The Good Food Institute India (GFI India), an organisation working aggressively on alternative protein market, recently held a virtual Smart Protein Summit. The 5-day event saw several major announcements, that include a dedicated investment and advisory platform for Asian food technology companies, the launch of alternative protein accelerator for India, updates on Bollywood actors Riteish and Genelia Deshmukh’s new mock meat venture, and a keynote by former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi.
The Summit was held between October 6 and 10 and served as a platform to bring together entrepreneurs, thought leaders and investors to give an impetus to plant-based, fermentation-derived and cultivated proteins. More than 70 speakers graced the event that saw over 2,000 attendees who represented the value chain, from food processing to retail and scientific research. According to GFI India, the industry will be worth over US$1 billion over the next decade.
Imagine Meats & Blue Tribe Foods
Some of the key announcements made at the Summit included more details on Riteish and Genelia Deshmukh’s upcoming plant-based venture – Imagine Meats.
Another brand that was announced was Blue Tribe Foods, a new plant-based meat company started by Sandeep Singh, the managing director of Indian pharmaceutical firm Alkem Labs and his patner Niki Singh.
Indian Alternative Protein Start-ups to Get Investment Support
Renowned investor Rajeev Chitrabhanu’s launched a partnership with GFI to support, advise and provide funding to alternative protein startups in India and across Asia. “I’m proud to say that I’m announcing a vertical within MAGNETIC focused on consumer-facing products, understanding their issues, and obviously motivated by my personal interest in this space and the global trend and the network that I have across the PE firms, venture capital firms, and corporates and finding a way to act as an advisor and capital provider to them,” said Chitrabhanu at the summit.
