bigideaventures
  • Accelerator
  • Funds
  • Portfolio
  • BIFC
  • Team
  • Media
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Apply
Select Page

China Food Tech Zhenmeat To Launch Vegan Crayfish & Pork Tenderloin

by admin | Jun 22, 2020 | Press

Chinese homegrown food tech Zhenmeat has recently revealed two new products – plant-based pork tenderloin and crayfish – which will be available in domestic restaurant chains. The latest additions to the startup’s original line up, which included vegan sausages, mooncakes and meatballs, are designed specifically to suit Chinese cuisines and appetites.

Zhenmeat, dubbed “China’s Impossible Foods rival”, has unveiled two new plant-based meat substitutes: crayfish and pork tenderloin. While the former will be launched in both Chinese and Western food outlets across the country, the pork tenderloin will be rolled out specifically in Sichuan hot pot restaurant chains.

Speaking to SCMP, founder Vince Lu said that the pork tenderloin was invented after a technological breakthrough involving sweet potato starch. Its original protein texture technology was used to make its fungus and pea protein-based minced pork and beef meat analogues, which debuted in several formats, such as its plant-based sausages, meatballs, mooncakes and dumplings.

Source: Zhenmeat

A vegan pork tenderloin product, argues Lu, will help bring plant-based foods to mainstream Chinese consumers who have specific tastes and cuisine preferences, such as in hot pot meals.

“We stand out from such overseas competitors due to our focus on Chinese cuisine. Hot pot is [one of the biggest cuisines] in China,” Lu told the SCMP. Basically, all diners will order a dish of pork when doing Sichuan hotpot.”

Zhenmeat’s other new product, a crayfish substitute made with seaweed, plant fibres and konjac extract, is also specifically targeting Chinese consumers, who currently drive 90% of global crayfish consumption. The company also said that it hopes to roll out complementary products, such as plant-based sauce for crayfish and crayfish burgers.

It isn’t the first food tech to dive into the crayfish market. Singapore-based Growthwell group recently announced it had acquired a stake in Israeli company ChickP to develop the world’s first chickpea protein isolate that can be used to create Asia-specific vegan products, including a burger patty resembling crab or crayfish meat.

After a public statement seeking US$2 million in funding, Zhenmeat recently secured financing from alternative protein investor Big Idea Ventures (BIV), marking the venture capital firm’s first overseas investment.

Source: Zhenmeat

BIV already has a strong foothold in the emerging plant-based protein ecosystem across Asia, having backed Singapore-based cultivated shrimp company Shiok Meats and India’s first vegan egg startup Evo Foods. Most recently, BIV partnered with Swiss food manufacturing giant Bühler to railroad plant-based protein innovation in Asia.

Lu believes that the coronavirus pandemic will accelerate Chinese consumer demand for plant-based alternatives, following what was already a crisis for the domestic meat industry as African swine fever inundated China’s pork supplies.

He added that while his brand’s overseas competitors have made headlines in China, notably Beyond Meat’s launch in KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell as well as in Starbucks’ new meatless menu nationwide, Zhenmeat holds an advantage when it comes to satisfying native Chinese palates.

“We, as a local player, have a better grasp of the intricacies of the local market, like the taste of the local population, and how to network with the local restaurant sector, and negotiate bureaucratic hurdles,” Lu explained to SCMP.

But Zhenmeat isn’t the only regional plant-based startup with an edge when it comes to the Asia market. Hong Kong-based Green Monday, for instance, launched its vegan pork mince alternative Omnipork in 2018, and is now served at hundreds of restaurants across Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan as well as mainland China.


All images courtesy of Zhenmeat. 

Recent Posts

  • Founder’s Story: Meet Alison Fagan founder and CEO at @CF Foods Group
  • 3 innovators that are shaping the next stage of food innovation in Singapore
  • Spanish startup Cocuus raises €2,5M in Funding to scale its 3D bioprinting technology for the production of alternative proteins
  • Mewery Looks To Slash Cultivated Pork Costs With Microalgae Ingredients
  • Milk without the cow

Archives

  • June 2022
  • April 2022
  • February 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • November 2018
  • July 2018
  • April 2018
  • February 2018
  • March 2017
  • December 2016
  • July 2016
  • July 2015

Categories

  • Blog
  • Events
  • Podcast
  • Portfolio
  • Press
  • Research Paper
  • Uncategorized
Apply New York Apply Singapore Apply Paris
  • Contact
  • Funds
  • Investing
  • Partners
  • Portfolio
  • Foodivate
  • Research
  • Terms
  • Anti Spam
  • Copyright
  • DMCA
  • FTC
  • Privacy
  • Social Media
New York

88 Pine St., 14th Floor
New York, NY 10005

Singapore

No. 9 Chin Bee Drive,
SG, 619860

Paris

Station F, 5 Parv. Alan Turing 75013 Paris, France 

Newsletter
Stay on top of our latest news.
Loading
Don’t worry, we won’t spam you.
© 2020 Big Idea Ventures. All Rights Reserved
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
 
Required 'Candidate' login to applying this job. Click here to logout And try again
 

Login to your account

  • Forgot Password?

Reset Password

  • Already have an account? Login

Enter the username or e-mail you used in your profile. A password reset link will be sent to you by email.

Close
 

Answers

 

Account Activation

Before you can login, you must active your account with the code sent to your email address. If you did not receive this email, please check your junk/spam folder. Click here to resend the activation email. If you entered an incorrect email address, you will need to re-register with the correct email address.