The Sustainable Foods Summit returns to Singapore later this month. The 4th Asia-Pacific edition will take place at the ParkRoyal Collection Marina Bay Singapore on 25-26th February.
The agenda features four key sessions covering sustainability developments, ingredient innovations, future trends, and marketing insights. Highlights include:
Sustainability update
Opening Keynote. Professor William Chen, Director of the Food Science and Technology Programme at Nanyang Technological University Singapore, will deliver a keynote on “Moving Towards Sustainable Food Systems.” He will speak about the various approaches operators are taking to produce food in a sustainable manner. Apart from upcycling, these approaches include regenerative agriculture, urban farming, cellular agriculture, vertical farming, and precision fermentation.
Sustainable Agriculture. Asia is well-established as a major producer and exporter of food products, however, adoption rates of sustainable agriculture remain low. Nikolaos Stantzos from PUR will discuss the challenges of implementing regenerative agriculture projects, while Nova Nelson from Wild Asia will highlight efforts to help smallholders adopt organic and regenerative farming practices.
A panel will examine the challenges of scaling sustainable agriculture in Asia. Experts will discuss the low interest in organic and regenerative farming, obstacles producers face, and strategies to increase adoption. Panellists include Samuel Chauffaille, Managing Director Asia Pacific at Ecocert Group; Ben Ripple, Founder & CEO at Big Tree Farms; Angga Maulana Yusuf at Preferred by Nature; Koranis Tanangsnakool, Head of Sustainability at Harmless Harvest Thailand.
Ingredient innovations
Artificial Intelligence. Somsubhra GanChoudhuri, Founder & CEO of Ai Palette, will show how AI can be used by food and beverage companies to identify suitable ingredients and create sustainable products. The Singapore-based start-up operates an AI-powered platform that helps food companies with product innovations.
Upcycling. As more food companies look at moving towards circularity, they are valorising waste materials into new food ingredients. Dole Specialty Ingredients, a division of the multinational Dole Food Company, is a pioneer, marketing upcycled ingredients since 2020. Its Managing Director Weitze Ooi will give details on how it is transforming ugly fruit and byproducts into high-value ingredients. Florence Leong from KosmodeHealth Singapore will also explain how it is converting spent barley grains into pre-mixes, noodles, and related products.
Ingredient Sourcing Trends. The pandemic and geopolitical conflict have highlighted the frailties in supply chains for agricultural-based ingredients. There are now concerns that trade barriers will affect supply of raw materials. An expert panel will discuss sustainable sourcing trends and challenges. The panel comprises Yien Li Yap, Director of Sustainability, APAC and EME at Compass at Google; Dr. Boligala Raju, President and CEO at High Quality Organics; Marie Lacoste, Head of CSR, Fair Trade, and Sustainable Sourcing at Ecocert Group.
Future trends
Cellular agriculture. Singapore has become a regional hub for cellular agriculture, attracting many companies that produce alternative proteins. Calisa Lim from the APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture will give an update on cultured meat and seafood, emphasising regulatory developments. Kumaresan Thanabal from Meatiply will share his experiences in producing cultured meat. The challenges of commercialising ‘lab-grown’ meat will be discussed.
Production & Packaging. Bjorn Low, Executive Director & Co-Founder of Edible Garden City, will discuss the sustainability benefits of urban farming and its role in food security and community development. Another speaker will explore the potential of vertical farming.
As brands seek alternatives to reduce their packaging impact, Svanika Balasubramanian, Co-Founder & CEO of Re-Purpose Global, will explain how their platform helps companies measure, reduce, and offset plastic footprints. Another speaker will give details of alternative green materials to plastic packaging.
Marketing update
Consumer and Market Trends. Trezelene Chan, Head of Sustainability in APAC at Kantar, will speak about consumer behaviour towards sustainable products. What sustainability issues are becoming important to consumers and why? How has consumer behaviour towards sustainability changed since the pandemic? What sustainability trends are happening in the food industry?
The latest market data will be presented on the Asian market for plant-based foods. Vikas Garg of Abillion will show how his mobile app helps consumers find plant-based foods and encourages consumers to make sustainable choices. Ding Jie Tan, Co-Founder and CTO of Prefered, will highlight the challenges when marketing novel products. The Singapore company has developed bean-free coffee.
Marketing Obstacles. A dedicated panel will discuss the marketing issues associated with sustainable food and beverages. What are the main obstacles, and how could they possibly be overcome? What are some of the ways to raise consumer demand for sustainable products? The panel will comprise Lastiana Yuliandari, Founder of Aliet Green; Mayur Singh, Co-Founder of Green Collective; Frantz Braha, Co-owner of SaladStop.
About the Sustainable Foods Summit
Since 2009, the Sustainable Foods Summit has been covering major developments in sustainability and eco-labels in the food industry. The executive summit now takes place in the major geographic regions of the world: North & Latin America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. The 4th Asia-Pacific edition of the Sustainable Foods Summit will take place at the ParkRoyal Collection Marina Bay Singapore on 25-26th February 2025. More information is available from https://sustainablefoodssummit.com/asia/.
About Ecovia Intelligence
Ecovia Intelligence is a London-based specialist research, consulting & training company that focuses on global ethical product industries. Since 2001, we have been encouraging sustainable development via our services portfolio: market research publications, business & sustainability consulting, technical research, seminars & workshops, and sustainability summits. Visit us at https://www.ecoviaint.com/.
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