Yet another lab-grown protein firm flops in Singapore, 3rd in three years

Singapore’s appetite for alternative meat seems to be waning, with yet another lab-grown meat company biting the dust.

Cultivated meat company Avant Proteins is shutting down its Singapore operations, reported a notice on Singapore’s Government Gazette.

The seafood cell research company declared on Jan 30 that it was voluntarily winding up its business here due to its liabilities.

Alternative proteins are foods that have the same taste, texture, and experience of animal products that consumers love–just made in different ways. They comprise plant-based food, cultivated (lab-grown) meat or fungi-based derivatives from fermentation.

Avant Proteins is a research firm founded in 2018 by Hong Kong-based Avant, which calls itself Asia’s first cultivated fish company. The former had goals of producing fish meat without killing them.

As of Feb 10, the firm’s Hong Kong entity, Avant Meats Company, remains a private company limited by shares, according to the Hong Kong Companies Registry.

Avant Proteins’ departure from Singapore is the latest of at least three lab-grown meat companies that have struggled to scale operations in the Republic, years after it hit global headlines in 2020 as the first country to approve the commercial sale of cultured meat.

Cultivated meat is made by growing animal cells in bioreactors, a process similar to brewing beer.

This approach is considered more humane and sustainable than traditional farming, using far less land and labour.

However, the sector has faced hurdles since 2023, struggling to scale up due to difficulties in commercialising the technology, high costs, and uncertain consumer demand.

Avant’s co-founder Carrie Chan told The Straits Times in 2024 that investors had become “more conservative” due to economic conditions.

“Some are thinking (this sector) is more challenging, and they should not be investing in anything at the pre-revenue stage as the tech involved can be difficult to scale up quickly,” Chan said back then.

Checks on the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority’s database found that Avant Biotechnology was still live, while Avant Proteins is in liquidation, as at Feb 11.

Short life span in Singapore

After establishing itself in Hong Kong in 2018, Avant revealed plans in 2021 to expand into Singapore by opening a research lab in collaboration with A*STAR’s Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI).

The lab was launched to scale up production of food-grade cultivated fish fillets and fish maw.

A*STAR stated that the collaboration concluded as scheduled two years later, with Avant establishing its own pilot facility in Woodlands.

“Through this work, A*STAR BTI and Avant Meats gained valuable insights into upstream bioprocessing, production challenges and scale-up considerations,” it said.

According to its latest LinkedIn post, Avant subsequently ramped up operations at its Woodlands pilot facility, noting that it had contributed to public education on the future of animal proteins.

The post also highlighted that the company had commercialised skincare technology using cultivated fish cells and continued to advance its cultivated fish products toward approval by the Singapore Food Agency.

However, as of Feb 11, Avant Meats’ website—which showcased both its skincare line and lab-grown meat—went offline, though the site for its skincare technology remains active.

Restaurants are axing plant-based meat from their menus due to high costs and low demand

Once a prominent menu feature, plant-based meat dishes have quietly disappeared from several restaurants, while others have reduced their selections or moved them to optional add-ons at an extra charge, said a Channel News Asia report.

The global appetite for plant-based meat saw the sharpest rise between 2018 and 2020. During this period, numerous casual dining chains, even Asian restaurants, jumped on the trend, incorporating plant-based “Impossible” meat options into their menus.

Experts linked the surge to a combination of factors: aggressive marketing, rising consumer interest in health-conscious and sustainable eating, and, in Singapore, the government’s focus on alternative proteins to bolster food security.

They’ve also noted that the appeal of plant-based meats has declined once the novelty faded. Improvements in taste and texture still lagged behind expectations and struggled to justify their high prices.

Instead of imitating meat, some restaurants are shifting their focus to whole-food, plant-based options.

For example, vegan burger eatery Veganburg has emphasized whole-food vegan patties over highly processed meat substitutes. Its operations director, Blessed Chee, noted that the store discontinued Impossible plant-based meat due to cost considerations.

A 340g packet of minced Impossible beef retails for S$12.12 while 1kg of real minced beef costs S$11.35 on Fairprice’s website.

Is cultivated meat heading in the same direction to becoming a flop?

Previously, California-based Eat Just had suspended its cultivated meat production in Singapore, while local company Shiok Meats merged with Singapore-based Umami Bioworks, a specialist in marine cell cultivation.

For years, companies have promised that commercially-viable lab-grown meat was right around the corner, but repeated missed product launches and setbacks have eroded investor confidence in the space. From 2024 to 2025, total investment in the cultivated meat industry dipped by 74%, from US$139 million to US$36 million.

Only time will tell if lab-grown meat will follow in plant-based meat’s footsteps or carve a direction of sustaining a presence here in Singapore.

• Read other articles we’ve written on Singaporean businesses here.

Also Read: Soy scraps to steak? This startup wants to make alt-meat as cheap as chicken.

Featured Image Credit: Avant Proteins