Shiok Meats acquires Singapore cell-based red meat startup Gaia Foods

Shiok Meats has acquired an over 90% stake in Gaia Foods, a Singapore-based firm that produces red meat using stem cell technology, for an undisclosed sum, the company told Tech in Asia.

(From left) Shiok Meats founders Sandhya Sriram and Ka Yi Ling, along with Gaia Foods co-founder Vinayaka Srinivas/ Photo credit: Shiok Meats

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The deal will help Shiok Meats add a variety of red meat products to its existing menu of cell-based crustacean products like shrimp, lobster, crab, prawn, and crayfish.

Founded in 2018 by Sandhya Sriram and Ka Yi Ling, Shiok Meats claims to be the first cell-based meat company in Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, Gaia Foods develops cell-based pork, beef, and mutton by growing animal cells on scaffolds, or thin plant-based surfaces, so that it mimics the texture of meat cuts as opposed to minced meat.

The acquisition comes after Shiok Meats raised an undisclosed bridge round of funding last month from Seoul-based food delivery firm Woowa Brothers, as well as Asia Holdings, South Korea’s CJ CheilJedang Corporation, and Vietnam-based seafood exporter Vinh Hoan Corporation.

Last September, the company also raised US$12.6 million in a series A round led by sustainable aquaculture-focused investment fund Aqua-Spark.

The race to move lab-grown meat to supermarket shelves and dinner plates is heating up as more companies that cultivate cell-based meat and seafood — also known as “clean” or “cultured” meat — start to emerge.

Big Idea Ventures, a New York-based VC firm, has backed both Shiok Meats and Gaia Foods in their previous funding rounds. The VC firm’s New Protein Fund is raising over US$50 million to invest in startups that operate in the plant-based food and alternative protein ecosystem.

“With both seafood and red meat on our suite of offerings and the recent fundraise from strategic investors, we are ready to power through to commercialization,” Shiok Meats CEO Sandhya Sriram told Tech in Asia. “Meaningful expansions like these will continue to be one of our priorities.”

See also: Korean food delivery major Woowa Brothers joins Shiok Meats bridge round

According to Shiok Meats, 70% of its current headcount is made up of scientists and technical staff who have been working on the company’s research and development efforts over the last three years. Gaia founders Vinayaka Srinivas and Hung Nguyen will head the technical team to lead the development process on the cell-based red meat side of the company.

Shiok Meats is looking to blend shrimp and beef to make a combined product that can be used in dumplings, spring rolls, and noodle dishes, among others. Both companies will target markets including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, India, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea.

According to a report, the global meat substitutes market is expected to reach US$3.5 billion by 2026, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 12%.

The development also underscores the acquisition boom in Southeast Asia’s tech startup ecosystem, as mergers and acquisitions in the region hit US$19 billion in the first six months of 2021, the strongest-ever start to a year .