SG alt-meat makers Shiok Meats, Umami Bioworks set to merge

TWO Singapore-based cultivated seafood startups, Shiok Meats and Umami Bioworks (formerly known as Umami Meats), are merging. Sandhya Sriram, CEO of Shiok Meats, announced the news in a LinkedIn post, adding that the transaction will close “in the coming weeks.”

Mihir Pershad, Umami Bioworks’ founder and CEO, will lead the company post-merger, as reported by food and climate publication Green Queen. The merged entity will use the Umami Bioworks name while retaining the Shiok Meats brand.

Pershad said the merger is a stock deal that will see Umami Bioworks acquire all of Shiok Meats’ assets, though he did not disclose the transaction’s amount. While some Shiok Meats employees will join Umami Bioworks, Sriram will leave the company, six years after founding it.

The deal is a major development for Southeast Asia’s still-nascent alternative meat industry, but especially so in Singapore, where the market has developed enough for its government to work on regulatory frameworks for novel foods. This has attracted multiple foreign startups to set up shop in the city-state, and it has also led to the growth of local players like Meatiply.

However, data from foodtech VC firm AgFunder showed that global funding for cultivated meat companies declined sharply in 2023.

In an interview with AgFunderNews, Pershad noted that Shiok Meats “couldn’t see a clear path” to raising the next, larger phase of capital, which “everyone is struggling to get at the moment.” He added that Umami Bioworks’ B2B, asset-light model gives it a clearer path forward “without needing that large raise.”

Founded in 2018, Shiok Meats focused on cell-based crustacean products. According to Tech in Asia’s database, it raised US$20.7 million in total disclosed funding, with its latest fundraise being a bridge round in 2021.

Meanwhile, Umami Bioworks focuses on high-value and endangered species like grouper and eel, while also offering an automated tech platform in partnerships with other food companies. It has raised one disclosed round of funding – a US$2.4 million bridge investment in 2022.

Last year, Shiok Meats lost half of its team following two rounds of layoffs and the departure of several employees due to doubts about the company’s future.

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