Singapore cultured seafood startup wins Nikkei Asia Award

30 December,2021

A Singaporean startup that makes lab-cultured seafood has been named winner of the inaugural Nikkei Asia Award for its unique technology and potential benefit to society, Nikkei announced.

Founded in 2018, Shiok Meats is a unique company in Asia’s emerging alternative food industry, as it focuses on shrimp, lobster, and crab. Its products have the potential to contribute to food security as the global population grows. They may also help resolve problems such as overfishing and environmental damage stemming from construction of fish farms — key issues for Asia.

“We want to use technology to make this world a better place, and to provide sustainable, environment-friendly, cruelty-free, healthy food for everybody,” Shiok Meats CEO Sandhya Sriram told Nikkei Asia in an interview. “I would like no malnutrition, no starvation in the world. Everybody needs to get access to good food. That is the ultimate aim.”

A stem cell scientist, Sriram, 36, was interested in cultured meat technology and co-founded Shiok Meats — shiok means “delicious” in Singaporean slang — with Ling Ka Yi, 34, who serves as the company’s chief technology officer. The two previously worked as scientists at Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research.

Shiok Meats makes minced shrimp, lobster and crab, but the products have yet to be commercialized. The lab-grown meat can be used for dishes such as dumplings and spring rolls by mixing it with other ingredients such as pork and chicken. The company hopes to sell its meat to restaurants and to collaborate with food processors to make ready-to-eat products. It is aiming to begin commercial sales in mid-2023.

“We are looking at restaurants, and also we are looking at ready-to-eat products that you can buy from the grocery store or the supermarket,” Sriram said. The company plans to roll out products in Singapore first and is also looking at other markets, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong, subject to regulatory approvals.

Unlike plant-based proteins that use ingredients such as soybeans, Shiok Meats’ products are made from animal cells, which the company believes results in meat that tastes closer to actual seafood. But culturing meat is no simple task. It requires advanced technology.

After extracting muscle and fat cells from live animals, the meat is cultured. Cells are stored in a stem cell bank so that the company does not have to extract new cells.

“Currently, we are still the only company in the entire world working on cultivated shrimp,” said Sriram, stressing that its technology is “very unique.” The company has first-mover advantages, including in obtaining patents, the CEO said.

The three-year-old company has attracted investment and talent from outside Singapore, raising about $30 million so far from such investors as Japanese packaging manufacturer Toyo Seikan Group Holdings and South Korean food delivery platform Woowa Brothers. About a third of its 30-strong staff are from outside Singapore, Sriram said.

Alternative meat has drawn attention recently, with backers expressing hope that it can improve the environment, reduce food waste and help address potential future food crises as the world’s population rises. “There will be 10 billion people in the world. So we need more protein and more products,” Sriram said. The products are also creating new markets, such as “plant-based meat” for vegetarians.