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Better Bite Ventures, a fund focused on Asia Pacific alternative protein startups, has on Wednesday announced four new investments under its early-stage First Bite initiative and reopens it for new applications.
“Asia Pacific (APAC) is the world’s largest and fastest-growing protein market. We believe innovative startups are key to making the region’s food system more sustainable and resilient, and we want to support as many exceptional founders as possible,” Better Bite Ventures Founding Partner Michal Klar said in a statement.
Launched a few months ago, First Bite Ventures offers a $50,000 investment to new and aspiring alt protein founders in the APAC region, typically their first external funding.
“Founders often think it’s too early to approach us when they’re just starting with an innovative idea,
“In reality, there’s no such thing as too early—we want to talk to and support founders right from the start of their journey,” said Simon Newstead, Founding Partner of Better Bite Ventures.
Better Bite Ventures unveils the first four startups to receive investments through the First Bite initiative.
These companies, based in Singapore, New Zealand, and India, employ a range of technologies, including plant-based, fermented and cultivated proteins:
– Allium Bio (Singapore) focuses on co-culturing microalgae and mycelium to create more sustainable and more functional ingredients, starting with protein isolate.
Allium is co-founded by entrepreneur Jon Ho and biochemistry PhD Albertus Sarwono, previously a food science researcher at A*STAR.
– Cultivaer (Singapore) is a stealth-mode startup, developing novel bioreactor-free technology that could significantly reduce costs and accelerate the scalability of fermentation-derived alt proteins. The co-founders hold PhDs in bioengineering and food science.
– EatKinda (New Zealand) crafts creamy plant-based ice cream from cauliflower, utilizing cosmetically imperfect vegetables that would otherwise go to waste.
Food technologist Mrinali Kumar and vegan chef Jenni Matheson joined forces to found the company.
– Klevermeat (India) is the country’s first cultivated (cell-based) seafood startup, striving to enhance the sustainability of the seafood industry.
The firm is co-founded by serial entrepreneur Nithin Shetty and cell biology PhD Swapnil Kamble.
Since its launch in late 2021, Better Bite Ventures has invested in 20 early-stage alt protein companies across APAC, including Singapore, China, India, Australia, Indonesia, and more, representing a range of technologies from plant-based to fermentation-derived and cultivated
proteins.
A new round of First Bite applications is now open until May 19, offering $50,000 investments to help early-stage founders get their projects off the ground.
Better Bite Ventures is a $15 million venture capital fund supporting early-stage alternative protein startups.
The firm is the first fund of its kind focused entirely on the APAC region.
Better Bite Ventures launches $15M fund for alternative protein startups in Asia Pacific