With sustainability at the core of its business philosophy, Malaysian start-up Phuture Foods is planning a Singapore launch of its vegan minced pork by the end of this year. According to its statistics, the plant-based pork will save 1,100 gallons of water and 30 square feet of forest per day.
The pork is made from wheat, mung beans, and shiitake mushrooms. With plans to expand into Hong Kong, and throughout Singapore, and Malaysia, both of which are countries with large Muslim populations, the product is halal, the Arabic word for permissible. The brand is also considering offering a kosher certification.
We spoke with Chief Executive Officer Jack Yap and Chief Operating Officer Lim Jin Yin to discuss Phuture Foods and the growth of plant-based meats in the Asian market.
Please introduce Phuture to our readers and describe its mission and its products.
Phuture has a mission to create a variety of plant-based meat for the Asian Market. Our products are created with the aim to promote food sustainability & security, environmental awareness, cruelty-free, and healthy living.
Can you describe the demand for vegan, halal pork in Asia?
We see a growing trend of consumers looking for meat alternatives, especially among the millennials for the good of the environment, and animals, as well as a healthier diet.
On top of that, the Asian pork industry has been hit hard by the African Swine Fever, which killed off 200 million pigs in China. With that, prices of pork have been going up, and everyone is concerned with the pork that’s being put on their plate right now.
According to the Phuture Foods website, the vegan pork is Buddhist-friendly – what does this entail?
On top of being vegan (no meat, no dairy, no egg), we also paid close attention in our ingredient sourcing to ensure that there are no alliums in it, such as garlic, onion, scallion, shallot, leek, and chives.
When will the plant-based minced pork launch in Asia?
We’re targeting the Singapore launch by the end of 2019
Are you working on additional meat alternatives for a future release?
We are currently focusing on our first product – Phuture Minced (pork-related alternatives).
Which distribution partners is Phuture currently working with?
We can’t reveal at this point in time as we are in the midst of discussions with our partners – great chefs and great restaurants.
