HONG KONG, Jun 22, 2020 - (ACN Newswire) - The Good Food Institute Asia-Pacific (GFI APAC) today reveals the "2020 Asia Alt 100" organizations, together with a list of major investors identified as the driving forces for Asia's rapidly growing alternative protein industry. The raw materials and food production segments present significant opportunities, especially for regional industry players, according to GFI APAC's analysis.

GFI APAC Elaine Siu

The inaugural "Asia Alt 100" list published by GFI APAC identifies the 100 top players in Asia's alternative protein industry, from five building block segments, namely raw materials and ingredients, food production, research and development, corporate partnership, to end products. The research covers players in major markets in Asia including mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and South Korea. (Please see the full list in Appendix I)

Investment in alternative protein has been a major trend in the food industry worldwide in recent years. While alternative protein may still be in its infancy stage in Asia, compared to more mature markets such as the U.S. where plant-based retail sales already reached US$5 billion in value , there are unique opportunities in the growing Asia market to be captured, and both corporates and start-ups are clearly keen to compete for a share in this growing segment. Out of the "2020 Asia Alt 100", over half (57%) are corporates, 29% are start-ups, while the remaining 14% are academic institutions.

"Coming from a background of very vibrant and diversified food cultures, Asian consumers have a discerning palate and demand for a great variety when it comes to food. For alternative protein to truly become a protein solution for Asia, the industry needs to move beyond importing technologies and brands from Silicon Valley. We need homegrown players who understand and can cater to the local markets' taste," says Elaine Siu, Managing Director of GFI Asia Pacific.

"We have already seen local innovators and companies starting to emerge in the past year with huge potential to lead the future growth of this sector. With the Asia Alt 100, we have identified the ones we see as the top disruptors in the industry which have demonstrated that they are seriously committed to, and invested into, growing the alternative protein industry."

The Asia Alt 100 is presented in GFI APAC's Asia Alternative Protein Industry Map, which shows who these key players are and how they work together, alongside a list of 35 key investors in the field. Investors are another very important building block propelling the developments of alternative protein in Asia. They come from around and outside of Asia, including Singapore (10), Hong Kong (6), Japan (5), mainland China (4), South Korea (1), other southeast Asian countries (2) and outside of Asia (7). Twenty-eight out of the 35 investors identified are venture capital firms, while the remaining seven are accelerators. (Please refer to Appendix II for the full list of investors).

According to Siu, "While major consumer brands and retailers launching the 'next plant-based burger' have been getting the spotlights, as the industry matures, we have seen investors showing increasing interests in raw materials and ingredients suppliers and B2B companies." Both raw materials and production are integral parts of the alternative protein value chain, but the market is only just catching up on discovering the opportunities that lie in the upper stream. For example, currently Asian countries such as China and Indonesia are heavily growing plant-based protein's raw materials such as soybean and peas, while approximately 50% of the global supply of soy protein is being processed in mainland China, mainly in the Shandong and Henan regions.

Currently, about half (58%) of the raw material and ingredient suppliers in the 2020 Asia Alt 100 list are originated in Asia. If more homegrown players from Asia will enter the market to leverage the proximity to raw materials and processing capabilities, the industry as a whole can potentially bring down production costs to make alternative protein more affordable to Asian consumers and accelerate the development of the alternative protein sector in Asia.

Siu concludes: "We are currently at an exciting phase of accelerating growth in the alternative protein in Asia. It is expected that more and more Asian companies will enter the industry as the local players start to realize the competitive advantage they have in growing raw materials, processing ingredients, local distribution network, supply chain infrastructure, and of course, in creating products that are tailored to the variety of Asian palate and culture."

Note:The team at GFI APAC is in a unique position to have their finger to the pulse of the industry. Day in day out the team is consulted by startups (in many cases even before they formed their founding team), corporates, investors, scientists, and policymakers, free of charge. Being privy to and trusted with invaluable information, the GFI APAC team has the inside track to identify the top players that have demonstrated that they are seriously committed to, and invested into, growing the alternative protein industry, and deserve a place in the "Asia Alt 100" list.

Details of the scope of this study are as follows:

- RegionsIncluded: Major markets in Asia e.g. Singapore, mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea.Excluded: India

- BusinessesIncluded: Raw materials and ingredients, food production, research and development, and corporate partners. In line with our goal to increase transparency and awareness of the makers in the supply chain.Excluded: Retailers and food service providers.

- Local PresenceIncluded: Companies incorporated in Asia, and companies incorporated outside of Asia but have built a local presence or otherwise invested significantly in Asia.Excluded: Companies incorporated outside of Asia and without a local presence or significant investment in Asia, notwithstanding that their products may be available in Asia via distributors.

Mapping the Industry

This year, GFI APAC presents the 2020 Asia Alt 100 alongside 35 investors on the Asia Alternative Protein Industry Map to showcase not only the who's who of this sector but how they work together. Please view the full map at the following link: http://www.gfi-apac.org/asia-alt-100/

About The Good Food Institute (GFI)

The Good Food Institute is an international non-profit building a sustainable, healthy, and just global food system. With unique insight across the scientific, regulatory, industry, and investment landscape, we are accelerating the transition of the world's food system to alternative proteins using the power of food innovation and markets. For more information, please go to: http://www.gfi-apac.org/

Media ContactViola ChenDirect: +852 5426 0552Email: violac@gfi.org

Investor ContactElaine SiuDirect: +852 9872 1690Email: elaines@gfi.org

Appendix I: 2020 Asia Alt 100 - Full List (by alphabetical order)

1. AAK https://www.aak.com/2. ADM https://www.adm.com/3. Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) https://www.a-star.edu.sg/4. Avant Meats http://www.avantmeats.com/5. Avebe https://www.avebe.com/6. Awano Food Group http://awanofood.com/7. Axiom Foods http://axiomfoods.com/#8. Baicaowei https://www.vipbcw.com/9. Beijing Technology & Business University http://english.btbu.edu.cn/10. Betagro Group http://www.betagro.com/intro11. Beyond Meat https://www.beyondmeat.com/12. Buhler https://www.buhlergroup.com/content/buhlergroup/global/en/homepage.html13. Calysta http://calysta.com/14. Cargill https://www.cargill.com/15. Cellivate Technologies https://www.cellivate.xyz/16. Charoen Pokphand Foods https://www.cpfworldwide.com/en/home17. DAIZ https://www.daiz.inc/18. Danisco (China) Investment https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/ACHDOZ:CH19. DSM https://www.dsm.com/corporate/home.html20. Duoning Biotech https://www.duoningbio.net/21. DuPont https://www.dupont.com/22. Fuji Oil https://www.fujioil.co.jp/en/index.html23. Givaudan https://www.givaudan.com/24. Glico Nutrition https://www.glico.com/nutrition/en/25. Growthwell Group http://growthwellfoods.com/26. Hey Maet http://heymaet.com/27. Hongchang Biotech (Suzhou) http://en.hongchangfood.cn/28. Impossible Foods https://impossiblefoods.com/29. Ingredion https://www.ingredion.com/30. Integriculture https://integriculture.jp/?locale=en31. Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) https://www.jst.go.jp/EN/32. Jiangnan University http://english.jiangnan.edu.cn/33. Jinnong http://www.jinnongbio.com/html/en/34. Jinzi Ham https://www.reuters.com/companies/002515.SZ35. JUST https://www.ju.st/en-us36. Kagoshima University https://www.kagoshima-u.ac.jp/en/37. Karana https://eatkarana.com/38. Kerry https://www.kerrygroup.com/39. KosmodeHealth https://kosmodehealth.com/40. Lesaffre https://www.lesaffre.com/41. Let's Plant Meat https://www.letsplantmeat.co/42. Life 3 Biotech https://www.life3.co/43. Loma Linda https://atlanticnaturalfoods.com/loma-linda/44. Marvelous Foods https://marvelousfoods.com/45. Mitsui Co https://www.mitsui.com/jp/en/index.html46. Monde Nissin https://www.mondenissin.com/47. Nanjing Agricultural University http://english.njau.edu.cn/48. Nanjing Zhouzi Future Food http://www.js.xinhuanet.com/2020-01/22/c_1125492974.htm49. Nanyang Technological University (NTU) https://www.ntu.edu.sg/Pages/home.aspx50. National University of Singapore (NUS) http://www.nus.edu.sg/51. Nestle https://www.nestle.com/52. NH Foods https://www.nipponham.co.jp/eng/53. Ningbo Sulian Food https://tinyurl.com/yavte3nz54. Nishimoto Co. https://www.wismettac.com/en/index.html55. Nissin Foods https://www.nissin.com/en_jp/56. Omni Foods https://omnipork.co/57. Otsuka Food https://www.otsuka.com/en/rd/consumer/58. Pepsico https://www.pepsico.com/59. PFI Foods http://www.pfifoods.com/60. Phuture Foods http://phuturemeat.com/61. Phyto Corporation https://www.phytoco.com/62. Pulmuone https://www.pulmuonefoodsusa.com/63. Quorn https://www.quorn.co.uk/about-quorn/protein64. Robobank https://www.rabobank.com/en/home/index.html?languageDoesNotExists=zh65. Roquette https://www.roquette.com/66. Shanxi Nutranovo http://www.nutranovo.com/67. Shinshu University https://www.shinshu-u.ac.jp/english/68. Shiok Meats https://shiokmeats.com/69. Shuangta Food http://en.shuangtafood.com/70. SiCell https://tinyurl.com/y7wav6nj71. Sophie's BioNutrients https://www.linkedin.com/in/eugene-wang-2957b86/72. South China University of Technology https://www.scut.edu.cn/en/73. SPC Samlip http://www.spc.co.kr/spc/eng/group/GF_samlip.spc74. Starfield https://www.starfieldcn.com/75. Sumitomo Corporation https://www.sumitomocorp.com/en/jp76. Supersun http://supersunvegefood.lk/77. Tereos https://tereos.com/en/#78. TerViva https://www.terviva.com/79. The Chinese University of Hong Kong https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/english/index.html80. The PlantEat https://theplanteat.github.io/81. Tianjin Norland http://www.norlandbiotech.com/82. Tokyo Medical and Dental University http://www.tmd.ac.jp/english/83. Tokyo Women's Medical University http://www.twmu.ac.jp/english/84. Toriyama Chikusan Shokuhin https://umami-wagyu.com/85. Triton Algae Innovation https://www.tritonai.com/86. Tupac.Bio https://tupac.bio/index.html87. Turtletree Labs https://turtletreelabs.com/88. UCDI https://www.co2.co.jp/english/89. University of Tokyo https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/90. Unlimeat https://tinyurl.com/yap9cygn91. Veego https://tinyurl.com/ycz8f6ody92. Vegetari Healthy Bites https://www.vegetari.ph/93. Vesta http://www.vestafoodlab.com/94. Whole Perfect Food / Qishan http://www.qishanfoods.com/index.html95. Wilmar International https://www.wilmar-international.com/96. Worth The Health Foods https://www.wthfoods.ph/97. Z-Rou http://www.z-roumeat.com/98. Zero Meat https://zeromeat.jp/99. Zhen Meat https://zhenmeat.com/en100. Zikooin https://zikooin-market.com/

Appendix II: Key investors - Full List (by region)

1. Brinc Hong Kong https://www.brinc.io/2. Green Monday Ventures Hong Kong https://greenmonday.org/en/ventures/3. Horizons Ventures Hong Kong https://www.horizonsventures.com/4. Lever VC Hong Kong https://www.levervc.com/5. Vectr Ventures Hong Kong https://vectr.co/6. VU Venture Partners Hong Kong https://www.vuventurepartners.com/7. Bits X Bites. Mainland China http://www.bitsxbites.com/8. Dao Foods Mainland China https://www.daofoods.com/9. Joy Capital Mainland China http://www.joycapital.com.cn/en10. Matrix Partners China Mainland China https://www.matrixpartners.com/11. Beyond Next Ventures Japan http://beyondnextventures.com/en/12. Glocalink Japan https://en.glocalink.com/13. Hiroshima Venture Capital Japan https://www.h-vc.co.jp/14. RealTech Fund Japan https://www.realtech.fund/en/15. Yakumi Investment Japan https://www.yakumi.co/16. Big Idea Ventures Singapore https://bigideaventures.com/17. DSG Consumer Partners Singapore https://dsgcp.com/18. Germi8 Singapore https://www.germi8.com/19. GROW Singapore https://www.gogrow.co/20. Hatch Singapore https://www.hatch.blue/21. ID Capital Singapore https://www.idcapital.com.sg/22. Innovate 360 Singapore http://innovate360.sg/23. Makana Ventures Singapore https://www.makanaventures.com/24. Temasek Singapore https://www.temasek.com.sg/en/index25. VisVires New Protein Singapore https://www.visviresnewprotein.com/26. Mirae Asset Global Investments South Korea https://www.am.miraeasset.com/27. Space-F Other SEA https://www.space-f.co/28. Thai Union Other SEA https://www.thaiunion.com/en/home29. Agfunder Out of Asia https://agfunder.com/30. Artesian Capital Out of Asia https://www.artesianinvest.com/overview-vc31. Blue Horizon Out of Asia https://www.bluehorizon.com/32. New Crop Capital (NCC) Out of Asia https://www.linkedin.com/company/new-crop-capital/33. Tyson Ventures Out of Asia https://www.tysonfoods.com/innovation/food-innovation/tyson-ventures34. Unovis Partners Out of Asia https://www.unovis.vc/35. VegInvest Out of Asia https://www.veginvesttrust.com/

Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.com