Temasek establishes the Asia Sustainable Foods Platform

The platform aims to accelerate the commercialisation of sustainable foods in Asia.

Temasek announced the launch of the Asia Sustainable Foods Platform during the inaugural Singapore International Agri-Food Week. The platform will focus on addressing the challenges of scaling up the production of alternative proteins and accelerating the growth of sustainable foods in Asia.

As an enabler, the platform will provide research and development advisory and pilot-scale manufacturing facilities to support food-tech businesses accelerate their product commercialisation. As an operator, it will provide manufacturing capabilities into commercialisation opportunities for scaling up across Asia, along with market insights. As an investor, it will also provide businesses with a network of strategic connections and allocate capital to promising food-tech start-ups.

"Asia is expected to require around US$1.55t of investment over the next decade to satisfy growing consumer demands for healthier and more sustainable food options. We need to evolve our current capabilities to bolster food security and strengthen supply chains," said enterprise development deputy head Yeoh Keat Chuan. "Temasek has invested over US$8 billion in the global farm-to-fork value chain since 2013 and will continue to increase our investments in this space. Singapore has a significant role to play in the transformation of the agri-food sector. The Asia Sustainable Foods Platform aims to support local and regional businesses, innovate, scale-up and commercialise."

The Asia Sustainable Foods Platform will be managed by a core team of food-tech professionals, led by newly appointed CEO Mathys Boeren. Before joining the platform, Mr Boeren worked in the food and food-ingredients industry for more than 25 years, amongst others for Unilever, Givaudan, Symrise and Kerry.