Malaysian Plant Based Pork start up - Phuture Foods Sdn Bhd

February 16, 2021

Phuture Foods Sdn Bhd is a plant based pork substitute start up by two young Malaysians, Jack Yap (CEO) and Lim Jin Yin in 2018. Their inspiration came from the success of Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat in the USA which are two of the biggest plant-based meat substitute companies in the world. The difference between the two is that Beyond Meat does not use GMO (genetically modified organisms) ingredients while Impossible Foods uses genetically modified soy. Both have gone mainstream into restaurants and are available in supermarkets and upmarket grocery chains.   

Jack Yap was running a vegetarian restaurant for a few years but he found the going tough. Malaysians still like meat and catching a trend which he had been following closely, he decided to plunge into plant based substitute for pork. His co-founder, a fellow vegetarian with the same vision, gave up his real estate job to join the start up. The two entrepreneurs hope their launchpad in Singapore will take them to the countries in ASEAN. Their first faux minced pork (Phuture Mince 3.0) is made from non GMO soy, mung bean, shitake mushroom stems, chickpeas, peas and rice. The recipe was developed by a team of American food scientists.  

Phuture Foods became part of Brinc’s Spring 2019 Food Technology Accelerator Program in Hong Kong which supported in the refinement of their product formulation. It was then able to secure a top tier co-manufacturing partner to scale up production and raise US$1.5 million from strategic investors. Phuture minced pork was launched in restaurants in Singapore in April 2020.  

How far will this Malaysian plant based port substitute startup go? We will keep tab on it.  

  
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  1. CNet. 25 October 2019. Amanda Capritto. Impossible Burger vs. Beyond Meat Burger: Taste, ingredients and availability, compared. A guide to the two hottest faux meat products.  https://www.cnet.com/health/beyond-meat-vs-impossible-burger-whats-the-difference/ 
  2. Vox. 7 October 2019. Kelsey Piper. Meatless meat is becoming mainstream — and it’s sparking a backlash. https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/10/7/20880318/meatless-meat-mainstream-backlash-impossible-burger 
  3. Impossible. www.impossiblefoods.com 
  4. Vulcan Post. Rayden Koh. This Malaysian called the Meat Industry “Super Inefficient” So He is making Pork out of Plants instead. https://vulcanpost.com/681593/phuture-foods-malaysian-startup-plant-based-minced-pork/#:~:text=Jack%20Yap%2C%20the%20founder%20and,foods%20and%20promoting%20meatless%20diets
  5. Phuture. www.phuturemeat.com 
  6. Cnet. 30 April 2020. Sareena Dayaram.  Plant-based pig out: This startup's making pork that's better for the planet. Alternative meat company Phuture Foods is trying to convince millions of people to work up an appetite for its climate-friendly, vegan "pork." https://www.cnet.com/news/meet-impossible-foods-competitor-bringing-vegan-pork-asia/ 
  7. Foodie – Your Guide to Food Taste. 14 December 2019. A Taste of the Phuture. https://www.afoodieworld.com/foodie/a-taste-of-the-phuture 
  8. TechCrunch.14 July  2019.  Brian Heater. Phuture Foods is creating a plant based pork substitute for the Asian market.  https://techcrunch.com/2019/07/14/phuture-foods-is-creating-a-plant-based-pork-substitute-for-the-asian-market/ 
  9. Startmeup.hk. Brinc Food Technology Accelerator Programme. https://www.startmeup.hk/lever-vc-brinc-launch-investment-fund-accelerator-program-for-plant-based-meat-startups-in-china/#:~:text=Since%20the%20inception%20of%20the,%2C%20Grounded%2C%20and%20Avant%20Meats%3A&text=Phuture%20was%20a%20part%20of,refinement%20of%20their%20product%20formulation
  10. Food Navigator-asia.com. 3 April 2020. Pearly Neo.  https://www.foodnavigator-asia.com/Article/2020/04/03/PODCAST-Phuture-Foods-founder-on-Singapore-plant-based-pork-launch-response-from-Muslim-consumers-and-scientific-expertise#