Eat Just shows cracks as it reportedly halts SG operations

Photo credit: Eat Just

US-based Eat Just, the company behind plant-based egg substitute Just Egg and cultivated meat brand Good Meat, has suspended operations in Singapore, The Straits Times reported.

The development follows a report from late 2023, which said that Eat Just was grappling with a US$100 million lawsuit from its bioreactor manufacturer in the US.

Regarding the suspension, the company is evaluating “various processing conditions, the unit economics, and a larger strategic approach to producing in Asia,” an Eat Just spokesperson told ST.

While Eat Just did not specify when it will restart operations, it emphasized plans to produce at least twice the quantity in Singapore this year compared to any previous year.

Just Egg, which had Singaporeans lining up during its three-day pop-up launch in 2018, also appears to be put on hold as its plans to build the largest plant-protein factory in Singapore’s Pioneer area have been shelved.

The plans were bankrolled by a US$120 million investment by Eat Just and Proterra Investment Partners Asia – a private equity fund manager with expertise in agritech and foodtech. Significant investments like these are needed in the industry, as cell-based meat production can sometimes be several hundred times more expensive than traditional meat, Fengru Lin, founder and CEO of alternative proteins firm TurtleTree told Tech in Asia in the past.

Eat Just’s US$61 million facility in Bedok seems to have suffered the same fate. Workers from neighboring offices told ST that two units were rarely in operation in the last six months.

Eat Just formally entered Singapore in 2020 after getting approval to sell its products locally. It is backed by the likes of Alibaba-backed private equity firm C2 Capital Partners.

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