Start-up Spotlight: Seedlip, BNutty, Shiok Meats and more feature in our round-up

‘Drink without drinking’: Non-alcoholic spirit brand Seedlip riding discovery and health trends in APAC​

Non-alcoholic spirit brand Seedlip believes that the strength of new product discovery as well as health and wellness trends in the Asia Pacific region are key industry drivers that are set to propel the sector to new heights, especially in Singapore.

Seedlip claims to be the first-ever distilled non-alcoholic spirit brand and is undoubtedly a pioneer of the non-alcoholic adult beverage sector, and differentiates itself from other industry players such as Lyre’s and AF Drinks by shying away from the emulation of traditional alcoholic spirits.

“The non-alcoholic adult beverages sector has now developed to a point where there are broadly two emerging categories – one is where brands work on emulating traditional spirits, and the other is looking to break more boundaries by establishing something completely different in terms of product innovation,” ​Chris Marshall, Owner of Seedlip’s official South East Asia operations partner Distilled told FoodNavigator-Asia​.

‘Snackable’ protein: US gourmet peanut butter brand BNutty banks on flavour and texture to accelerate Asia growth​

Specialist peanut butter brand BNutty has its eye on the Singapore market this year, and is banking on its flavours a ndtextures to accelerate its growth in the region.

BNutty hails from the state of Indiana in the United States, and boasts over 20 different flavours in its portfolio.

The firm has successfully ranged its peanut butter in about 5,000 stores nationwide across the US including both big names like Albertsons and regional stores like SpartanNash, and has also widened its reach to 14 different countries across South America, the Caribbean and the GCC.

“Now our next major target is Asia, and we definitely want to start with Singapore, and we’re looking at South Korea as well,”​ BNutty Co-Founder Carol Podolak told FoodNavigator-Asia​.

Big stride: Shiok Meats confirms 2023 commercial launch plans as cultivated shrimp reaches US$50/kg milestone​

Cultivated seafood pioneer Shiok Meats has revealed that its production costs have now dropped to the coveted US$50/kg milestone, bringing it even closer to realising its commercial launch plans by the end of 2023.

When we last discussed cultivated shrimp pricing with Shiok Meats’ Group Co-Founder and CEO Sandhya Sriram back in 2020, the price per kilogramme was hovering at around US$7,000 – demonstrating the enormous progress the firm has made over the last two years.

“This US$50/kg milestone is really a big milestone and a huge win for us compared to the US$10,000 or US$5,000 that we were at previously, it’s a huge update we’re very proud to be sharing with the industry,”​ Sriram told FoodNavigator-Asia​.

Alaskan appeal: Pioneering salmon jerky firm looking to make inroads in Singapore market​

Pioneering premium salmon jerky firm UFisheries has its eye on entering the Singapore market, and is particularly targeting female consumers.

UFisheries is based out of the United States and is one of the first to have created jerky using salmon as opposed to beef or pork, but its Singaporean Founder Julie Wong is looking to return to her roots in her home country with the business.

She believes her products will achieve as strong success here as it has in the United States: “Using fish in jerky is really not a western thing – fish this way is very much an Asian proposition and basically unheard of in the United States, whereas the use of Alaskan wild-caught salmon to make products is on the other hand extremely rare in Asia,”​ Wong told FoodNavigator-Asia.​

Cultivated seafood start-up targets ‘fleshy’ tilapia species for mass disruption: ‘Our cell-based fish will be better than the original’​

E-FISHient Protein is developing raw material for fish cutlets, fish fingers, and fish balls, with plans to do the same for fish fillet, the start-up’s CEO Dana Levin tells FoodNavigator.

The cultivated seafood sector is growing with the addition of E-FISHient Protein, a joint venture born out of collaboration between BioMeat Foodtech and the Volcani Institute in Israel.