most simple and effective way to confidently identify a user, protect their personal and organisational data, and prevent identity theft.

The primary benefit of MFA lies in enhancing your organisation’s security by requiring users to authenticate their identity with more than a username and password. While important, usernames and passwords are vulnerable to brute force attacks and can be stolen by third parties.

MFA systems require users to provide two or more factors in order to access an account or platform. These factors fall into three categories:

• ‘Something you have’ – like a mobile phone or a token;
• ‘Something you are’ – a biometric indicator such as a fingerprint or face scam;
• ‘Something you know’ – such as a password or a security question

Adhere to the Principle of Least Privilege

The Principle of Least Privilege is the idea that any user, programme, or process should have only the bare minimum privileges necessary to perform its function. For example, a user account created for pulling records from a database does not need administrative rights; a programmer whose main function is updating lines of legacy code does not need access to financial records.

The principle of least privilege works by allowing only enough access to perform the required job. In an IT environment, adhering to the principle of least privilege reduces the risk of attackers gaining access to critical systems or sensitive data by compromising a low-level user account, device, or application. Implementing this principle helps contain compromises to their area of origin, stopping them from spreading to the system at large.

Also Read: Big Tech vs data protection laws in Asia: Who is compromising?

The last mile

Whilst a strong digital infrastructure and good cyber hygiene can protect organisations from up to 90 per cent of cyber risks, these measures do not make a business impenetrable. Attackers are continuously working to find loopholes in the system, and a singular instance of negligence can severely compromise the cybersecurity of the company. Thus, having a cyber insurance policy that acts as a risk transfer tool that can cover the last mile of cyber risk is invaluable.

According to IBM’s 2020 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average cost of a data breach stands at US$3.86 million. Sample costs include everything from business interruption losses, extortion payments, liabilities, remediation costs and financial penalties.

In Singapore, the maximum financial penalty for cyber data protection breaches is 10 per cent of an organisation’s annual turnover of S$1 million, whichever is higher.

Standalone cyber insurance policies typically provide coverage for the full spectrum of cyber risks, from a human error to cyber-attacks, financial losses, and reputational damage. These insurance policies also include access to a professional response panel consisting of digital forensics, legal consultants, and public relations experts to streamline and facilitate the entire cyber incident response process.

In the middle of a cyber crisis, having a specialised team managing incident response and recovery provides peace of mind and ensures that any situation is addressed appropriately.

Virtually every modern business holds digital assets that are at risk. The data, software, and computers that you use every day are critical to maintaining normal operations.

Whilst most of the bigger firms and institutions may have an in-house cyber team, and a comprehensive cyber insurance policy in place, the recent rise in cyberattacks against both SMEs and mid-market businesses have highlighted how important it is for organizations, regardless of size to build cyber risk resiliency. Preventing cyber breaches and developing a well-prepared cyber strategy can save organisations millions of dollars by avoiding strict cyber breach penalties that are in place to punish negligence.

Investing in a comprehensive cyber insurance policy not only ensures compensation for damage and monetary losses but also offers expert DFIR services and breach management support.

Without a strong cybersecurity posture, incident response plan, and coverage in place, one cyber compromise can be the difference between business as usual and shutting down for good. Ensuring that the company is doing all that it can to protect itself from cyber breaches is crucial in an evolving cyber threat landscape where neglecting ‘the last mile’ can have unforgiving consequences.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast or infographic

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My name is Lam Tran and I am the founder and CEO of WisePass. It is a company I launched in October 2014 enabling brands build better relationships with their consumers. Today, this article is about the future of e-commerce in Vietnam and what is likely to change based on my personal opinion. I’ll take a look at three critical factors I believe may change the landscape.

Competition landscape

The e-commerce landscape is dominated by three large companies: Shopee, Lazada and Tiki. Shopee is clearly winning in every metrics at the moment if we take a look at Similar Web. With a higher monthly traffic count, Shopee seems to be the clear winner at the moment but when I look at the potential entrants, I am looking at a couple serious competitors that will likely change the game.

The first competitor is Amazon that already entered Vietnam. They already set up their legal entity and they can decide in the coming years to enter the market officially and compete with the current players. Currently, the focus is just to get sellers and increase transactions for the global market.

It’s understandable as the Vietnamese may remain small for Amazon. I believe the market will grow big enough for them to start within the next 60 months.

The second competitor coming in the market might be likelier as I believe Grab is set for e-commerce. There is a great fit for the super app strategy as they have e-commerce capabilities, strong funding and most importantly, e-commerce is a great revenue growth opportunity across Southeast Asia, including Vietnam.

Currently, Grab is busy to finish its listing with the SPAC in the US and it shall take at least a whole year to complete the process. The question is more when they’ll decide to go with e-commerce across Southeast Asia. My personal prediction is that they will have to do it within 36 months.

Operational profitability

If you’re looking for operational profitability in the e-commerce landscape, I suggest you pass as a founder or investor. The game is all about revenue growth and that’s how valuation is determined.

The e-commerce platform is a cash burner and that’s the reason why you see several rounds happening for Tiki as Lazada is owned by Alibaba now and Shopee belongs to the SEA group. Here is what a P&L looks like in the early days :

This is a snapshot of the financials of Lazada group reported by Techcrunch giving you an idea of what to expect when you’re running an e-commerce platform. Bottom line the cash position was driven down while net revenue was going up. To keep growing up, you need serious financial backers to play the game.

To become profitable, you need a serious amount of orders monthly to cover all your fixed costs and ensure you have enough organic traffic to generate orders more cost effectively. This is not happening anytime soon as the financials of Shopee can show for Q1 2021

Shopee Southeast Asia EBITDA was negative US$412 million during Q1 2021 but the whole group is positive. For more information you can click here. Since running an e-commerce platform burns cash on the long term, you’ll need serious financial backers behind you.

Also Read: Everyday e-commerce: New ways of paying, new ways of buying

Financial backing of e-commerce giants

Back to Vietnam, we have Lazada, Shopee and Tiki. Let’s get started with Shopee.

They currently release on quarterly basis their financials as they’re listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Here’s what you can find about the group in Q1 2021.

The group is actually now making money and and it’s likely to grow bigger. Bottom line, the SEA group is healthy operationally and have US$5 billion in cash on their balance sheet. The SEA group is set to stay in the e-commerce for some time and Shopee is likely to grow even bigger.

For Lazada, the e-commerce platform belongs to the Alibaba group and it generates billion of dollars in EBITDA yearly.

The Alibaba group is going to be able to keep pumping in a few billion dollars when necessary and shall be supporting this Southeast Asian initiative as that is the largest population they have nearby China. Another big piece of e-commerce in Asia would be India but I do not think Alibaba has any plans to enter the market anytime soon.

For Tiki, it’s slightly different as it still relies on venture capital and keep raising more capital on a regular basis in order to keep growing their revenue.

Hopefully the company is able to maintain a low enough cost structure to have a lighter cash burn compared to its two other counterparts. If the company is able to keep raising successfully capital in the next coming years, the company shall be fine.

From the latest news, Tiki shall raise another round of US$200 million and may end up going to a local stock exchange to start trading its shares.

E-commerce is more than just these three factors. However, if competition heats up, players keep losing more money as they grow and if these players do not get capital injection with certainty, it’s really likely to see a big shift in the landscape in the coming years.

At the moment I don’t think this is happening anytime soon for any of them.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast or infographic

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community or like the e27 Facebook page

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Starting a business from scratch is no easy feat, especially in the middle of a pandemic, with limited capital. Most businesses, in fact, are struggling to stay afloat and have to constantly alter their business models to cater to the SOPs set in place as Malaysia moves in and out of lockdown.

While setting up and running a business in this climate is not easy, it is also not impossible– with the right steps, attitude and mindset, it can shape up to be one of the best moves you make.

Identifying the needs of current consumers

One of the first steps in starting a business is to conduct research to identify a gap in the market. This is to determine if the intended product or service can cater to the needs of current consumers or solve their problems, ensuring that there will be a steady demand.

It is also important to focus on strategically branding the business as this will help the public to better identify and recognise your business as an impactful one.

The first two steps above were what we hyper-focused on when brainstorming for SweetPeachier, Malaysia’s first home IPL device. It was a brand launched during the first round of Malaysia’s Movement Control Order (MCO) in the first half of 2020, when beauty salons were not allowed to operate, causing people to lose access to their regular hair removal services.

We realised that the market lacked a semi-permanent method of hair removal that can be done from the comfort of their homes, both in light of the pandemic and for those who are not too comfortable getting it done more publicly.

After deciding to make it our mission to help these people, we got down to thinking long and hard on a suitable yet memorable name, while driving awareness of our brand through well-researched marketing techniques.

Also Read: Should you start a new business amidst the recession?

Being financially equipped to run a business

The next step in building a successful business is to maintain a comprehensive overview of the financial aspects of the enterprise. Having a good idea of where your company stands financially means that you are more likely to be ready for potential challenges and future pitfalls.

For instance, SweetPeachier was not founded on a large sum of capital, we, in fact, started out with only US$1,170 and chose not to withdraw any money for ourselves for the first three months as we experienced insufficient liquidity and cash flow to cover business expenses.

This was an unforeseen and unfortunate setback but we persevered. To scale the business, we raised funds through contributions from sympathetic family members who believed in our mission.

With their support and strategic financial planning, we were thankfully able to move past these hurdles and are proud to report that we have recently achieved US$240,000 in sales, with a growing customer base across Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Ensuring great customer service

Another important aspect of running and owning a business venture is to work on providing a great consumer experience through efficient customer service. Happy customers are customers who are more likely to make repeat purchases while recommending your brand to friends and family.

All of this combines to ultimately increase your consumer market reach and revenue. Additionally, providing top-notch customer service will most definitely enhance customer loyalty.

Through it all, it is important to note that starting your own business is going to take a lot of energy, time and capital. The best way to keep yourself motivated through the ups and downs is to not lose focus on what really matters to you.

Staying humble and hungry for knowledge is also key to eventually becoming a successful business owner as the more you know, the more you can understand your target market and make improvements to better serve it.

Do not give up on your dreams because other people doubt you, believe in yourself, work hard and stay motivated – the rewards reaped will speak for themselves.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast or infographic

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Building a website, setting it up for SEO, and developing content in order to launch your marketing strategy is extremely important for any successful business. Often, in addition to social media, your company’s website is your customers’ first touchpoint. It is the face and introduction to your business.

Interestingly, despite its importance, it is also one of the most underappreciated aspects of your business.

That is why I invited Kevin Geary, CEO of DigitalGravy, which specialises in websites and SEO, to sit down and talk with me about the nuances of doing it intelligently.

Apart from DigitalGravy, he is also the Founder of DigitalAmbition, which helps companies learn how to start, grow, or scale their businesses online.

Altogether he has over 15 years of experience in these areas, which makes him a great person to spill the beans on this topic.

We specifically talk about:

• The types of websites are there (landing pages, one-pagers, full websites)
• Which is the world’s best website framework to use?
• What kinds of pages and content must you have?
• What is a Responsive website?
• What is SEO?
• What’s the difference between Global and Local SEO?
• What are backlinks and how do you get them?
• What is Domain Authority and how do you improve it?
• What are keywords and how do you rank on Google for them?
• Shorttail vs Longtail keywords
• Shorter vs longer articles
• What’s the difference between doing a website yourself and having a specialist design and develop one for you?

If you are curious about how you can use SEO and other website hacks for your business, make sure you don’t miss this episode!

If you don’t see the player above, click on the link below to listen directly!

Acast
Apple
Spotify
Stitcher

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This article on SEO and other website hacks was first published on We Live To Build.

Image Credit: Michal Czyz on Unsplash

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