Eat Just To Build Singapore Plant Protein Facility To Meet Asia Demand With Up To US$120M Investment

Eat Just, the San Francisco-based food tech that pioneered the plant-based egg, has just announced a new partnership with a consortium led by investment management firm Proterra to build a new production facility in Singapore. It marks Eat Just’s first Asia production site and the largest of its kind in Singapore, which will help the company meet the rising demand for plant-based alternatives across the region. 

Announced today (October 20), the new consortium resulting from the partnership known as Just Eat Asia will serve the company’s Asia-based manufacturing and distribution network. While the Proterra-led consortium will finance up to US$100 million, Eat Just will invest US$20 million to go towards the construction of the new Singapore-based facility, the company’s first-in-Asia and largest in the city-state. 

Once built, the first factory will generate thousands of tonnes of protein to meet the rising demand in Asia. Eat Just’s existing facilities are currently located in North America and Germany. The company additionally revealed plans to build even more production sites in Asia in the future. 

“This partnership will further accelerate our path to become one of the world’s largest producers of eggs in the next decade. Proterra’s experience across sourcing and manufacturing will be invaluable,” said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO of Eat Just, in a press release. “Consumer demand, driven by health, food security and food safety, is creating an environment of extraordinary opportunity for this unique partnership.”

Proterra is excited to announce this collaboration to form a strategic alliance with Eat Just for Asia; we would like to help consumers across Asia get better access to the excellent plant-based egg product by establishing a fully integrated supply chain within Eat Just Asia.

Tai Lin, Managing Partner of Proterra Asia

In Asia, Eat Just’s flagship plant-based egg product, the JUST Egg, is currently available in South Korea through its local distribution partner SPC Samlip, in Thailand with food giant Betagro, across Hong Kong’s Green Common stores, and in mainland China where it is sold via the Alibaba-owned Tmall e-commerce platform and JD.com. Eat Just says that it will soon be announcing a new partnership in mainland China, which will further establish the brand’s presence in the country, after its recent opening of a plant-based culinary studio in Shanghai. 

In its domestic market in the U.S., the JUST Egg is available at major retail outlets and partnering foodservice destinations. The company of late reported that since its inception in 2011, it has sold the plant-based equivalent of over 50 million eggs – an achievement that translates to saving 7.5 million kilograms of carbon dioxide, 1.9 billion gallons of water and 3,000 acres of land. It’s most up-to-date figures show that it has within the span of just a few months increased this number to 60 million eggs. 

This partnership will further accelerate our path to become one of the world’s largest producers of eggs in the next decade. Proterra’s experience across sourcing and manufacturing will be invaluable. Consumer demand, driven by health, food security and food safety, is creating an environment of extraordinary opportunity for this unique partnership.

Josh Tetrick, Co-Founder and CEO of Eat Just

Speaking about the new partnership, the managing partner of Proterra Asia, Tai Lin, described it has a “strategic alliance” that will “help consumers across Asia get better access to the excellent plant-based egg product by establishing a fully integrated supply chain within Eat Just Asia.” 

Welcoming the news of yet another addition to Singapore’s reputation as a flourishing food tech innovation hub, the executive vice president of the Singapore Economic Development Board, Damian Chan said that the partnership will “allow us to better cater to the needs of the Asian markets, while creating exciting opportunities for Singapore.” 

Beyond launching a new JUST Egg plant protein facility in Singapore, Eat Just revealed they are now also in discussions with Proterra to focus on the commercialisation of cultured meat – an avenue the food tech has been actively working on. In a recent talk, Tetrick estimated that cell-based meats will be available to mass consumers within a timeline “north of 15 years”, in stark contrast to plant-based brand Impossible Foods founder Pat Brown’s pessimistic outlook that he doubled down on during a virtual conference attended by Green Queen earlier today. 

Update Tuesday October 20 2020: The article’s title has been updated to reflect that the investment will be up to US$120 million, not US$ 150 million. We regret the error.

Lead image courtesy of Eat Just.