Shiok Meats, a cell-based crustacean and meat company headquartered in Singapore, has closed its bridge funding round that will pay for an advanced production facility in the city-state.
The round has helped hike Shiok’s total raised funds to USD 30 million (EUR 25.5 million), it said in a statement on 21 July.
South Korean food companies Woowa Brothers Asia Holdings and CJ CheilJedang Corporation participated in the round, as did Vinh Hoan, a leading pangasius exporter in Vietnam. Existing investors such as South Korea’s IRONGREY, Big Idea Ventures, Australia’s Twynam Investments, Henry Soesanto - the CEO of Monde Nissin, The Alexander Payne Living Trust from the U.S., Europe’s Beyond Impact Vegan Partners, Boom Capital Fund from the U.S., Japan’s Toyo Seikan Group Holdings, and Mindshift Capital from U.A.E. also joined in the round. Aqua-Spark also previously invested in the company.
According to Shiok Meats CEO and Co-Founder Sandhya Sriram, the funds will be used to improve the company’s research and development activities as well as set up a state-of-the-art production facility in Singapore.
The start-up has also received a grant from Enterprise Singapore to support its technology development and commercialization efforts.
“We are committed to bringing this novel technology to the forefront of global food systems so they are robust enough to feed 10 billion people by 2050. As a pioneer venture, we will also continue to do our part in educating consumers on the benefits of cell-based meat technology for the environment, human health, and animal welfare,” Shiok Meats Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder Ka Yi Ling said.
Shiok Meats, which was founded in 2018, launched its first cell-based shrimp and lobster prototypes in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
The company claims to be the first cell-based seafood and meat company in Southeast Asia and the first cell-based crustacean producer in the world. It is seeking to commercialize production cell-based shrimp, lobster, crab, and crayfish.
Shiok Meats has said a survey conducted by the company itself showed that more than 78 percent of Singaporean consumers are willing to try cell-based seafood.
Photo courtesy of Shiok Meats
