AMID Malaysia’s chicken shortage woes which peak last month, home-grown plant-based meat company Phuture Foods Sdn Bhd is pushing for both restaurants and retailers to look at alternative food choices for consumers.
Founded in 2018 by Jack Yap and Lim Jin Yin, Klang-based Phuture’s vision is to tackle growing global issues through the manufacture of nutritious, tasty plant-based products.
The Phuture plant proteins and fibres matrix intends to mimic the texture and taste of meat with enhanced nutrition. This is achieved through a mix of plant protein, carbohydrates, fats, natural colours and flavouring, and the use of thermal processing.
“In the last few months, we have witnessed a surge of buy-ins, winning over the confidence of reputable brands,” revealed Yap.
“From KyoChon, one of the largest Korean fried-chicken restaurants, to Grand Hyatt, a leading five star hotel, and most recently South Korea’s No 1 Convenience store, CU Malaysia, who is a partner of the well-known myNEWS.com chain. We are now available widely and at an affordable price.”
Phuture’s hero product across all markets will be its high fibre chicken given it is an important element in Asia in view of its affordable, accessible and versatile type of protein.
With Malaysia chalking an all-time high for obesity at 50.1%, Phuture’s nutritious high fibre “chicken” comes at an apt time as its recipe is made from a mix of plant protein, carbohydrates, fats, with natural colours and flavouring.
“Plant-based meats were previously not popular here in Malaysia but we are beginning to overcome perceptions with our ability to customise products according to the preference of our B2B (business-to-business) clients,” justified Yap.
“With our recent sign ups including KyoChon and CU Malaysia, we are strategically enabling Malaysians to experience plant-based meals affordably.”
CU Malaysia has emerged the first convenience store in Malaysia to offer plant-based crispy Korean fried chicken in Malaysia. At RM8.99 per meal, everyone can enjoy what was previously inaccessible to many.
“We plan to make this available in all 90 outlets across Malaysia,” its senior fresh food manager David Lee Ming Tee pointed out.
In the near term, Phuture plans to expand its base and operation by capturing over 25 other major clients inclusive of hotels, reputable restaurant chains, caterers and F&B (food & beverage) providers.
Some notable names include Berjaya Times Square Hotel, La Juiceria Superfoods, ZUS Coffee, Salad Atelier, Sala KL, Fowlboys, M’Laboori by Murni Discovery, and Mori Kohi. The company also plans to expand its halal base with sub-brand Phuture Daging which has the popular Chef Wan on board as a celebrity chef.
Phuture has thus far secured close to RM7 mil in funding from investors in Singapore and Hong Kong as proof of concept and achievement of product development.
It looks to further fund-raise to scale its operations beyond Malaysia. Given the current surge in demand, Phuture projects to increase its half-year performance by 100% by end-2022. Currently, Phuture has its footprint across Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau and Thailand.
This year alone, the company plans an expansion to the Philippines and Indonesia as the market potential in both countries is significant.
Indonesia’s plant-based trend maturity is poised to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33% while that in the Philippines is at 8% based on a research by AI Palette, the world’s first AI platform for leading product innovation.
According to research, Asia Pacific is set to experience a 200% surge by 2025 in terms of global plant-based food and beverage consumption. The region’s potential for this market which was worth is worth US$17.1 bil in 2020 is set to grow exponentially with concerns about food safety, food insecurity and climate change. – June 19, 2022
