Bagi rakyat Malaysia, PappaRich adalah jenama yang tidak asing. Kedai makan ini terkenal dengan sajian makanan kopitiam tradisional dalam suasana yang lebih anggun dan moden.

Kebelakangan ini, PappaRich mendapat kejayaan yang lebih baik di luar negara walaupun ia sebenarnya jenama tempatan. Terdapat juga lebih banyak kopitiam moden yang telah masuki pasaran sejak ia dilancarkan tahun 2005.

Tetapi semua ini tidak menghalang Andy Lim, Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Pineapple Resources Berhad, daripada membida untuk keseluruhan jenama PappaRich di Malaysia dan Kemboja pada tahun 2023.

Bercakap dengan Vulcan Post, beliau berazam untuk membangkitkan semula PappaRich pada zaman kegemilangannya.

Bagaimana? Bermula dengan rombakan penuh dalam tempoh enam bulan yang akan datang, termasuk memperkenalkan jenama baharu bernama PappaRich Lite.

Mengambil peranan yang lebih besar

“Kami mempunyai kepercayaan dan keyakinan terhadap PappaRich kerana ia adalah salah satu daripada 10 jenama F&B tempatan yang paling popular di Malaysia sebelum ini,” Andy berkata.

Walaupun kenyataannya ringkas, namun ia penuh dengan harapan yang tinggi untuk masa depan. Hasrat ini juga bukan tidak realistik, kerana Andy sebenarnya mempunyai pengalaman dalam syarikat PappaRich.

Kira-kira lapan tahun lalu, usahawan berusia 41 tahun itu bersama bapanya (dan beberapa rakan bapanya) memulakan cawangan PappaRich di NU Sentral Mall sebagai pemegang francais.

Dari situ, Andy dan bapanya mendalami pengetahuan mereka dalam industri F&B. Dan tidak lama kemudian, kemahiran yang mereka perolehi membolehkan mereka membuka restoran hot pot Thai bernama Bhai Jim Jum.

“Kami percaya bahawa dengan memberi tumpuan kepada strategi baharu kami ditambah dengan pengalaman kami menguruskan cawangan francais NU Sentral PappaRich selama hampir 10 tahun, kami berada dalam kedudukan untuk menyahut cabaran untuk menghidupkan semula dan mengembangkan jenama ini,” kongsi Andy.

Dengan itu, mereka memulakan usaha untuk memulihkan kedudukan restoran sebagai salah satu jenama F&B tempatan terkemuka di negara ini.

Daripada IT kepada F&B

Pada mulanya, Andy memulakan kerjayanya dalam industri IT dan mempunyai pengalaman selama 15 tahun dalam bidang runcit IT.

Setelah menguruskan lebih 100 kedai runcit IT, dia telah mengumpul pelbagai jenis kemahiran. Ini termasuklah kemahiran berkaitan dengan hal ehwal sumber manusia seperti skim pengambilan pekerja dan komisen.

Ditambah dengan peranan beliau dalam menguruskan Bhai Jim Jum punya lima cawangan selama setengah dekad, Andy percaya bahawa dia mempunyai kecekapan yang diperlukan untuk menghidupkan semula jenama PappaRich di Malaysia.

“Pengalaman yang saya kumpulkan selama ini telah membantu saya membentuk strategi yang lebih baik untuk mencari lokasi kedai yang berpotensi, melaksanakan kempen pemasaran yang berkesan, dan yang paling penting, menggunakan pengalaman penyumberan saya untuk mendapatkan bahan terbaik untuk restoran kami,” katanya.

Menjelaskan lagi, dia berkata bahawa mendapatkan bahan mentah adalah salah satu cabaran utama yang dihadapi dahulu di cawangan NU Sentral PappaRich sebagai pemegang francais.

Bercakap terus terang, Andy berkongsi dengan kami bahawa pada satu ketika, mereka tidak mendapat bahan masak dari dapur berpusat PappaRich. Masalah ini menyebabkan kedainya bergelut untuk mengekalkan rasa makanan yang dihidangkan dan seterusnya, menyebabkan kehilangan ramai pelanggan setia.

“Mujurlah, beberapa pemegang francais, termasuk bapa saya, bertukar idea dan berkongsi sumber untuk mengatasi krisis ini,” kongsinya.

Disebabkan kejadian ini, pasukan Andy di NU Sentral terpaksa mencari bahan sendiri. Dan dengan masa, mereka berjaya mencapai citarasa “yang paling hampir dengan versi asal” setelah beberapa percubaan.

Memperkenalkan jenama baharu di bawah kumpulan

Dengan itu, sebahagian daripada rancangan Andy untuk memberi kehidupan baharu kepada jenama itu akan menumpukan perhatian pada prinsip PappaRich, iaitu menawarkan makanan yang enak kepada pelanggan.

Andy enggan mengulas terlalu banyak mengenainya supaya tidak membongkarkan kejutan yang telah dirancangkan. Tetapi dia mengusik bahawa menu akan bertumpu kepada masakan Malaysia yang klasik dan nostalgia.

Lebih menarik lagi ialah pengenalan jenama baharu tersebut yang dipanggil PappaRich Lite kelak nanti. Jenama makanan ini adalah di bawah kumpulan PappaRich tetapi ia akan mempunyai cawangan kedai sendiri.

“Dalam usaha kami untuk menambah [kehidupan] baharu kepada jenama, kami akan ada perubahan dari segi rasa dan persembahan makanan,” kongsi Andy.

“Perubahan ini akan menjadi lebih jelas dan tonjol untuk Papparich Lite kerana kami menyasarkan pelanggan yang lebih muda, khususnya golongan muda yang bekerja dalam lingkungan umur 25 hingga 35. Kami bermatlamat untuk menjadi pilihan utama mereka untuk makanan tempatan yang selesa pada harga yang lebih berpatutan.”

Pada masa ini, konsep PappaRich Lite masih dalam peringkat percubaan dan anda boleh melanggannya di Wangsa Walk Mall. Sebuah cawangan sudah ditubuhkan di sana dengan lebih banyak lagi dalam agenda, termasuk peluang francais juga.

Optimis tentang apa yang akan datang

Walaupun teruja dengan rancangan baharu ini, Andy mengakui bahawa ia bukan satu jalan yang mudah untuk jenama ini.

Dalam kata-katanya sendiri, PappaRich telah bergelut sejak beberapa tahun lalu, namun ia agak mencabar untuk mendaptkan kembali keyakinan pelanggan.

Sebagai kedai yang berusia lebih dari 20 tahun, satu lagi halangan yang mereka jangkakan ialah mendapat penerimaan dan pengiktirafan daripada penonton yang lebih muda. Ini adalah kebimbangan yang wajar kerana terdapat banyak kafe yang tumbuh subur di seluruh negara yang menawarkan makanan tempatan yang enak.

Apatah lagi pesaing pasaran yang lebih ketara ialah Rich Kopitiam, yang dimulakan oleh pengasas PappaRich, Rich Tan.

Tetapi Pengarah Eksekutif PappaRich yang baharu tidak berundur dari tugas sukar yang menunggunya di hadapan. Matlamatnya untuk jenama ini adalah untuk mengekalkan legasinya sebagai restoran yang menawarkan hidangan Malaysia, tetapi kini dengan rasa gabungan yang dikemas kini.

“Kami percaya ruang pasaran cukup besar untuk semua orang,” kata Andy.

“Kami berharap untuk mempunyai sekurang-kurangnya 50 cawangan di seluruh Malaysia dalam tempoh lima tahun akan datang. [Dan] memandangkan kami juga pemilik jenama untuk Kemboja, kami juga berharap untuk melihat 10 cawangan di rantau itu melalui francais induk yang berpotensi sebagai rakan kongsi.”

• Ketahui lebih lanjut tentang PappaRich di sini.
• Baca artikel lain yang kami tulis tentang startup Malaysia di sini.

Kredit Gambar: PappaRich

Dilahirkan di Sibu, Sarawak, pertemuan pertama John Sim dengan pastri adalah ketika dia melawat Kuala Lumpur bersama keluarga pada zaman sekolah rendah. Waktu itu, dia menemui pelbagai pastri yang menyelerakan di rak Délifrance, terutamanya croissant kecil.

Apabila John memasuki alam kedewasaan, cintanya terhadap pastri menjadi semakin kukuh. Beliau memasuki industri pemasaran dan pembangunan perniagaan F&B, di mana dia khususnya bekerja di sektor makanan sejuk beku sejak 2002.

Pada satu ketika, dia menceburi bidang perdagangan makanan laut yang membawanya ke seluruh dunia termasuk Amerika Selatan. Di situlah dia didedahkan kepada budaya kafe sana. Mengimbas kembali, John berkongsi bahawa dia memesan espresso double-shot dan pastri yang baru dibakar selama 22 hari berturut-turut.

“Apabila saya kembali ke negara kita, saya berimpian untuk mempunyai kafe yang menghidangkan kopi dan pastri untuk persaraan saya,” katanya. Ketika itu, dia hanya berumur 21 tahun.

Kini pada usia 44 tahun, John menjalani impian itu melalui John’s Pie.

Tetapi sudah tentu, impian itu tidak direalisasikan dengan mudah.  

Semasa beliau berkhidmat sebagai usahawan dalam perdagangan makanan laut, John melalui titik rendah dalam hidupnya. Pada masa itu, seorang kawan baik telah membuat pai untuknya yang mengingatkan John tentang impian itu.

Menyedari bahawa pai yang enak sukar didapati di Malaysia, dia memutuskan dia mempunyai peluang di sana. Walau bagaimanapun, John sebenarnya tidak mempunyai banyak pengetahuan tentang buatan pai walaupun berdekad pengalamannya dalam industri makanan dan pemasaran, jadi dia merujuk buku dan YouTube untuk belajar.

Dilengkapi dengan pengetahuan pai baharunya, dia menyewa kiosk kecil seluas 60 kaki persegi di sebelah pintu masuk pasar raya. Dengan demikian, ia menandakan permulaan John’s Pies.

Pai dengan ayam goreng

Berbanding dengan negara-negara Barat, pai nampaknya belum menjadi makanan popular di Malaysia, terutamanya jenis yang savuri.

John menyokong pemerhatian ini. Beliau berkongsi yang hanya sebilangan kecil pelanggan yang telah mencuba pai yang benar, biasanya mereka yang berpeluang untuk merasainya di luar negara, menghargai hidangan tersebut.

“Untuk mengekalkan impian saya, saya mula menjual ayam goreng Taiwan menggunakan resipi asli ciptaan kami, yang mendapat lebih populariti berbanding pai,” katanya. “Tetapi tidak! Saya mahukan kedai pai, bukan lagi satu kedai jual ayam goreng.”

Dua tahun berlalu, dan keadaan tidak bertambah baik. Perniagaan John hampir kehabisan modal, malah tukang pai pun berpisah dengan perniagaannya. Pada ketika itu, John sudah berfikir untuk gulung tikar.

Tetapi selepas perbincangan dengan isterinya, Joleen, dia mengabaikan pemikiran tersebut. Joleen mendapat tahu yang Rainforest Music Festival di Kuching akan diadakan tidak lama lagi dan berjaya meyakinkan John untuk memberikan perniagaan painya peluang terakhir.

“Jika pelanggan antarabangsa benar-benar mengatakan makanan anda tidak sedap, kami akan menamatkannya dan menutup perniagaan,” John teringat kata-kata Joleen.

Jadi, mereka membayar yuran masuk dan perbelanjaan yang sekitar RM2,000 hingga RM4,000. Memandangkan perniagaan itu mengalami kerugian sejak dua tahun lalu, John dan isterinya terpaksa mengais wang tersebut untuk mendaftar dalam acara pesta muzik itu.

“Saya memberitahu diri saya bahawa ia adalah ‘do or die’, jadi pergi dan lakukannya saja,” kata John.

Ia sememangnya satu perjudian, yang tidak membuahkan hasil pada mulanya. Pada hari pertama, dia hanya berjaya menjana RM700 hasil jualan.

Namun begitu, dia terkejut apabila mendapati ramai orang beratur di kiosknya pada keesokan pagi walaupun kedai belum dibuka. Permintaan pada hari tu sangat besar di mana kru John harus melayan pelanggan sehingga tengah malam, dan jualannya menjadi 10 kali ganda lebih dari hari sebelumnya.

“Apa?!” John terkejut. “Apabila pesta muzik berakhir pada malam Ahad, jualan yang kami perolehi adalah seperti kutipan jualan beberapa bulan dari kiosk kami di bandar.”

Dengan itu, impian John dihidupkan semula, dan John’s Pie mula berkembang menjadi sebuah perniagaan yang lebih besar.

Mendapat sekeping pai yang lebih besar

Selepas beberapa tahun bekerja keras dan dengan permintaan yang semakin meningkat untuk pai, John memutuskan bahawa sudah tiba masanya untuk menawarkan lokasi yang lebih kekal dan selesa untuk pelanggan beliau.

Oleh itu, mereka membuka kedai pai pertama mereka di Wisma Phoenix, sebuah bangunan lama yang merupakan mercu tanda di Kuching menurut John. Lokasi itu adalah kawasan trafik tinggi, di mana John juga meningkatkan potensinya dengan membangunkan papan tanda setinggi lima kaki untuk menarik perhatian orang yang lalu lalang.

“Kosnya lebih murah daripada membuat iklan di akhbar,” katanya. “Selepas setahun, kami tutup sebab objektif untuk mendapatkan perhatian telah dicapai. Kami memerlukan ruang yang lebih baik dan lebih besar untuk memberi perkhidmatan kepada pelanggan kami.”

Jadi, mereka berpindah ke lokasi yang berkeluasan dua kali ganda dari cawangan sebelumnya di Wisma Phoenix. Dari situ, jenama pai ini membuka lebih banyak cawangan. Kini, mereka boleh dijumpai di Universiti Teknologi Swinburne Kampus Sarawak, The Spring Mall, dan Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuching.

Menunya termasuk pai daging, quiche, cottage pie, shepherd’s pie, serta pilihan yang lebih manis seperti tart keju dan pastri buah-buahan.

Untuk memberi perkhidmatan kepada lebih ramai pelanggan, John’s Pie juga telah memperoleh sijil halal, yang bukan satu proses yang mudah.

“Perjalanan itu sukar,” jelas John. “Saya mengambil masa empat tahun untuk mendapatkan pensijilan kemudahan kami di bawah MeSTI KKM untuk kebersihan dan keselamatan makanan, kemudian baru memohon pensijilan halal dari JAKIM.”

Sepanjang proses memohon pensijilan halal, pengasas berkongsi bahawa mereka mendapat galakan daripada ramai orang Islam yang mendorong mereka untuk meneruskan usaha tersebut.

Menambahkan kopi ke dalam adunan

Selain dari pastri, John mengembangkan perniagaannya dengan pembukaan bahagian kafe. Maka, pelawat boleh menikmati minuman seperti kopi bersama pai mereka.

Biji kopi pertama yang diperkenalkan di John’s Pie ialah biji kopi Liberica daripada pemanggang kopi artisan di Malaysia Barat.

Untuk mempromosikan lagi biji kopi tempatan, John’s Pie mula memanggang biji kopi sendiri dengan panggang tangan. Sejak tahun lepas, mereka telah menaik taraf kepada mesin pemanggang kopi.

“Pai atau pastri bersama kopi adalah seperti padanan yang sempurna,” John berkata.

Selain daripada kopi espreso, John’s Pie juga menawarkan minuman dalam botol, iaitu Kopi Susu Ais Siri Nanyang dan Teh Susu Ais Siri Nanyang, yang telah menjadi minuman istimewa jenama itu.

Masa depan bisnes

Di luar Sarawak, John’s Pie telah membuka sebuah cawangan di Publika, Kuala Lumpur.

Pengembangan ini dilakukan melalui perjanjian pelesenan dengan seorang peguam bernama Dato Edlin Ghazaly yang telah cuba John’s Pie apabila menghadiri majlis perkahwinan di Kuching.

Menurut John, seorang rakan Dato Edlin membawanya ke lokasi Jalan Song mereka, di mana dia jatuh cinta dengan pai. Ini membawa kepada panggilan telefon dengan John, diikuti dengan mesej WhatsApp selama beberapa bulan. Akhirnya, mereka memutuskan keputusan untuk membawa jenama itu ke KL.

Perkembangan ini berlaku sekitar penghujung tahun 2022, dan akhirnya kedai di KL dibuka pada Julai 2023.

Kini, terdapat enam cawangan John’s Pie di Malaysia Timur, dan dua cawangan di Malaysia Barat.

“Kami merancang untuk mengembangkan lagi, mungkin melalui pelesenan,” John berkata. “Bagaimanapun, kami akan sentiasa mengutamakan kualiti dan keaslian.”

Sementara itu, pasukan John sedang melancarkan proses pengeluarannya agar ia boleh ditingkatkan dan mereka boleh berkembang maju lagi.

Sepanjang perjalanan John’s Pie yang berjangka 13 tahun, John telah melintasi rintangan yang berbagai. Malahan, John telah menimbangkan bahawa sesetengah rintangan ini adalah punca kejayaannya.

“Ini petikan saya yang meringkaskan pengalaman saya,” katanya kepada Vulcan Post. “Saya mempunyai idea, dan saya hanya mahu membuktikan kepada orang ramai bahawa ia boleh berjaya. Orang akan sentiasa mentertawakan anda sehingga anda berjaya.”

• Ketahui lebih lanjut tentang John’s Pie di sini.
• Baca artikel lain yang telah kami tulis tentang perniagaan F&B di sini.

Kredit Imej Pilihan: John’s Pie

Originally from Penang, Moey Fu Ken began his artistic journey in 2014, enrolling in the Bachelor of Fine Arts programme at Hsuan Chuang University in Taiwan.

Majoring in short film directing and scriptwriting, Moey honed his skills in crafting compelling narratives and bringing them to life on screen. Seven years ago, he founded Filmmakers, a video production company with a presence in KL and Penang.

But when the filming industry came to a standstill during the era of MCOs, Moey found himself at a crossroads.

“It was then that I made the decision to embark on a new journey, transitioning into the F&B sector,” he shared with Vulcan Post.

His F&B career began with Susu Vegan Mylk Bar, a vegan restaurant in George Town with a retro concept.

Looking at the restaurant’s interior and concept, it’s clear that Moey’s creativity and affinity for storytelling still shines—but his medium has shifted away from the screens and instead towards physical spaces.

Not stopping there, the creative entrepreneur also envisioned a space where old-world charm meets contemporary flair. And this vision would manifest as the establishment of Laomei Koperasi Cafe.  

Preserving authenticity

Established in December 2023, Laomei Koperasi is a new addition to George Town’s cafe culture.

“Drawing inspiration from the collaborative spirit, Laomei Koperasi embraces the idea of uniting various individuals under one roof,” Moey said.

As such, patrons of the cafe can find spaces designed for people to join and collaborate with Laomei Koperasi themselves, as they’re all about inclusivity and community involvement.

In terms of aesthetics, the best way to describe Laomei Koperasi is old-school and nostalgia-inducing. The space features elements of traditional Chinese coffee shops from the 1970s and 1980s, such as old biscuit tins and rattan stools.

“Our aim is not only to offer a cafe experience but also to transport our patrons back in time to the quaint biscuit retail shops of yesteryears,” they said. “It isn’t just a cafe; it’s a testament to preserving and sharing the cultural heritage of Penang.”

With an initial investment of RM100K, obtained through various investors, Laomei Koperasi embarked on a mission to revive Penang’s heritage last year.

Unique concoctions

The cafe’s dedication to preserving old Penang’s essence is reflected in its menu as well, using traditional recipes that evoke a sense of nostalgia.

If you’ve been to restaurants in Penang, you might’ve noticed something unique called nutmeg juice. Common in the northern state, the drink is made by juicing nutmeg flesh and supposedly tastes tangy and a little grassy.

But instead of just serving this iconic drink as is, Moey wanted to put a spin to it.

Brainstorming with his friends for a beverage that can encapsulate the spirit of old Penang, someone had suggested creating a fusion of nutmeg, coffee, and a hint of soda water.

Moey found this blend to be inspired, catering to coffee aficionados as well as those seeking a refreshing drink.

“It’s moments like these, born from collaboration and creativity, that shape the unique offerings at Laomei Koperasi Cafe,” he mused.

Using nutmegs from Balik Pulau, the cafe offers drinks such as nutmeg pandan, nutmeg coconut, and of course, nutmeg coffee.

Beyond the beverages themselves, something unique about the drinks is the glassware it’s held in.

The artisan-printed glassware used in the cafe is designed by the team itself, produced locally in Penang. Similar to the brand’s ethos, these glasses are meant to capture Penang’s heritage. And yes, they can be purchased from the store.

“These glassware items serve as more than just souvenirs; they’re a tangible connection to the wonder and charm of Penang, allowing tourists to take a piece of our local heritage back to their hometowns,” Moey shared.

In addition to their beverages, Laomei Koperasi also offers a selection of old-fashioned biscuits and homemade buttercake.

A piece of Penang

Although only three months old, Moey said that the response, especially from tourists, has been promising, as they appreciate the nostalgic 70s vibe.

“However, I strongly believe that Laomei Koperasi can reach even greater heights. I’m confident that our unique concept of a 70s old heritage cafe in Penang holds immense potential,” the founder said.

Managing two shops simultaneously, Moey admitted that it can be rather demanding, especially for someone relatively new to the F&B sector. Yet, Moey finds himself invigorated by the process.

In the short term, he plans to expand their menu by adding food or snacks that were popular in the 70s or 80s, further enhancing the nostalgic experience at Laomei Koperasi.

But looking ahead, the long-term strategy involves incorporating more tourist souvenirs into the shop. Blending food, drinks, and souvenirs, Moey wants the cafe to be a one-stop shop that offers visitors a comprehensive experience of Penang’s heritage.

“Should our concept resonate with both tourists and locals, I’m fully committed to expanding Laomei Koperasi from a single establishment to a chain, ensuring that more people can immerse themselves in the unique charm of our heritage café,” Moey said.

• Learn more about Laomei Koperasi Cafe here.
• Read other articles we’ve written about Malaysian startups here.

Featured Image Credit: Laomei Koperasi Cafe / Jin Theng

Australian alternative protein company Vow launched its cultivated quail meat, Quailia, yesterday (April 3) in Singapore after receiving regulatory approval from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA).

Under the brand Forged, Quailia is described as an “entirely new cultivated meat” made from the cells of a Japanese quail.

According to an article by The Straits Times, co-founder and CEO George Peppou shared that the company wanted to create a product that was “distinctively different” from meat that consumers are already accustomed to, such as chicken, pork, or beef. 

“People have a general vibe of what quail tastes like, but they don’t have a very distinct impression of its taste as they would with other conventional types of meat,” explained Peppou.

He also shared that it took 15 months for the company to receive approval from the SFA for the sale of its cultivated quail as a food ingredient. The license will allow Vow to develop all kinds of quail-derived food products, including whole meat cuts, without further approval from the authorities.

The Forged Parfait will be available to the public for tasting at Mori restaurant from April 12 to 27, as part of a S$289 seven-course omakase menu with alcoholic drink pairings.

According to Forged’s website, the brand will be announcing its first restaurant collaboration in May this year and has plans to launch new flavours down the road.

Doesn’t want to compete in taste with “real meat”

Quailia is currently produced in Sydney, where scientists start by taking a small sample of cells from a Japanese quail species and isolating the cells that contribute to the parfait’s taste and texture.

These cells are then cultured in a bioreactor – a stainless steel tank similar to the ones found in a brewery. To bring out the “gaminess of quail”, ingredients including butter, seasoning and cognac are added to make the parfait.

Unlike many cultivated meat companies, Vow does not intend to replace agricultural-grown meats with their products. In a self-written article, Peppou pointed out the challenges that many of Vow’s predecessors experienced in changing consumer behaviours with their alternative proteins.

You’re not going to change consumer behaviour by offering them something which is a similar enough version of what they already consume.

Externalities like sustainability or animal ethics are not enough for us to change our behaviours for very long, despite what we’d like to believe. This is why plant-based alternatives have plateaued in sales in the past three years; the ethical or moral motivations aren’t reason enough to get meat-eaters to forgo a thing they love, and any alternative is fighting against a lifetime of experience on what chicken is and isn’t.

George Peppou, co-founder and CEO of Vow in a written article on Medium

Over the past few years, the cultivated meat industry has started out with much fanfare. However, many alternative protein companies have plateaued and been unable to achieve commercial success.

A notable case in Singapore would be Shiok Meats, who garnered media attention for their cell-based siew mai and cultivated crustacean products. The food-tech startup has shared that they were unable to scale their production process and experienced high turnover rates as a result.

In March this year, the company merged with another Singapore-based startup, Umani Bioworks (previously known as Umami Meats), to spur regulatory approvals and launch its products into the market.

Despite the industry’s scrutiny, Peppou shared that he has remained confident in the firm’s commercial viability through its “one-of-a-kind” products.

The firm previously raised US$49.2 million in Series A funding in 2022, where the funds will be used to build their second factory facility and bring their products to the market.

Vow was also the mastermind behind the “mammoth meatball,” which went viral last year because it was created using the DNA of the extinct mammoth. While the meatball was not made for consumption, the firm also boldly stated the “potential of cultured meat from many different perspectives.”

Whether it is blind optimism or a new breakthrough in the cultivated meats industry, only time can tell the success of Vow and Forged.

Featured Image Credit: Square Peg Capital, Vow

Looking back at the pandemic, I’m sure there are many things we might reminisce or even miss about the era. It was undoubtedly a time of many uncertainties and stresses, but also one that sparked a lot of new ideas and businesses.

As some say, challenges breed innovation. And when one door closes, another may open.

Such is the case for couple Natsu and Felix, the founders of Divini Pastry, a quaint cafe in Puchong that started out as a pandemic-born business.

Hotel to business

Felix has always had a passion for cooking. At 18, despite his parents’ wishes, he moved to Singapore to work in a ramen chain restaurant. Here, he worked his way up and became the youngest kitchen lead in the business at age 21.

With a passion for cakes and desserts, he pursued a diploma in pastry and would attend classes on days off. By the time he was almost finished with his diploma, Natsu, whose background is in marketing, had moved to Singapore too.

“After I graduated, I went for interviews but my confidence in my decision was shaken when I was faced with the reality of a steep 50% pay cut due to my change of career and lack of experience in pastries,” Felix admitted.

But Natsu encouraged him to take the leap, offering to help with both their living expenses for the time being as she was making more.

Yet, the pandemic changed things. One day, Felix got the fateful call that broke the disappointing news of a layoff.

“Like everyone else who was laid off during the pandemic, I was struggling to get another job in Singapore,” he shared.

At the same time, Natsu’s company was also facing financial challenges. So, after discussions, the couple decided to return to Malaysia to start a business together.

“I’ve always been captivated by petite and bite-sized pastries and desserts,” Felix shared. “Being exposed to high tea during my time working for hotels, I realised that some of the desserts/confections served are commonly only available in high tea at hotels.”

“I wanted to make these luxury pastries/desserts more affordable to the common man.”

With that, Divini Pastry was born at the height of the pandemic.

Online to offline

Something that sets Divini Pastry apart from other cafes is its specialisation in biscotti, which is a kind of Italian almond biscuit.

Felix felt that biscotti was one of the least common options among exclusive offerings of high tea. As a double-baked cookie, it also has a very long shelf life.

While its preparation process might be more troublesome, this also means less competition in the market. At the same time, Felix felt like many Malaysians love biscuits and cookies, especially during festive seasons.

With all these justifications, Divini Pastry started as an online business, solely focusing on only biscotti and butter shortbread.

However, the couple faced challenges with logistics due to the extremely fragile nature of their biscotti. They tried all sorts of packaging and wrapping methods, but their biscotti would always arrive crumbled. Thus, they resorted to delivering their goods themselves.

Initially based in Ipoh, they would make trips to the Klang Valley, where most of their customers were, once every two weeks. Eventually, they acknowledged it was unsustainable in the long run.

With that recognition came the idea to start a physical retail outlet instead.

Serendipitously, Natsu’s mother had just purchased a shop lot in Puchong for her office. The couple took on her offer to rent out the ground floor space, effectively leading to Divini Pastry’s expansion into a physical cafe mid-2022.

Biscotti to coffee

Divini Pastry has seven biscotti flavours to offer:

• Classic Tuscany (almond)
• Big Red Wolf (cranberry and wolfberry)
• Golden Jade (matcha and golden raisin)
• Oh Ferrero, (dark chocolate and hazelnut)
• Cashew in the Dark (charcoal and cashew nut)
• Smells Like Happiness (pistachio and black sesame)
• Going Nuts (macadamia and pecan nut)

Other than biscotti, Divini Pastry also serves up bakes such as Danish butter shortbread, focaccia, coffee bun, marble butter cake, and lemon chia seed cake, among other offerings.

Their breakfast and lunch menus cover a variety of sandwiches and wraps. For dessert, they do gelato and waffles along with their cakes.

The cafe also offers reservation-only high teas on Saturday and Sunday afternoons (1PM to 4PM). The three-course high tea has four rotating weekly menus, and is priced at RM98/pax for one person, or RM88/pax for two people and above.

But beyond serving biscotti and other delights, Divini Pastry’s goal is to grow Malaysia’s speculoos culture.

Speculoos refers to the traditional Belgian cookie featuring a spice blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. But for Felix and Natsu, speculoos culture is all about enjoying the biscuit with a drink.

“Back then, during our younger days, I recall seeing biscuits being served together with coffee,” Felix recalled.

However, he felt like this culture has disappeared, mainly as it’s an added cost for the business.

Hence, in an effort to bring this culture back, Divini Pastry serves all their hot coffee with a piece of their biscotti at the side.

“Ever since we started Divini Pastry, we started to notice more and more cafes serving speculoos at the side of their coffee, and have even been seeing biscotti in the market even more commonly nowadays, which is a good sign,” Felix expressed.

Bootstrapping to profiting

To start Divini Pastry, Felix and Natsu put around RM40K of their own savings into the business.

“We prioritise quality and taste over profit margins which customers who have tasted our stuff can strongly attest to, and we (dare I say) give the warmest and friendliest service you’ll ever experience compared to many cafes in Malaysia,” he said.

Today, the team proudly shared that their last audited annual revenue was in the high six figures, and that they’ve been profitable.

There’s still a long way to go for the couple, though. For one, they have yet to find a way to package their biscotti with the least amount of breakage.

To further grow the business, they’ll also need to hire adequate and reliable manpower. Currently, the kitchen team consists of two members, including Felix, while the front of the house is singlehandedly run by Natsu, though she’s aided by her family every now and then.

Expanding the team is an effort that is already underway, though. With a larger team, Divini Pastry aims to push forward with its mission and become a go-to brand when it comes to biscotti in Malaysia.  

• Learn more about Divini Pastry here.
• Read other articles we’ve written about F&B businesses here.

Featured Image Credit: Divini Pastry

Au Ai Leen, a 38-year-old entrepreneur, has brought a piece of Johor to Klang Valley foodies through an almost 50-year-old legacy of flavour and tradition.

Redefining her family’s original beef noodle soup, Tangkak Beef Noodle House director Ai Leen and her husband decided to cater to the halal market in 2023 while maintaining their deep-rooted connection to Tangkak’s culinary heritage.

At the heart of Tangkak Beef Noodle House lies a story that spans generations. It originated from humble beginnings in 1976, when Ai Leen’s father, Au Ah Kuang, established a small food stall named Restaurant Kuang Fei near a bus stop in Tangkak, Johor.

Ah Kuang, a trailblazer in Malaysia’s beef noodle scene, had introduced a secret family recipe—Hainanese beef noodle soup with a flavourful broth passed down through generations.

Today, his legacy lives on through Tangkak Beef Noodle House, where authenticity and innovation intersect to create a dining experience that can be enjoyed from all walks of life.

Catering to the halal community

While inspired by the original Kuang Fei recipe, Tangkak Beef Noodle House has carved its own path, focusing on a distinct halal variant to cater to Malaysia’s diverse culinary landscape. Do note that the brand also owns two older stores in Kuchai Lama and Puchong, but those are non-halal at the time of writing.

Ai Leen and her husband opened their first halal outlet in Tropicana Gardens Mall last year, followed by their second one in Berjaya Times Square recently.

“Since obtaining our halal certificate at our Tropicana Gardens Mall outlet, we have witnessed a 30% increase in sales, driven by the trust and confidence of Muslim customers,” she told Vulcan Post.

She added that they also have plans for expansion in key locations like Central i-City Shah Alam, where there is a concentration of Malay-Muslims.

The commitment to halal certification is central to their mission, a meticulous journey that underscores their dedication to quality and inclusivity.

From stringent sourcing practices to maintaining a hygienic environment, Tangkak Beef Noodle House ensures that every aspect of its operation adheres to JAKIM’s rigorous standards.

Quality over quantity

Their ambition extends beyond culinary boundaries.

“Our ambitious goal is to establish 50 outlets within five years. We are aiming to open six to eight outlets in 2024. Currently, we are focusing on opening stores in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor malls.”

“However, achieving this target hinges on managing cash flow and attracting talented individuals in the food and beverage industry,” Ai Leen said.

But amidst their projected rapid rise to prominence, there’s one thing Tangkak Beef Noodle House wants to make clear—they’re not chasing franchising opportunities.

Instead, they’re doubling down on their commitment to quality control.

“We’ve witnessed the downfall of many F&B brands due to rapid expansion fueled by short-term gains. We prioritise controlled growth.”

“We embrace the ‘company-owned, company-operated’ (COCO) model, prioritising quality over quantity,” said the entrepreneur.

By directly managing each outlet, Tangkak Beef Noodle House can maintain hyper control over processes, ingredients, and recipes.

An extensive menu

For their iconic beef noodles, they offer various cuts of meat, along with other dishes like the Angus Beef Don and for the non-beef eaters, items like Fish Noodles.

If you are heading to this place in a big group, you can opt for their value sets which start from RM75, which includes their halal version of traditional beef noodle soup and drinks.

“We plan to expand our menu to cater to different preferences, including children’s options. We are committed to continuously innovating our menu to cater to diverse palates,” Ai Leen said.

She also hinted at introducing mutton noodles in the future as part of their new additions.

As Tangkak Beef Noodle House continues to innovate and expand its menu offerings, one thing remains constant—its commitment to tradition.

With each bowl of noodles served, they invite customers to savour not just a meal, but a piece of Malaysia’s culinary heritage.

• You can learn more about Tangkak Beef Noodle House here.

Featured Image Credit: Au Ai Leen (right) and her dad, Au Ah Kuang (left) / Tangkak Beef Noodle House

There’s no question that many of us Malaysians tend to think imported ingredients are better.

From Australian dairy to Japanese beef, it’s true that certain imported items have been honed to be of a superior quality. But this shouldn’t lead us to believe that all foreign goods are better than our homegrown offerings.

And disregarding taste, eating local food offers environmental benefits and contributes to our economy.

Given all these pros, it makes sense for restaurants to be turning to locally sourced ingredients.

And one restaurant that’s doing so is the newly revamped Sage Restaurant & Wine Bar in The Gardens Residences that reopened earlier this year.  

A more approachable ambiance

During our recent visit to Sage Restaurant & Wine Bar, it was clear that its design has changed quite a bit from the old photos we were shown. Gone are the cyan and purple LED lights, replaced by a more mellow combination of sage (of course) and olive tones.

Aligned with this change, the restaurant aims to move away from strict fine dining and instead serve the gap between fine and casual experiences.

This change in target audience won’t really affect the kitchen’s mentality towards their food, the head chef, Don John, told us during a recent visit. Their execution, like always, will be maintained to a high standard.

“You can have a casual restaurant, but at the same time, you still can provide five-star food and service,” he pointed out.

Chef Don John also clarified that he would not consider Sage’s food fine dining, which is a label that may be more uptight.

Localising the ingredients

Above its external changes, it’s the restaurant’s culinary approach that’s been impacted the most.

As alluded earlier, one of the biggest differences between the new and old Sage menus has to do with the location sourcing of ingredients.

Chef Don John admitted that using local ingredients can be more difficult as they may require more preparation and workarounds.

Bite-sized review

Expectations were high going into the restaurant, and we’re happy to report that Sage met our checkboxes and more. The smoked octopus and Kobe carpaccio made for incredibly promising appetisers, and each main delivered well-developed and robust flavours, making it hard to choose a favourite.

Dessert was on the simpler side, with the recurring house-made vanilla ice cream being a refreshing way to end the meal. Overall, dinner at Sage offered a roster of memorable and delightful dishes.

He elaborated that previously, the restaurant relied on a lot on Japanese ingredients, which oftentimes already come with their own unique flavours that don’t require tweaking.

“Whereas for our local fish and chicken and all, you’ll have to try and work around it so that you bring out the flavours from the local ingredients,” he said. “You need to think, you need to work.”

Yet, this challenge is one that the Sage team is happily taking on.

The head chef shared that Sage has always gone the Japanese-French route, but this fusion cuisine might be becoming a little too common nowadays.

As he put it, “Wagyu is no longer ‘wow’.”

In other words, the flavours offered by Sage has become very similar to many other establishments, including Sage’s sister brand Cilantro.

Thus, going for Malaysian ingredients actually pushes the team to R&D more innovative ideas.

And of course, a big benefit of localising the ingredients is that it supports our local farmers and fishermen, while keeping sustainability at the forefront.  

On the topic of sustainability, it appears that the chef also hopes to minimise waste in his kitchen as much as possible. For example, fish bones are being roasted and blended into a powder so they can be used to make dashi.

Maturing with the industry

Having been in the industry for more than two decades, Chef Don John has not only seen changes at Sage, where he has been stationed for the past four years, but also in Malaysia’s restaurant industry overall.

He shared that in the past five years specifically, restaurants have been popping up everywhere. The chef recognised that some of these are more for “fun”, though a number of them are doing it seriously, and as a result are producing quality of food that is on-point.

This, he believes, coincides with the growth of Malaysian diners, who have become more and more educated and confident in their palates.

So, within this growing ecosystem, where does Sage see itself going? Are its eyes, perhaps, set on acquiring the coveted Michelin star?

Of course, this would be an honour that Chef Don John greatly appreciates.

But at the same time, he said it’s not something he personally wants to chase, as it would affect how the kitchen runs, and the types of decision they may make.

Instead of pushing for Michelin recognition and ending up not enjoying themselves, Chef Don John prefers continuing to make good food with good portions that gets good feedback.

(And indeed, that is something they have managed to achieve, as our sister brand DiscoverKL detailed here.)

“To be very honest, I want my kitchen staff, when they leave and everything to be head chefs and executive chefs,” the head chef shared his ambitions. “It’s not about the star thing, or that I want to make money. I think this would be the proudest moment.”

In other words, the chef’s goal is to develop a food scene where more Malaysians get to enjoy good food. And for him, that process begins right in Sage Restaurant & Wine Bar.  

• Learn more about Sage Restaurant & Wine Bar here.
• Read other articles we’ve written about F&B businesses here.

Established in 2014, Table & Apron has undoubtedly become a staple in Damansara Kim. We’ve even featured the business back in 2017, speaking to its founder Marcus Low about how he revamped the business after losing his core team.

Now, nearly seven years after our last interview, Marcus has not only sustained Table & Apron, but has also opened a bakery right next door.

“The birth of Universal Bakehouse was an organic page-turner for us, rather than a business decision,” he shared with us. “The opening of Universal Bakehouse made little business sense at that time.”

When the space became available, the team’s first thought was to expand their restaurant space. It had been five years since they opened Table & Apron, business was good, and they could do with more seating.

But, as we know, that wasn’t what happened.

Marcus explained, “We were compelled by a number of reasons: My team was hungry to venture into something else, and we wanted to see if we could apply our philosophy of running Table & Apron successfully in a bakery instead.”

This made sense in terms of productivity too. Since the inception of Table & Apron, the kitchen had been baking their own breads.

But at that point, the chefs had been complaining about how inefficient it was to make sourdough breads in the restaurant due to space constraints. On top of that, the breads didn’t contribute much in terms of sales.

The most compelling reason, though, was the honour of taking over a business that was very much part of the Damansara Kim community for 40 years.

Honouring a neighbourhood legacy

Those from the neighbourhood will understand that Universal Bakehouse is an ode to its predecessor in both its name as well as its concept.

Before it was a bakery, the space had been home to Universal Laundry, a laundry shop that had serviced its community for four decades.

Marcus shared that the owner was one Mrs Low (no relations to the younger Low), who grew to be an advisor to him.

“We spoke the same language of life, except she spoke in Cantonese, and I spoke in English,” the founder shared fondly. “At 80 years, she decided it was time to retire. When the owner retired her dobi, she left us with a week’s notice, and her blessing.”

Given her legacy and their relationship, Marcus shared that it felt like an honour and privilege for him to start a new business there.

Paying homage to the spot’s history, they kept the store signage to the original design, setting a purposeful compass for the team.

With that, funded by the profits of Table & Apron, Universal Bakehouse opened in October 2019.

An organic growth

As alluded by its nostalgic design cues, Universal Bakehouse is designed to be a neighbourhood bakery, evoking a sense of timelessness rather than trendiness.  

It was during the pandemic that the bakery really took off. With dine-ins for Table & Apron restricted, it became clear that opening a bakery ended up being a gerat business decision.  

But in any case, Universal Bakehouse had been popular from the get go, even though many had no idea they were related to Table & Apron.

“By design, we’re a multi-concept operator that seeks to define a space to stand on its own feet, independent of our other brands,” Marcus elaborated.

After all, running a restaurant versus a bakery is actually quite different, which was something Marcus had to learn.

“Coming to terms with the logistical and production challenges of a bakery business meant us re-learning how to operate a business from a much more procedural point of view, as well as adopting new terminology that was never part of our vocabulary,” he pointed out.

That said, his experience with the restaurant has taught him a lot about the service industry in general. One key lesson is that oftentimes, things have less to do with the food, but rather the entire experience.

“I’ve learnt that applying generosity when guests least expect it is one of the most underrated and affordable methods of being effective in this industry,” he said. “A disappointed customer is always an opportunity to create a loyal customer.”

Staying true to their craft

Over the past few years, the bakery and restaurant scene has been evolving at a rapid pace, with many new stores opening up at every corner.

And with that comes the temptation to be “on trend”. The key, though, is staying true to what one does best.

For Universal Bakehouse, this means sticking to the classic and beloved products like sugared doughnuts and butter cakes that stand the test of time.  

“Our biggest challenge has always been to maintain a strong sense of place and identity as a bakery, to our team, and to our guests,” Marcus told us.

But all that said, the founder believes that these bakeries mushrooming everywhere is a good thing, as it means more opportunities for aspiring bakers, stronger competence training in baking techniques, and better career paths for the average baker in Malaysia.

“The tide rises for all boats,” Marcus determined. “I’m a strong advocate for contributing to a healthier and sustainable industry in foodservice.”

From neighbourhood restaurant to F&B empire

Aside from Universal Bakehouse and Table & Apron, Marcus and his team are also behind another brand, Basic Wine Store.

Marcus revealed that they’re working to consolidate these brands under one management structure. In line with that, they’ve been restructuring the company and moving away from the “independent single-boss” method of operations.

“Think of it like parenting three children of different personalities, and nurturing them with the same value,” the founder explained.

A people-centric company, the goal is to become a group with strong career development structure for those who choose to commit their career to the hospitality industry. That’s why Marcus believes it’s vital to create an environment of autonomy with accountability.

“Having the opportunity to work with young chefs who turn into leaders is a great privilege,” Marcus shared. His group has had four alumni that went on to open their own establishments, and several who are doing well in their careers overseas.

After about a decade in entrepreneurship, Marcus shared that the experience has honed his craft and articulation of philosophy. But that doesn’t mean he falls back on what he knows and remains stagnant in his vision.

“What works today won’t work for tomorrow,” the F&B entrepreneur advised. “Change is constant, embrace it.”

• Learn more about Universal Bakehouse here.
• Read other articles we’ve written about F&B here.

Featured Image Credit: Universal Bakehouse

Back in the early 2000s, NASA-funded scientists conducted an investigation into alternative protein sources to offer astronauts more palatable options on long space journeys.

The result? Lab-grown goldfish meat that “looked and smelled” exactly like fish.

The scientists didn’t go as far as tasting it, though. The cultivated meat hadn’t yet been certified as safe to eat, and concerns lingered about potential infectious agents from the foetal bovine serum used to grow it.

Fast forward to 2013, the cultivated meat industry saw another breakthrough after years of research when Dutch scientist Mark Post announced he had created the world’s first cultivated beef burger. The cultivated patty, which was painstakingly grown strand by strand in hundreds of plastic dishes, took two years to develop and cost a whopping US$332,000.

This breakthrough sparked a wave of enthusiasm in the sector: startups emerged, making bold proclamations and laying out aggressive product timelines. Investors too, fuelled by the promise and potential of this new innovation, poured millions of dollars into cultivated meat ventures.

In 2021, investment in cultivated meat companies topped US$1.36 billion, growing by over 300 per cent from the previous year. Among these companies is Californian firm Eat Just, one of the top funded startups in the industry, having raised around US$850 million since its founding in 2011.

Eat Just was also the first company in the world to gain approval to sell its lab-grown chicken nuggets to consumers in Singapore three years ago to much fanfare.

But despite cinching regulatory approval and having millions of dollars poured into the industry, lab-grown meat has yet to make its way onto grocery store shelves.

For years, companies have promised that commercially-viable lab-grown meat was right around the corner, however, repeated missed product launches and setbacks have eroded investor confidence in the space. From 2022 to 2023, total investment in the cultivated meat industry dipped by 78 per cent, from US$807 million to US$177 million.

And as funding dries up, cracks in the industry are becoming more apparent, with MIT Technology Review dubbing lab-grown meat as one of the “worst technology failures” of 2023.

How did an industry which once held so much promise falter so quickly?

Another expensive Silicon Valley mistake

At its current state, the cultivated meat industry is propped up more by wishful thinking than science.

Sure, the most basic part of the process, which involves growing a few living cells into many, is not new—pharmaceutical companies have routinely cultured animal cells at scale for decades for antibody and vaccine production, and the first vaccine developed for human use was made from duck embryonic cells.

However, this process typically produces undifferentiated cell biomass. To turn this into something edible, you’d have to blend it with plant-based ingredients, or alternatively, you could attempt something vastly more difficult: getting the animal cells to form into muscle-like tissue.

The former will limit you to the production of “minced” products, like chicken nuggets and meatballs, while the latter will enable you to create fully-structured meat, such as fillets and steaks. But even when it comes to the creation of processed, “minced” products, many startups have faltered—none have managed to achieve affordability and scalability to date.

Take Singapore food tech darling Shiok Meats, for instance. When the company showcased its first prototype in 2019—the world’s first cell-based siew mai—it was quickly shoved into the media spotlight, heralded as one of the up and coming food tech startups in both Singapore and Southeast Asia.

The company’s offerings were scheduled for commercial launch in 2023, but there was just one problem: the five shrimp dumplings it showcased had a whopping S$8,000 to S$10,000 price tag on them.

Shiok Meats eventually did manage to lower costs by swapping some of the pharmaceutical-grade ingredients used in the production of their cultivated shrimp (which accounted for 90 per cent of its price) for plant-based and edible ingredients two years later, but even then, its products still remained relatively expensive.

A kilogram of lab-grown shrimp meat now set the company back by S$5,000, bringing down the cost of each siew mai to S$150, and the company’s co-founder, Sandhya Sriram, was so sure that this could be further reduced to a “two- to three-digit number” by the start of 2021.

But that never happened. In 2023, Sandhya came out to share on LinkedIn that Shiok Meats was “unable to scale its crustacean stem cells into production” after facing allegations that its core technology did not work and losing half its staff six months prior.

Production pauses, contaminated cell lines, and failed experiments

Shiok Meats’ struggle to scale isn’t an isolated incident; it’s a reflection of broader industry-wide shortcomings.

Earlier this month, The Straits Times (ST) reported that the production of Eat Just’s cell-based meat, sold under the label Good Meat, had been put on pause. Its S$61 million Good Meat production facility in Bedok, which was initially slated to open in the third quarter of 2023, also appeared to be shuttered.

When Vulcan Post reached out to Eat Just regarding the pause in production, an Eat Just spokeswoman was quick to clarify that the company’s production in Singapore “had never been continuous”.

Eat Just’s production has always been more campaign style—our regular cadence since we began production in 2020 has been to produce and pause, produce and pause. There’s truly no news here; we are simply in a paused phase of production as we have been in the past, and we plan to resume production and service to consumers very soon.

– An Eat Just spokeswoman on the company’s reported pause in production

Even if that may be true, the lab grown meat company has had a history of encountering setbacks in its cultivated meat experiments.

Sometime in 2018, when Eat Just was exploring cell-based duck products like foie gras and duck chorizo, scientists ran a scan on the cells being used and found mouse cells, forcing Eat Just to scrap its duck products altogether.

Temasek-backed Upside Foods also found similar contaminants—rat cells, to be precise—in their cell lines back in 2019.

The company has made progress since the incident, opening a production factory to scale its offerings, but an article by MIT Technology Review in 2023 alleged that Upside Foods was still producing its textured chicken product by growing thin layers of chicken skin cells in laboratory flasks, which are then manually pressed into chicken pieces—versus growing the chicken breast products in their bioreactors.

Is cultivated meat truly environmentally friendly?

Looking at the state of the industry, it’s painfully obvious that the technology isn’t at all there yet—it just seems more like a story about optimism. What should’ve been left in academia has now seemingly turned into a waste of time and resources.

Yet, many of these companies still chase the idea that these cell-based meats are viable and ethical alternatives to slaughtering animals.

Beyond the ethical allure of lab-grown meat, it is often hailed as a sustainable alternative to raising livestock. Feeding animals on farms requires a lot of land and energy, both of which can produce carbon dioxide emissions. On a global average, one kilogram of beef can account for emissions roughly equivalent to 100 kilograms of carbon dioxide.

Cultivated meat could potentially eliminate these environmental challenges as it requires less land, water and greenhouse gases. But according to researchers at the University of California, whether or not cultivated meat can deliver on its big climate promises still remains questionable.

In fact, they found the environmental impact of lab-grown meat to be “orders of magnitude” higher than retail beef based on current and near-term production methods.

This is because energy is required to run the reactors that house cultivated cells as they grow, which will likely involve the use of fossil fuels.

Sure, they could be replaced with renewables once they become widely available, but even then, the reactors, pipes, and other necessary equipment for production facilities often have associated emissions that are tough to eliminate entirely. In addition, animal cells need to be fed and cared for, and the supply chain involved in that also comes with emissions attached. 

Cultivated meat production can benefit Singapore’s economy

But be that as it may, Singapore still stands to reap significant economic benefits from lab-grown meat.

Given the nation’s land scarcity, cultivated meat could play a pivotal role in reducing the reliance on imported meat and address supply chain vulnerabilities. Presently, Singapore imports more than 90 per cent of its food from more than 180 countries and regions.

Although the government is working towards ramping up local food production to meet 30 per cent of the nation’s nutritional needs by 2030—up from less than 10 per cent currently—it falls short, especially when you consider that global demand for food is projected to increase by 50 per cent come 2050 with population growth.

Apart from this, with countries increasingly looking inwards and prioritising their needs over international trade following COVID-19, inflation and international security threats, deglobalisation poses additional challenges to Singapore’s food security, making investments in cultivated meat production even more strategically significant for the city-state’s economic resilience.

But these investments may never gain fruition, considering the current state of the industry.

Featured Image Credit: Lehigh University

In 2023 alone, many international coffee chains made their debut in Singapore, notably Indonesia’s Kenangan Coffee, Canada’s Tim Hortons and China’s Luckin Coffee, spurring the coffee craze in the city-state further.

As the industry becomes increasingly competitive and saturated, smaller coffee startups and chains need to be innovative with their product offerings to ensure long-term business sustainability.

With that, here are five homegrown coffee brands that are making waves with their one-of-a-kind coffee products.

1. Prefer

If you thought coffee could only be made with coffee beans, Singapore foodtech startup Prefer will prove you wrong.

Founded in 2022 by Jake Berber and Ding Jie Tan, Prefer aims to disrupt the coffee market by offering a new substitute: its “bean-free” coffee, which is created by fermenting excess bread, soy pulp and spent grain.

Jake Berber, co-founder and CEO of Prefer, explained that the demand and price of coffee are expected to increase exponentially over the years. However, by 2050, about 50 per cent of the land used to grow coffee will be unable to.

By leveraging food fermentation, he believes that Prefer can provide an affordable alternative to coffee that does not exacerbate climate change and food waste issues.

“We believe Prefer is the next generation of the commodity we know as coffee today,” shared Jake.

Unlike harvesting fresh coffee beans from plantations, which can take months to grow depending on the season, Ding Jie Tan, co-founder and CTO of Prefer, shared that their coffee grounds can be created within 48 hours with their fermentation technology.

Ding Jie added that Prefer’s coffee grounds are compatible with standard coffee machines. The company has since partnered with various F&B establishments, including Foreword Coffee Roasters and SaladStop!, that want to diversify their offerings for their customers.

The startup raised US$2 million in seed funding last month and plans to use the funds to expand its production facility and market reach in Southeast Asia.

2. Crown Digital

Two major ongoing issues faced by the Singapore F&B industry, especially the cafe scene, are high employee turnover rates and operating costs.

Coupled with the change in dining behaviours caused by the advent of technology and delivery apps, many establishments—including Crown Digital — have turned to automation to address these issues, hoping to increase their profit margins.

Crown Digital is an Internet of Things (IoT) startup and the brainchild of Singapore’s first robot barista, Ella.

Keith Tan, the founder of Crown Digital, shared that Ella is powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics to independently brew 200 cups of coffee per hour, which is about four times faster than a human barista.

In 2021, Ella made her first international appearance in Japan, serving coffee to busy commuters in Tokyo and Yokohama train stations until February 2022. The startup then launched another kiosk at Raffles Place station soon after.

Customers can order coffee through the one-stop mobile app and scan their unique QR code, which leads to a “pigeonhole” where they can collect their drinks. As of now, there are seven Ella machines in Singapore, notably at Changi Airport.

3. NO HARM DONE

We often get our kopi—the Malay word for coffee—fix at our local kopitiams or coffee shops. But Simon Lieberum, the German founder of NO HARM DONE, aims to revolutionise our kopi drinking experience with their local-flavoured coffee capsules.

Coffee capsules were first popular in Western countries and then expanded into the Asia-Pacific region, where they have become the fastest-growing market. However, most are packaged in unsustainable materials, leading to a potential extreme rise in global pod waste.

On a mission to provide Asian consumers with a sustainable Asian alternative to Western coffee for their capsule machines, NO HARM DONE was launched in 2018 with a bootstrapped capital of S$1,000.

Simon shared that all ingredients used are sourced from Asia, and their capsules are produced in Singapore. “There is no need for us to ship coffees around the globe when we have great Asian coffees with minimal environmental footprint,” he added.

NO HARM DONE’s coffee capsules are made with compostable pods and recycled boxes—an idea that was conceptualised after consulting with environmental consultants and industry experts.

The capsules are sold based on a subscription model in limited amounts to prevent wastage, with each pod costing as low as 54 cents. Their products are also sold in supermarkets and e-commerce sites, including Shoppee and Lazada.

4. Morning

Another startup with innovative coffee products is Morning, which created a coffee tech ecosystem for businesses and consumers.

Simply put, Morning provides a marketplace of the world’s best speciality coffee capsules and launched its coffee machine, Morning Machine, which has precision-brewing features.

Leon Foo, the co-founder of Morning, shared that the team borrowed product features from professional coffee equipment to widen the machine’s brewing parameters leveraging IoT, from temperature precision to pressure profiling.

The brand has announced that it will open its first brick-and-mortar store in May 2024 as one of the tenants in hospitality company Lo & Behold Group’s new lifestyle complex, New Bahru.

5. MAD coffee

As convenience has become a selling point, many coffee chains have introduced ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee products, creating another saturated market within the industry.

Singapore foodtech startup MAD Foods decided to create its take on the RTD cold brew trend by offering a 100 per cent plant-based and dairy-free canned coffee called MAD Coffee in 2019.

Unlike many RTD coffees that contain whole milk, MAD’s coffee is entirely made with oat milk sourced from Europe across all three variations: Decaf, Single Shot, and Double Shot. Their coffee cans are also made with BPA and plastic-free aluminium, keeping in line with their image as a sustainable brand.

The startup entered an exclusive partnership with 7-Eleven for its launch in Malaysia last year. Its products are currently sold in online and offline supermarkets, such as Cold Storage and GrabMart in Singapore.

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ANEXT Bank, a Singapore-based digital bank regulated by MAS, empowers startups with easy and accessible financing to fuel their business growth and expansion.

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Featured Image Credits: Prefer, MAD Coffee, Morning, Crown Digital