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Houston, we have a problem!
Singapore’s favorite dish – chicken rice – is under threat after a recent decision from Malaysia may make it difficult to get the main ingredient. A stallholder compared the potential shortage to having “no pizza in New York.”
The city-state relies on its neighbor country for a third of the chicken it consumes. But Malaysia recently limited the amount of chicken for export as food prices skyrocket across the world.
Could alternative proteins solve this problem for Singapore and other countries that are also dependent on meat imports?
Perhaps someday, but current prices may be hard to swallow for many. But Southeast Asia’s alternative-protein makers have been in the spotlight over the past few years, courtesy of rising interest from investors. Funding into these startups surged fivefold between 2019 and 2022.
In this week’s Big Story, my colleague Roehl maps out this burgeoning industry and its stakeholders. He discusses which kind of meatless meat gets the bigger piece of the investment pie and dives into the reasons why people consume or reject alt proteins.
However, the industry faces a few challenges, like price parity with animal meat. My colleague Nikita explained these stumbling blocks in an analysis we published last month.
Nevertheless, there are promising signs for the industry. The increasing availability of alt meats in chain restaurants such as KFC, McDonald’s, Burger King, Starbucks, and Shakey’s is a good indicator of market demand and acceptance.
Even as the alternative protein industry aims for the stars, Singapore is doubling down on its space ambitions. The island nation has earmarked US$110 million for spacetech and is also open to international collaborations. The move may very well help put Singapore and Southeast Asia as a whole on the global space map, as Nikita notes in Making Waves.
— Kul
THE BIG STORY
Plating SEA’s alt-meat makers
Image credit: Timmy Loen
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