Singapore Vegan Meat and Seafood Maker Growthwell Bags $22M Series A

Growthwell Foods, a Singapore-based plant-based group, has raised $22 million in a Series A round. The funding will go towards scaling up production and launching in new markets beyond Southeast Asia, taking its vegan meat and seafood range global. 

Growthwell closed its Series A round with $22 million, the company announced on Thursday (September 16). The round was led by Paris-headquartered investment company Creadev, and joined by tech investors GGV Capital, which lists Peloton and Next Gen Foods among its portfolio companies, and Iris Fund. 

Existing investors also participated in the round, including Singapore sovereign fund Temasek, and DSG Consumer Partners, which backed the startup in its $8 million seed round last year.

Global expansion

Growthwell says the funds will be used to accelerate its global expansion plans, launching its plant-based meat and seafood alternatives beyond the Southeast Asian market. It recently revealed its ambition to “feed 100 million” people with sustainable protein, forging a partnership with Indoguna, a premium foods supplier with a network spanning across Asia and the Middle East. 

“We are extremely pleased to have global investors like Creadev and GGV Capital onboard Growthwell as we look to scale up our plant nutrition business beyond Southeast Asia,” commented Growthwell executive director Justin Chou. “We will continue to trailblaze plant nutrition in Asia.”

The Singapore group has a number of plant-based products, among them vegan seafood analogues made with Israeli food tech’s ChickP protein. Growthwell is also behind the egg-free cooking ingredients label OKK, plant-based ready meal brand Gomama and mushroom-based meat-free alternative brand Su Xian Zi. 

Investing in plant-based

Growthwell’s financing comes amid growing investment interest in the plant-based industry, especially within Asia. Last year, plant-based firms dominated alternative protein investment, raising $2.1 billion out of the total $3.1 billion raised, when including cell-based and fermentation players. 

Data also showed that more capital was poured into Asia’s food tech sector, with total alternative protein investment growing 6-fold year-on-year. Investors are now eyeing the lucrative opportunities in key Asian markets, given projected triple-digit demand growth over the next few years. 

China and Thailand, for instance, are expected to see plant-based meat demand grow by as much as 200% within the next five years, according to Ipsos and DuPont research. 

Speaking about its decision to back Growthwell, Alan Zhu, co-head of Creadev China, said: “Observing consumers’ rising consciousness toward healthy eating and sustainable consumption, we have a strong conviction that plant-based food targeting the younger generation and flexitarian consumer group will have robust growth in the years ahead.”

All images courtesy of Growthwell.