These 8 Brinc Startups Are Disrupting Food From Algae Milk To Mycelium Pet Food

Brinc, the Hong Kong-headquartered accelerator and venture capital dedicated to investing in over 1,000 climate-conscious firms within five years, has recently welcomed a new batch of startups joining its Spring 2021 Food Technology program. This time, eight food techs have been selected for their sustainable solutions, changing the way we eat with everything from cultured chicken to pea-based dairy. Let’s take a look at these startups solving the biggest issues in food today. 

1. Clear Meat

Founding date: 2018

Founders: Siddharth Manvati & Pawan Dhar

Headquarters: Delhi, India

Clear Meat is India’s first cell-based company developing cultured chicken directly from the cells of animals. The startup recently debuted its cultivated minced chicken keema in a pilot trial at what it claims is price parity with its real animal-based counterpart. Clear Meat is now scaling its technology and will also be offering a B2B culture media solution, ClearX9. 

2. Asanté 

Founding date: 2018

Founder: Iván Jiménez de Sandi

Headquarters: Mexico City, Mexico

Asanté, the consumer-facing brand launched by Exponential Foods, offers all-natural, shelf-stable, plant-based meat products for the Mexican and U.S. markets. The brand has developed a range of 100% vegan versions of traditional Mexican foods and dishes, all made from wheat protein, pea protein, amaranth and nopal (yes, cactus!) and packaged in recyclable pouches. 

3. FairFlavor

Founding date: 2020

Founder: Marcello Giannuzzi 

Headquarters: Jakarta, Indonesia

FairFlavor is developing dairy-free alternatives using proprietary microbial cultures and fermentation technology, made from the native Indonesian Kenari nut which comes from the Canarium indicum tree, similar to the Pili nut grown on Canarium ovatum trees in the Philippines. Abundantly found in lowland rainforests, old garden areas and villages across Eastern Indonesia, the nutritious and sustainable nut is used to create FairFlavor’s range of dairy-free alternatives, which include cheese, ice cream and desserts.

4. Nature Foods

Founding date: 2017

Founder: Markus Masin

Headquarters: Riga, Latvia

Nature Foods combines medical knowledge with food technology to create better-for-you options for health-conscious consumers. Their first product is Happea, a range of pea-based dairy-free milks that are non-GMO, free from all main allergens, and boasts a more nutritious profile while being far more sustainable than traditional cow’s milk.

5. Omni.pet 

Founding date: 2020

Founders: Shiv Sivakumar & Dr. Guy Sandelowsky

Headquarters: London, U.K. 

Omni.pet is a sustainable pet food startup developing nutritionally complete animal-free products to alleviate the disproportionate environmental impact of the pet food industry, as well as the health problems that pets experience as a result of processed meat diets. Co-founded by a veterinarian and formulated by veterinary nutritionists, their products include plant-powered dog food and are now in the R&D process of developing pet foods made with mycelium protein as well as cell-based technology. 

6. Update Foods

Founding date: 2020

Founders: Clémence Landeau, Céline Bouvier & Franck Manifacier

Headquarters: Paris, France 

Update Foods is a food tech developing dairy alternatives using algae and faba protein. Their mission is to create an “updated milk” that is affordable and nutritious, leaves no harm to animals or the environment, yet still provides the same sensorial experience and taste as real cow’s milk. 

7. Sophie’s Bionutrients

Founding date: 2017

Founders: Eugene Wang, Barnabas Chan & Kirin Tsuei 

Headquarters: Singapore

Sophie’s Bionutrients grows microalgae in bioreactors and fermentation technology, which allows precise control over protein production and speeds up manufacturing time. The entire process uses minimal water and local food waste, such as byproducts from tofu production, and their end algae-based food-grade protein has been used to create a number of alternative protein products, such as their allergen-free microalgae milk and beef-free burger patties.

8. Yoconut

Founding date: 2016

Founder: Bonnie Lau

Headquarters: San Francisco, California, U.S. 

Yoconut is a dairy-free brand creating healthy and allergy-friendly coconut-based yoghurts. Incorporating fermentation technology, their coconut yoghurt contains probiotic live cultures that are proven to boost digestive health and immunity and contains no added sugars. Currently, the brand offers four flavours and is available online and at a number of retailers across California. 

Lead image courtesy of Asanté.