An Eldorado for food innovators

The aim is clear and perfectly in tune with the SFA’s targets. “Through the Protein Innovation Centre, we aim to create an ecosystem that supports start-ups and food businesses in an environment of co-creation. The Centre will provide them with access to the expertise, networks, and technology needed to create authentic plant-based protein alternatives that meet consumer needs and expectations,” said Monila Kothari, APAC (Asia Pacific) President, Givaudan Taste & Wellbeing, in the wake of the opening ceremony.

The fact that Alvin Tan, Singapore’s Minister of State for Trade & Industry (MTI) and Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) attended the event highlights the importance of the PIC in Singapore. To Ian Roberts, Chief Technology Officer at Bühler, the PIC is a symbol of the importance of collaborative innovation to tackle some of the most urgent issues we’re facing. “Sustainably feeding a projected population of 10 billion people by 2050 is a challenge that cannot be solved alone. We are highly aware of the need to collaborate if we are to limit climate change to 1.5°C by 2030, while providing nutrition to our growing population. In the Protein Innovation Centre we combine with a like-minded partner to develop regionally relevant, great-tasting products on scalable industrial technology, providing a boost to the sustainable protein industry in Asia, home to half of the world’s population.”

Satya Dwi Putra is an Extrusion Technologist at Bühler and has been at the PIC almost every day since Bühler began setting up its processing technology at Givaudan’s Woodlands site. He is responsible for customer trials at the PIC and experiences the many benefits it offers on a daily basis. “Before we had the PIC, Bühler would fly customers to our nutrition application lab in Uzwil, Switzerland, where they could test recipes that they already had in mind on a large scale of up to 500 kilograms per hour. Here at the PIC, we can try different raw materials and flavors together with customers and Givaudan on a much smaller scale, like establishing a proof of concept, and making sure the recipe is scalable,” he explains. This adds agility and flexibility to the creation of new varieties, something that whets the appetite of both start-ups and big players in the food industry. “We’re currently running trials with SG Proteins, a Singapore-based contract manufacturing platform for meat analogs. The PIC is fully booked until the end of August for trials, which is perfect for us to learn from each other and adjust our workflows. After that, we’re starting trials with a multinational trading company of pulses, flour, and other grains whose goal it is to start creating their products using our technology for wet extrusion,” says Dwi Putra.

The variety of plant-based meat alternatives in Asia is already astonishing – from prawns to chicken and beef to name but a few. “Demand for locally sourced foods is increasing, and with that comes an appetite for plant-based products that mimic traditional Asian meat recipes such as Thai Pad Krapow, Vietnamese Banh Mi, or Hainanese ‘Chicken’ Rice. The only limiting factor is a lack of imagination when it comes to bringing new products to the market. To me, that’s the stark contrast to previous food trends such as fast food, which originated in the US and swept across the globe with the exact same recipes in every country as their secret for success,” explains Beauvisage.