Chinese investors taste opportunity in alternative-protein sector, driving sixfold funding increase in 2022

Investments in alternative-protein companies grew 533 per cent year on year to US$152 million in 2022, according to the Good Food Institute APAC

The sector has high-level political support in China as a priority for the nation’s food-security and climate challenges

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Investors in China and throughout Asia-Pacific boosted their funding of plant-, fermentation-, and cultivation-based alternative proteins in 2022. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 4:30pm, 16 Feb 2023

Investments into alternative-protein companies in China rose more than sixfold in 2022, showing strong market interest as Beijing encourages innovation to enhance food security and curb greenhouse-gas emissions in support of its 2060 carbon-neutrality goal.

Investors put US$152 million into alternative-protein companies in 2022 in China, a 533 per cent increase from US$24 million in 2021, according to an analysis released on Thursday by the Good Food Institute (GFI) APAC.

The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region also showed robust growth, with total investments in the sector increasing by 43 per cent to US$562 million year on year.

“Building a more secure, sustainable, and just food system is not merely a choice in Asia – it’s a necessity,” Mirte Gosker, managing director of GFI APAC, said in a statement on Thursday.

Alternative-protein maker Impossible Foods touts its product for use in a wide range of Asian dishes, such as Korean japchae. Photo: Handout

“With the global economic downturn starting to make deals more affordable, there is a huge opportunity for forward-thinking investors to reap rewards as Asia’s food future evolves.”

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