Tech in Asia Explains: Alternative meat’s boom in Asia

The alternative meat industry has been booming globally for the past decade, but Asia has long resisted the trend, instead viewing meat as healthy, medicinal, and even sacred – there was simply no demand. 

It was only in 2019 that Asia saw funding and startups explode in the space. Consumers started to get on board the alternative-meat train and Singapore became the first country to green light the sale of lab-grown meat. 

So what’s behind the boom of alternative meats in Asia? Why here, why now? And, most importantly, will the region be able to solve the industry’s long-standing pain points of price and taste to sustain its growth? 

In this episode of Tech in Asia Explains, Eugene Wang, co-founder of Sophie’s BioNutrients, Michal Klar, founding partner of Better Bite Ventures; Josh Tetrick, CEO of Eat Just; Mihir Pershad, CEO at Umami Meats; and Nikita Puri, journalist at Tech in Asia share their perspectives on Asia’s newfound appetite for alternative meat.