Better Bite sets up $15m fund for alternative protein startups

VC firm Better Bite Ventures has launched a US$15 million fund for investments in alternative protein startups across the Asia Pacific.

Better Bite Ventures co-founders Simon Newstead (left) and Michal Klar / Photo credit: Better Bite Ventures

The fund, founded by Michal Klar and Simon Newstead, is backed by impact investors, growth-stage fund managers, family offices, as well as food and tech entrepreneurs from Asia, the US, and Europe. It invests primarily at the founding, pre-seed, and seed stages. The Better Bite Ventures team also includes venture partner Sonalie Figueiras, founder of Green Queen Media.

Currently, the fund has an initial portfolio of 10 Asia-Pacific startups, which are using plant-based and cellular agriculture tech to create climate-friendly alternatives to meat, dairy, eggs, and seafood.

The global market for alternative meat could hit US$290 billion in size by 2035, which is 11% of the overall protein market, with two-thirds of consumption coming from the Asia Pacific, according to the Boston Consulting Group.

“Now is the time for Asia. We believe homegrown companies with local insights will take a leading role in this rapidly growing market,” said Klar, general partner at Better Bite Ventures.

Beefless satay sticks by Green Rebel Foods, a portfolio startup of Better Bite Ventures / Photo credit: Better Bite Ventures

The launch portfolio includes companies from China, Singapore, Indonesia, and Australia:

• Blue Canopy, which aims to build a mass market for alternative protein ingredients using biomass fermentation.
• CellX, a China-based cultivated meat startup.
• Change Foods, which was founded in Australia and is reinventing cheese with precision fermentation tech.
• Fable Food Co, an Australia-based firm, which transforms mushrooms into meat.
• Green Rebel Foods, a plant-based meat and dairy startup based in Indonesia.
• Me&, an Australia-based firm, which focuses on the human milk and infant nutrition market with cell-based tech.
• Meatiply, which develops cultivated poultry out of Singapore.
• Next Gen Foods, makers of plant-based chicken, based out of Singapore.
• Umami Meats, which addresses sustainability issues in seafood by developing cell-cultured fish in Singapore.
• A molecular farming startup in stealth mode