Temasek-owned Asia Sustainable Foods Platform, Cremer invest S$6m in plant to grow alternative protein sector

STATE investor Temasek, through its Asia Sustainable Foods Platform (ASF) and Cremer, a German agri-food multinational company, have jointly invested S$6 million to produce plant-based alternative proteins.

Cremer Sustainable Foods, a joint venture between ASF and Cremer, will provide contract manufacturing facilities to partners who require the use of its high-moisture extrusion (HME) technology.

Its 11,000-square-foot contract development and manufacturing operation facility in Tuas, officially opened on Wednesday (Jul 20), is expected to produce up to 1,300 tonnes of plant-based products each year, the equivalent of about 4.3 million chicken breasts.

From Aug 1, production will begin for a client that has signed on to manufacture 1,000 tonnes of alternative protein product, said Damian Kruger, general manager for Sustainable Nutrition at Cremer. They are in discussions with “4 to 5” other potential clients.

ASF’s chief executive Mathys Boeren said that compared to the US and Europe, Asia has insufficient contract-manufacturing capacity and capabilities for alternative proteins. Localised manufacturing would shorten the supply chain and reduce the carbon footprint of alternative proteins, he added.

In an HME production line, plant proteins, concentrate or isolates are “knitted” together to create a fibrous texture, unlike traditional plant-based manufacturing techniques which mix proteins, skipping the extrusion process.

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Through the contract-manufacturing facility, food tech companies will not need to establish their own facilities and can scale up their businesses while remaining asset-light.

Clients can bring their own recipes for the plant to produce; recipes can also be co-created depending on client requirements, or they could use and tweak recipes taken from the facilities’ own repertoire, said Kruger.

The new HME plant is Cremer’s third. Its first 2 such facilities are in Canada and China.

Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling, who graced the opening of the facility, said that Cremer’s expertise will augment Singapore’s manufacturing capabilities and support businesses in the sector. Temasek’s ASF Platform, established in 2021, provides a network of corporates and startups working together to bring alternative protein technologies to market even more quickly.

In 2021, the number of investors in the sector jumped by 40 per cent globally, and global sales of plant-based meat surpassed US$5 billion, she noted.

She added: “The plant-based food market is expected to make up 7.7 per cent of the global protein market in 8 years, with a value exceeding US$162 billion. This means that it represents a more than 5-fold increase from 2020.”

ASF and Cremer acknowledged the possibility of expansion both in the Singapore facility and in other South-east Asian countries. However, they are first looking for demand to pick up.

Asked about plant-based protein being more expensive than animal protein, Boeren said that although producing 1,300 tonnes is “an interesting start”, it is still a “single digit percentage” of animal protein consumption in Singapore.

However, he foresees that as consumers come to appreciate the taste, texture and nutritional value of plant proteins, they will be able to scale up production. Prices would then come down.

Kruger added that they are “not so much in a rush just to build”. Ideally, like in the case of the Singapore facility, potential expansions would come hand-in-hand with commitments from clients who want to have more product, he said.

Low noted that Singapore, as one of the top 5 global logistics hubs, is poised to pave the way for companies in urban food solutions to capture key Asian markets like China, India and Japan.

She added that the Republic is also the world’s second-largest trading partner for agri-commodities, which are critical raw materials for plant-based proteins.

Furthermore, the country possesses a wealth of expertise, as a research-and-development hub for the world’s top companies in relevant sectors, and is supportive of “progressive and forward-looking regulations for novel food products”.

Low said: “With partners like Temasek and Cremer, Singapore hopes to bring together innovators in this field, strengthen our agri-food ecosystem, foster greater knowledge sharing across the industry, and ultimately create a more sustainable future.”