PPTI Exclusive Interview: Reinventing fat – Fattastic Technologies’ Satnam Singh on a play for the future of food

Singapore-based Fattastic Technologies is rethinking fat through oil structuring, aiming to deliver healthier, scalable alternatives without sacrificing taste or functionality. Its new collaboration with Ajinomoto Thailand marks a key step toward bringing these next-generation fats into real-world food applications

In Singapore, a small team is trying to rewire one of the least glamorous yet most consequential parts of the global food chain: fat.

Their tool is not a new plant protein or precision-fermented ingredient, but a technology called oil structuring. At its center is Satnam Singh, Founder & CEO of Fattastic Technologies, who believes the future of food will be won not only by protein, but by what surrounds it.

This week, Fattastic entered an exploratory collaboration with Ajinomoto Thailand to trial its FattFlex ingredient across real-world applications. The project is early, Singh stresses, but the ambition is clear: replace conventional fats with healthier, more sustainable alternatives that consumers won’t even notice – except in their improved nutritional profile. “In this exploratory phase, the focus is on working with Ajinomoto Thailand to better understand the market, as well as the food science aspects of fat,” he explains. “From there, we’ll use our ingredient in different food applications and see how it performs in real time.”

The news is a milestone for a company built around a deceptively simple idea: what if fat could be made healthier without losing its magic?

Singh’s career began at A*Star in Singapore, where his passion for fitness collided with an industry awakening around alternative protein. “At the time, there were thousands of companies researching protein, but only a handful working on fat,” he recalls. “That’s why I chose to focus on developing healthier products by significantly lowering saturated fat levels.”

“Our goal is to maintain the same great taste… the problem is the nutrition”

The decision to pursue fat may look counterintuitive in an era dominated by plant-based burgers and fermentation tanks. But as Singh points out, fat is what gives food its flavor, juiciness, and texture. Without it, protein can feel flat. Too often, however, those same properties come from saturated fats like coconut or palm oil, which carry health and sustainability concerns.

Structuring oil into something new

The company’s flagship platform, Fattune, uses oil structuring to combine oil and water in ways that mimic the behavior of saturated fats. The approach makes it possible to turn liquid vegetable oils into solid or semi-solid fats at room temperature – without additives, emulsifiers, or synthetic agents.

“What we want to achieve is the same functionality as coconut oil, palm oil, or butter but with much lower levels of saturated fat,” Singh explains. “We customize the oils so they behave like solid fats. That gives them a creamy texture, and in plant-based meat, it ensures the fat stays in the product during cooking instead of leaking out. In bakery applications, it delivers the butter-like consistency people expect.”

The ability to fine-tune melting points is central. For plant-based meat, FattFlex needs to stay solid above 60°C so the fat doesn’t melt out during grilling. For bakery, 30°C is sufficient to create creaminess. In dairy alternatives like ice cream, the system flips, with water becoming the continuous phase.

“Fats serve very different purposes depending on the product,” Singh says. “We take the same approach, developing samples tailored to each application.”

What sets Fattastic apart is its insistence on balancing three goals: taste, functionality, and health. “When we started working on this solution, our first priority was scalability,” Singh says. “We wanted something that could be produced cost effectively at scale, which is why I chose a plant-based approach rather than more expensive technologies.”

The second principle was health. “We decided from the beginning to use only natural ingredients – no emulsifiers and no saturated fats, just oils,” he adds. “That kept the product clean and healthy.”

Functionality, he says, is now the focus. By combining proteins, polysaccharides, and natural components, the team is engineering fats that stay stable under heat, deliver the right mouthfeel, and still provide indulgence. “It’s really about the approach we’ve taken – starting with scalability and health, then building functionality and taste on top of that.”

Two platforms, many possibilities

Beyond Fattune, Fattastic has developed a complementary platform called OleoTune, which extracts oil bodies directly from seeds. “Fattune is about oil structuring, where we combine oil and water,” Singh says. “OleoTune starts with oil bodies from seeds, then we process or customize them depending on the application.”

From OleoTune comes OleoXact, a fine powder made from oilseed and water, designed as a clean-label fat for dairy alternatives. Its dual role as both fat and natural emulsifier makes it especially attractive for ice cream, spreads, non-dairy creamers, snacks, and dry foods. “The opportunity for OleoXact in dairy alternatives is huge, and that’s where we’re focusing right now,” Singh notes.

Together, the platforms give Fattastic a toolkit to address multiple markets: bakery, confectionery, dairy alternatives, and plant-based meats.

Fattastic claims its technologies can reduce saturated fat by up to 80%. The figure is not hypothetical. “It’s actually a straightforward calculation,” Singh says. “When we take sunflower oil and combine it with water using our process, we can turn it into a semi-solid or solid texture, butter-like product. A third-party lab confirmed the saturated fat level can be reduced by up to 80%.”

“With both of our technologies, I see alternative fats becoming a mainstream component of the food system”

The company has also conducted food application trials that validate the same results. The implication is significant: an ingredient that retains the taste and functionality of butter or palm oil but with a drastically improved nutritional profile.

Invisible innovation

For all the science behind oil structuring, Singh insists the ultimate test is whether consumers notice anything at all. “That’s exactly the idea – consumers shouldn’t even notice a change,” he says. “Our goal is to maintain the same great taste, because the fats currently used in the industry aren’t unhealthy because of taste – taste is already excellent. The problem is the nutrition.”

By ensuring fats like FattFlex and OleoXact deliver familiar textures and flavors, Fattastic is betting it can slip into the food system without friction. “Ultimately, the aim is for people not to notice any difference in the eating experience – that’s what we’re working toward.”

As with any food-tech venture, the jump from lab to factory brings hurdles. Singh doesn’t downplay them. “All of those factors matter – cost, consistency, scale – but the biggest challenge right now is cost,” he admits. “We’re in the process of raising funds, and that’s really the main limiting factor. Once we have the resources, scaling the technology itself isn’t such a big problem – it’s quite scalable.”

The company’s strategy is to focus on one application at a time, refining it in the lab before moving to industrial scale. It’s a methodical approach aimed at reducing both technical and commercial risk.

The future of fat

Singh’s long-term vision is bold: alternative fats moving from niche ingredients to mainstream staples. “With both of our technologies, I see alternative fats becoming a mainstream component of the food system, integrated across different applications – from bakery to dairy alternatives to meat analogs,” he says.

The drivers are clear. Palm oil and coconut oil face increasing restrictions due to sustainability and health concerns. Consumers want indulgence without compromise. And food manufacturers need reliable, versatile ingredients that can flex across categories.

“I believe technologies like ours can fill that gap and become a core part of the future food ingredient landscape,” Singh concludes.