Meet 50 start-ups at the Asia-Pacific agri-food innovation summit

Asia’s agri-food system needs help. With global shocks highlighting import link weaknesses, rapid economic growth, and huge structural transformation across the region, the need to build strong, resilient supply chains has never been more urgent.

The fifth annual Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit presents 50 regional and international innovators who are pioneering breakthrough technologies in agri-food to ensure food security and build capacity in Asia and beyond.

“Given the complex challenges Asia's food system faces, the need for fast-paced, scalable innovation has never been greater. The summit creates opportunities for entrepreneurs to connect directly with investors and corporate partners to bring their solutions to scale and change the agri-food landscape for the benefit of all. I am excited to witness the collaborations stemming from the conference this October,” says Theresa Flach, the summit’s Conference Producer, and technology scout.

Start-ups are celebrated throughout the summit program, with a pre-summit pitch day, themed innovation showcases across the three-day agenda, and a dedicated start-up exhibition space.

Innovation showcases
Twelve start-ups from the Asia-Pacific region will pitch their solution to a panel of industry judges across four themed innovation showcases covering Agtech, Foodtech, Aquaculture, and CEA & Vertical Farming.

AgTech takes the stage

• Qzense (India) aims to minimize and eliminate post-harvest food loss with its IoT solution that quickly and accurately grades fresh food. The technology employs a unique combination of near-infrared spectral sensors and olfactory sensors for the analysis of internal spoilage, ripeness, sweetness, and shelf life.
• Boomitra (India & US) uses satellite and AI to measure a variety of soil properties, including soil carbon, soil moisture, and nitrogen, and provides an end-to-end solution where farmers are able to grow more with less through carbon farming.
• CH4 Global (Australia) provides seaweed-based Asparagopsis products to farmers worldwide so they can dramatically reduce the methane emissions of their livestock and realize significant value in the process.

CEA & vertical farming spotlight

• Future Farms (Malaysia) aims to season-proof agriculture by building decentralized, remote-controlled farms. Future Farms promise that their services provide endless customization and are infinitely scalable.
• Grobrix (Singapore) presents a unique solution to indoor farming by combining the best of furniture with farming. Its soilless vertical farming design offers a cleaner, simpler, more efficient way to grow fresh, healthy food.
• Distar Fresh (Thailand) is a subscription service indoor farm that delivers pesticide-free medical grade vegetables from farm to door that are harvested all year round.

Blue food shark tank

• Forte Biotech (Singapore) provides diagnostic solutions to allow prawn farmers to ‘earn more,' with its patented product ‘RAPID’ (Robust Accurate Prawn Infection Detector) – developed in partnership with NUS – that enables farmers to detect diseases early and take mitigative action without the need for expert help.
• Sea Green (Singapore) is an ecosystem services provider with a mission to deliver connectivity and services to the growing seaweed industry. Using blockchain technology, the company will maximize financial service integration for smallholders and harness data to drive research into the potential of macroalgae.
• Magalarva (Indonesia) aims to provide sustainable protein for feed by bio-converting organic sidestreams using Black Soldier Fly larvae. The company is closing the loop by eliminating organic waste from producers, including food and beverage factories, hotels, and plantations.

Raising the stakes in food-tech

• SeaSpire (India) blends cutting-edge technologies, digital tools, and nutrition-packed plant-based ingredients to develop plant-based cousins of the world's favorite marine species. SeaSpire's bioprinting tech promises whole muscle structures with no compromise on taste, texture, and affordability.
• Magic Valley (Australia) is an Australian food company developing healthy and delicious cultivated meat products. Focused on building a better global food system, Magic Valley believes the solution is cultivated meat, where meat is grown without animals.
• Float Foods (Singapore) is a company that believes in the power of plants. Singaporeans consume 2 billion eggs per year, but 74% of them are imported, a fact that became a problem during the pandemic - which is when Float Foods started developing Asia's first plant-based whole egg, OnlyEg.

Start-up exhibition powered by true
A buzzing part of the networking exhibition at the summit, the Start-Up Exhibition Powered by True Search, is where delegates can connect with exciting international start-ups face-to-face.

"As a founder-led firm with innovation at the core of our culture, we are thrilled to sponsor a summit featuring so many disruptive and purpose-driven companies. The transformation of our food industry is essential, and we are grateful for the opportunity to provide talented solutions for these world-changing businesses," says Desmond O'Brien, Partner at True Search.

Exhibitors include:

Newschool Foods (Canada) produces whole-cut meat alternatives using a proprietary food structuring technology, offering a more authentic, scalable, and cost-effective product.

Forte Biotech (Singapore) provides diagnostic solutions to allow prawn farmers to detect diseases early and take mitigative action using its patented product ‘RAPID.’

Sea Green (Singapore) is an ecosystem services provider with a mission to deliver connectivity and services to the growing seaweed industry using blockchain technology.

Vitality Foods (Singapore) is developing plant-based foods designed to improve the health of elderly populations, addressing muscle maintenance issues and the risk of metabolic diseases.

Bluu Seafood (Germany) produces cultivated seafood using proven technology that enables them to select the best performing cell cultures from any fish species.

Agros (Singapore) provides smallholder farmers with technologies, inputs, advice, and financing while helping make farms climate-resilient for generations to come.

Miruku (New Zealand) combines deep farming traditions and computational biology to produce a range of animal-free dairy products, including cheese, ice cream, and yoghurt.

Pre-summit pitch day
Featuring groups of up-and-coming start-ups presented by Singapore’s leading agri-food accelerators and international trade groups, the pre-summit pitch day on October 25 is an exclusive invite-only event for venture capitalists and corporate investors to connect with start-ups ahead of the summit.

Attendees will have the chance to network as well as hearing quick-fire pitches from the most exciting entrepreneurs breaking into the agri-food scene.

Start-up groups will be presented by:

• The Canadian High Commission
• Enterprise Singapore
• GROW Accelerator
• Trendlines

With more to be announced.

On the main agenda

Innovators are a critical part of the conversation, and the summit spotlights industry talent as entrepreneurs at various stages of scale-up share their perspectives in panels alongside major agribusinesses, food brands, investors, regulators, and technology providers:

AgTech

• Amith Agarwal (Agribazaar) will present a case study on sustainable agriculture, covering everything from pilot to scale.
• Gilad Gershon (Tropic Biosciences) will demonstrate how to harness advanced gene editing to prevent Banana Panama Disease.
• David Jun (Greenlabs) will discuss key points on how to drive digital transformation in the Korean agtech space.
• Chakradhar Gade (Country Delight) will connect the dots from farm to fork while presenting his insights on supply chain digitization.
• Mohit Pande (Cropin) and Dhruv Sawhney (Nurture. Farm) will bring their unique perspectives on driving technology adoption and scaling digital farming platforms in India.

CEA & Vertical Farming

• Jay Desan (BoomGrow), Jack Moy (Sustenir), Chris Lee (N.THING), and David Farquhar (IGS) will join the Vertical Farming Leaders Forum, focused on increasing support for innovation in precision growing.
• Tom Adams (Pairwise) and Derek Drost (Unfold) will explore the milestones that have been achieved in seed breeding and genetics for CEA and vertical farming.
• Eleanor Choong (Sunway XFarms) will focus on advancing resource efficiency and waste valorization in urban food production.

Aquaculture

• Gibran Huzaifah (eFishery) and John Diener (Vertical Oceans) will join the Blue Food Leaders Forum, discussing how to transform aquaculture with digital solutions.
• Lou Cooperhouse (BlueNalu) will argue the case for strengthening seafood supply chains through the wider adoption of alternative proteins.
• Leo Wein (Protenga) and Gaetan Crielaard (Entobel) will talk one on one in a fireside chat focused on the acceleration of novel ingredients.

Food-Tech & Alternative Proteins

• XL Lin (Esco Aster), Sandhya Sriram (Shiok Meats), Didier Toubia (Aleph Farms), Amy Chen (Upside Foods), and Maarten Bosch (Mosa Meat) will deep-dive into cultivated proteins and the complexities of building supply chains to accelerate market growth.
• Helga Angelina Tjahjadi (Green Rebel) will explore new trends emerging for plant-based protein production advancement.
• Alex Ward (Next Gen Foods), Xun Wang (Triton Algae Innovations), Liat Lachish Levy (ChickP), and Jem Kim (BriteBelly) will meet on stage to discuss the innovation needed to produce green and clean plant-based protein.
• Justin Chou (Growthwell Foods) will present the benefits of diversifying portfolios of plant-based proteins, with specific reference to Asian tastes.
• Sunil Sukumaran (Perfect Day) and Jan Pacas (All G Foods) will share what they have learned as leaders in fermentation and discuss the challenges of scaling production.
• Aaron Yeo (Eat Just) will engage the audience with an intimate fireside chat focused on consumer awareness, understanding, and acceptance of novel food products.
• Nick Hazell (V2Food) will help close day one of the summit, looking at the bigger picture of how to build a thriving agri-food ecosystem in Asia-Pacific.
• Fern Ho (Leaf Protein) will prepare food live on stage as part of the Foods of the Future cooking demo.

The full program, speaking faculty, and delegate registration details are available on the website.