Big Max burgers at Burgreens
“Conscious consumption”, or a more healthy way of diet and food consumption, has been the driving trend in the food tech sector for the last five to ten years, finds a new study.
Companies are creating alternative and plant-based protein and dairy, incorporating alternative ingredients such as CBD and algae, and developing free-form and cell-based food, says the White Star Capital study.
This is largely due to a shift in people’s values of food consumption, towards a healthier lifestyle.
According to Pitchbook, a company providing private market data, a significant chunk of the market share will be taken away from the US$350 billion annual meat market.
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This is because a massive number of people are now switching from animal-based proteins to plant-based ones because of COVID-19 where many reports identify meat markets as the source of the virus.
Food innovation and bio-engineered food have been predicted to continue growing annually by 10 per cent with the possibility of reaching US$104.6 billion by 2025.
This has largely provided a surprise opportunity and boost to this industry, but North America has maintained domination in the market in terms of global sales.
However, more Asian companies are also coming up to join the trend.
Most of the current innovations in Southeast Asia are now centred around alternatives to animal products.
The White Star study further says Asia and North America have driven VC funding in the foodtech segment globally, attracting over US$33 billion over the last three years.
In Asia, on-demand food delivery and grocery sales are growing at a 24.4 per cent CAGR, accounting for a 55 per cent share of the global online food delivery market, which is driven by high adoption rates of super apps such as WeChat.
Pet food is a sub-sector that has grown more than 33x since 2011, reaching US$375 million globally in 2019 — primarily driven by changing pet owner values and preferences for things like natural and organic ingredients.
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White Star Capital is an early-stage VC firm which primarily invests in North America and Europe. Its portfolio companies include Asia Innovations (Hong Kong), healthy meal startup Freshly (New York), rewards app Drop out of (Toronto), on-demand photo platform Meero (Paris), ride-sharing mobility platform Tier Mobility (Berlin), and dog food startup Butternut Box (London).
Last year, White Star Capital opened a new office in Hong Kong.
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This article was first published on September 25, 2020.
Image Credit: Burgreens
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