Foodtech startup Float Foods raises S$2.2m in seed funding

FLOAT Foods, a Singapore foodtech startup producing plant-based foods, has raised US$2.2 million in seed funding to boost research and development (R&D) and accelerate commercialisation of its flagship product OnlyEg, a plant-based whole egg substitute.

Singapore-headquartered venture capital firms Insignia Ventures Partners and DSG Consumer Partners co-led the funding round. In 2018, the firms also backed plant-based stalwart Growthwell Group, Float Foods said in a press statement on Tuesday.

The new funding, which follows the award of a project development by Temasek Foundation in March this year, brings the startup to a post-money valuation of S$7.5 million.

Other investors in the oversubscribed funding round include Apricot Capital, Baksh Capital, Teja Ventures, Ebb & Flow, Water Tiger Investments, Agrocorp Ventures and Innovate 360.

With the new capital, Float Foods, which was incorporated in June last year, aims to optimise OnlyEg with nutritional enhancements and longer shelf life track for commercialisation in Singapore by 2022.

Made up of legumes-based substitutes, OnlyEg will be commericalised as two separate components resembling egg yolk and egg white, the startup said.

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Vinita Choolani, CEO of Float Foods, said that in addition to innovating and advancing a sustainable, plant-based food ecosystem in Singapore and beyond, the funding will help Float Foods deliver a "functional, versatile plant-based whole egg substitute aligned with Singapore's 30 x 30 goals".

The startup noted that the global plant-based food movement is projected to chart a 12 per cent compound annual growth rate to reach US$74 billion by 2027, and the Asia-Pacific is projected to record the highest growth during this period. The new investors may create opportunities for expansion beyond Singapore, it added.

Tan Yinglan, CEO and founding managing partner of Insignia Ventures Partners, said: "We see in Vinita an eye for innovation and a strong commercialisation ability, necessary to not only spot and develop the right plant-based products for the market but also enable and speed up its distribution to end-consumers - which is what this plant-based protein innovation wave needs."