Recent progress you’ve made possible

Now in its third year, ProVeg Asia’s Food Innovation Challenge has been expanded to the Asia Pacific region, bringing together food manufacturers and students in the name of innovative and creative sustainable food solutions. 179 applications were submitted by students from China, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Brunei, and India.

The Challenge was first launched in Singapore at Singapore Management University, with the support of the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Some of last year’s participants were in attendance and shared how participating in the challenge opened up opportunities. The challenge was also launched in Kuala Lumpur, with the support of the Tzu Chi Foundation, the Malaysia Veg Association, and the Berjaya Hotel. We also launched the challenge online across Asia in partnership with university-based members of Effective Altruism Singapore. In addition, as a co-initiator of the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate, we launched two online events to engage students from Tsinghua University, University of Tokyo, National University of Australia, and India Institute of Science.

Five teams were also given the opportunity to present their ideas online at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt, through the Food4Climate Pavilion hosted by ProVeg. The winners will be determined in January and will receive cash prizes of up to $10,000.

The ProVeg Incubator continues to expand its reach globally and empower more and more startups working in the alternative-protein space. In September, ProVeg launched its Latin America Incubator, Incubadora ProVeg, in partnership with the Mexican Association of Vegan Entrepreneurs (AEVM).

As the ProVeg Incubator’s partner, AEVM runs on-site sessions in Mexico City during the Incubator’s 12-week program. This new initiative has already onboarded three startups, which are participating in intensive workshops and networking with corporate partners such as NotCo, Libre Foods, and the investor Blue Horizon.

Meanwhile, the ProVeg Incubator in Berlin has welcomed 13 new startups from 12 different countries, including, for the first time, teams from New Zealand, Nigeria, and Ukraine. This innovative new cohort leverages exciting new ingredients such as seaweed and mycoprotein, as well as technologies like 3D-bioprinting, to take taste and texture to a new level. Your continued support has made it all possible, and together, we are making giant strides for the future of plant-based innovation.

With your help, ProVeg once again hosted two major events this last quarter, bringing together more than 600 key industry players in the plant-based scene during this year’s editions of the New Food Conference and New Food Invest.

• The fourth edition of the New Food Conference successfully inspired food innovation by bringing together around 400 experts and professionals from the food industry for two days of intensive networking and interactive discussions on the latest developments in animal alternatives. The event opened the floor for discussions on consumer behavior and the ever-growing potential of cellular agriculture, as well as providing a space for 30 pioneering startups and exhibitors to present their innovations.

• New Food Invest, the world’s first investment conference aimed exclusively at startups working in the alternative protein space, once again brought together more than 200 investors and venture capitalists from around the world. Focusing on the African, Middle-Eastern, and European markets, the conference covered diverse topics, including how to incorporate food-system transformation into sustainable investment strategies, and the challenges and opportunities of alternative-protein supply chains. 

The next online NFI event will take place in 2023 and will focus on the Asia-Pacific region.