In Southeast Asia’s heat and humidity, keeping fruit, vegetables and ready-to-eat food fresh is not just a logistics problem but an economic one, too. Produce can lose value at every stage of the chain, from farm to wholesaler to supermarket shelf, while restaurants and households often throw away food long before it should have spoiled.
Singapore-based N&E Innovations is betting that part of the answer can come from the waste stream itself.
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The deeptech company has raised approximately US$1.7 million in Series A funding led by Australian agrifood investor Tundra Capital. SGInnovate, The Radical Fund, Archipelago VC and SG7 Group also joined the round, alongside existing backers Cercano, SEEDS Capital, Elev8 Capital and Qian Hu Corporation.
Founded in 2020 by biomedical scientist Didi Gan, N&E has developed ViKANG99, a patented edible antimicrobial ingredient made from upcycled agricultural by-products, including discarded cashew nut husks. The company says the ingredient can help fresh produce last up to four times longer by slowing the growth of bacteria and mould.
“Food waste is usually seen as something we need to get rid of. We see it as a resource,” Gan said. “We can take something like a discarded cashew nut husk, extract the compounds that naturally fight microbes and turn them into an ingredient that can help protect food.”
From cashew husks to cling wrap
ViKANG99 works by extracting naturally occurring antimicrobial compounds from agricultural waste, refining them into a food-grade ingredient, and embedding or applying that ingredient across different use cases.
One of N&E’s first commercial products is The Orange Wrap, which the company describes as the world’s first antibacterial cling wrap. Conventional cling film acts largely as a barrier. N&E’s version incorporates ViKANG99 into the material, allowing it to actively inhibit microbial growth on food surfaces.
The same core ingredient is also being used in KeepWell, N&E’s plant-based cleaning and hygiene range, and in post-harvest agriculture products that can be applied to fruit and vegetables after harvest. These include a post-harvest wash and guard system designed to suppress mould and microbial growth during storage, transport and retail.
That matters in a region where supply chains are often fragmented and temperature control can be inconsistent outside premium channels. In markets such as Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, produce may move through multiple intermediaries before reaching consumers. Even in Singapore, where retail standards are high, the country’s reliance on food imports makes shelf life a national resilience issue as much as a supermarket concern.
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Food waste is also a stubborn problem for Singapore. The city-state generates hundreds of thousands of tonnes of food waste each year, according to official waste statistics, while importing more than 90 per cent of its food. Any technology that can keep produce usable for longer without adding heavy infrastructure could therefore have relevance beyond a niche sustainability story.
Commercial traction beyond the lab
N&E is not entering this round as a company still searching for its first use case. Its customers already include Singapore Airlines and supermarket chain Sheng Siong. Its KeepWell hand sanitiser was also selected for inclusion in the official 2026 Singapore National Day Parade fun pack, putting the company’s technology in front of a mass local audience.
The new capital will be used to expand ViKANG99 across three areas: active antimicrobial food packaging, plant-based cleaning, and post-harvest agriculture. N&E also plans to support regulatory programmes, international market entry and team expansion.
Australia is shaping up as one of its key growth markets. Kinoya was appointed exclusive Australian distributor for the KeepWell range in June, with selected IGA supermarkets in Sydney lined up as an initial retail channel. KeepWell products are already being trialled by hospitality businesses including M Bar Thai Eatery, Show Nom Dessert and Show Neua Thai.
The Orange Wrap has also entered Australia’s foodservice market through Perth-based distributor Familiar Goods, which supplies hotels, restaurants and other foodservice operators.
For N&E, Australia offers a useful test bed. It is a sophisticated retail and foodservice market with strict food safety expectations, but it also faces long supply routes and high spoilage costs across fresh produce. Success there could strengthen N&E’s case with partners in other developed markets, including the UK and Germany, while giving it credibility in regional export markets such as Vietnam and Taiwan.
A crowded but growing shelf-life race
N&E is operating in a global market where several startups and established players are trying to extend food shelf life without relying solely on cold-chain expansion or traditional preservatives.
US-based Apeel Sciences, one of the best-known companies in the space, developed plant-derived coatings that slow water loss and oxidation in produce. Hazel Technologies, also from the US, works on packaging inserts that regulate ripening and reduce spoilage.
AgroFresh, a more established post-harvest technology player, provides freshness solutions for fruit supply chains, while startups such as Mori and Sufresca are exploring edible or biodegradable coatings.
N&E’s differentiation lies in its use of upcycled agricultural waste as an antimicrobial source and its attempt to apply the same active ingredient across packaging, cleaning and post-harvest treatment. That breadth could open several revenue channels, though it also means the company must navigate different regulatory regimes, customer buying cycles and product-performance expectations at once.
The company’s model is described as licensing-led, with ViKANG99 embedded into partner products rather than only sold through N&E’s own branded lines. If executed well, that could help it scale without building a large manufacturing footprint in every market. But licensing in food and packaging is rarely quick; partners typically require evidence on safety, performance, cost, durability and consumer acceptance.
Why investors are paying attention
Tundra Capital Managing Partner Timothy Hui said the investment fits the firm’s focus on technologies that address structural challenges in food systems.
“N&E Innovations is one of those startups that ticks every box; their technology transforms agricultural waste into a valuable ingredient, their antimicrobial active ingredient is applicable at various points across the food value chain, and they have demonstrated customers globally love their product,” Hui said.
The round also reflects a broader investor interest in climate-adjacent technologies that can show near-term commercial value. Food waste reduction has often been framed as an environmental goal, but for supermarkets, restaurants and growers, the argument is simpler: less spoilage means better margins.
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For Southeast Asian startups, that commercial framing is important. Sustainability products can struggle when they are priced as a moral choice. They stand a better chance when they solve a cost, compliance or operational problem. N&E’s challenge now is to prove that its food-waste-derived antimicrobial can do so consistently across geographies and applications.
The company’s story is also unusually circular: agricultural waste becomes an ingredient that helps prevent more food from becoming waste. If N&E can translate that logic into scalable products and partnerships, it could turn a Singapore lab-born idea into a practical tool for food systems well beyond the region.
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