Food

$4M for ocean veggies to flavor plant-based meats

September 22, 2023
Image by evening_tao on Freepik

Hooray for seaweed! Korean startup HN Novatech offers ACOMS, a seaweed-extracted heme ingredient that can be used to enhance the ‘meaty’ flavor of plant-based meat dishes. 

Investor check. Logan Ventures led the round. 

🌊 Talk about umami

HN Novatech specializes in creating sustainable food ingredient alternatives. 

And whether you’re vegan or not, their new product is something to watch out for!

  • ACOMS is an X-factor protein extracted from seaweed. And it reportedly gives plant-based meat primers the taste of the real thing.
  • Using the seaweed protein, they have created beef, pork, chicken, and lamb flavors to season pastries, nuggets, and other plant-based dishes. 

The best part? Their final product is additives and preservatives free!

💸 What’s with the $$$?

HN Novatech will establish their presence in Asia in the next five years. 

  • They’re also opening up a food technology processing facility in South Korea. 

🌟 Singapore dream?

Singapore in the past year has become sort of a hotspot for foodtech startups because of strong government support. 

FYI. Singapore was the first country to approve the commercial sale of cultured meats

Some foodtechs operating in the country include:

  • 🇸🇬 Karana. Selling pork alternatives made of jackfruit, they raised a $1.7 seed in 2020.
  • 🇺🇲 TiNDLE. Selling plant-based chicken, sausages, milk, and ice cream, they raised a $100M Series A last year.
  • 🇦🇺 VowFood. Selling cell-based meats, they raised $49.2M in a Series A last year. 

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