Food & Beverage Asia October/November 2021

14
MARKET INSIGHTS
protein start-ups. As written in the
company’s manifesto, Good Startup is
committed to removing animals from
the food system through investing
in alternative protein companies.
“We started the venture firm
based on our observation that the
current way of producing food is
unsustainable, and as the population
grows, animal agriculture will not
be able to meet this demand.
“Our focus on the alternative protein
industry reflects its potential to
transform the global food supply chain
by giving us the same food we enjoy
today but without the unsustainable
cost to the environment,” said Gautam
Godhwani and Jayesh Parekh,
managing partners at Good Startup.
MEANS AND ENDS
Through wielding a combination of
entrepreneurial, investment, and cross
border experiences, the firm seeks
to help their portfolio companies
accelerate and scale their business
models across the American and
Asian markets. This is done so across
operational areas, which include
Intellectual Property protection,
organisation design, hiring, scaleup,
and fundraising technology.
Thus far, Good Startup boasts an
impressive portfolio of emerging
alternative protein start-ups in both
the United States (US) and Asia,
all of whom are promising exciting
changes in the industry. The firm’s
portfolio includes: Eat Just, Motif
FoodWorks, TurtleTree, Rebellyous
Foods, Nowadays, Lypid, Avant Meats,
Cultured Decadence and Novel Farms.
our portfolio companies produce
foods that consumers love without
the cost to the environment
and the suffering of animals.
“For instance, TurtleTree aims to
produce infant milk using a proprietary
cell-based process to retain the same
taste and composition as milk derived
from natural means. Rebellyous
Foods produces plant-based chicken
using leading-edge technology to
deliver a great tasting product at a
competitive price,” said Gautam.
BREAKING BORDERS
A further example of Good Startup’s
effort is the Good Protein Fund I,
a cross-border, multi-stage fund
focused on inspiring innovation and
growth in the alternative protein
sector. The Good Protein Fund I, which
attracted participation from investors
such as Anil Thadani, chairman of
Symphony Asia Holdings; and Tan
Kim Seng, chairman of Kim Seng
Holding, managed to raise US$25m.
Of the funding, Gautam commented:
“Through Good Protein Fund I, we
invest in companies in the alternative
protein sector across
plant-based,
cell-based and
microorganismbased
technologies,
both in the
B2C and B2B
segments. Our aim is to accelerate
and scale the efforts of these
innovative start-ups to help them
achieve their goals, and in the
process, create a better and more
sustainable future for everyone.”
With their portfolio companies spread
over the US and Asia, Good Startup
also aims to build an alternative
protein ecosystem across these
two regions. This is compelled
through the North Americas being a
leading figure in alternative protein
technology, and Asia as its projected
largest market. Alongside the growing
flexitarian movement – which has
seen consumers exposed to a greater
variety of alternative proteins in local
flavours – alternative proteins could
provide variety and choice in the
existing mock meat culture in Asia.
According to Gautam and Jayesh, the
Good Startup team has decades of
work experience across the US and
Asia markets. In addition to making
investments, the firm connects
stakeholders whenever it is relevant
and impactful, such as enabling
North American companies to expand
to Asia, should they wish to do so.
They added: “We also bring Silicon
Valley operational best practices
to our portfolio companies
around the world. Additionally,
our advisory board comprises
leading names from the US and
“By leveraging cutting-edge alternative
protein technologies such as
plant-based and cell-based
meat production as well as
microbial fermentation,
FOOD & BEVERAGE ASIA OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2021