World’s first cultivated fish fat unveiled at Big Idea Ventures Demo Day Showcase

ImpacFat introduced its cultivated fish fat at the Big Idea Ventures Demo Day showcase last week. The world’s first cultivated fish fat presents a tasty and nutritious way to add a rich mouthfeel to alternative proteins, globally. ImpacFat held a tasting session at the event for selected participants, which was granted by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA).

The tasting session was held at Big Idea Ventures’ 6th Demo Day taking place at Singapore’s National Gallery. Demo Day happens at the culmination of Big Idea Ventures’ five-month accelerator programs held in Singapore, Paris, and New York and is an exclusive event where investors and corporates within the alternative protein space get a chance to meet the innovative companies within the Big Idea Ventures portfolio.

Although the market for meat and seafood alternatives is growing, there still seems to be a gap when it comes to the taste and texture of alternative versus traditional meats. The reason for this is due to a lack of focus on the production of fats, a crucial ingredient that imparts texture, aroma and flavor to meats. This gap is one of the major factors deterring consumers from converting to alternative meat products.

Fat cells are an important part of animal meat that enhance good mouthfeel. Examples of such fat include the marbling of beef and toro of sashimi. It is becoming more and more evident that working on fat solutions that produce delicious products is essential for the alternative meats industry. ImpacFat makes use of the well-known nutritious characteristics of fish fat, to naturally enhance texture and juiciness of alternative protein products.

“As a consumer, we may think that fat is bad and want to reduce our fat intake," said Mandy Hon, Managing Director, ImpacFat Pte. "However, ImpacFat wants the world to know that fat can be good too! As fat is essential in our diet, why not take the healthiest one? ImpacFat aims to give that healthiest fat that you will want to gain, while at the same time protecting the animals and environment. We can’t wait to let everyone taste our healthy and tasty fish fat!”

ImpacFat’s cell-based fish fat is expected to have an impact on two main areas. Firstly, it provides health benefits to consumers. Being enriched with omega-3 fatty acids, the cell-based fish fat is expected to be more resistant to oxidation and other chemical and physical changes. Secondly, it assists in sustainable food production. The products are produced in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner that does not lead to overfishing, or intensive land or water use, and help to reduce greenhouse emissions. In addition, it does not contain any environmental pollutants often found in seafood, such as mercury, microplastics, and pathogens.

"Consumers want alternative proteins that exceed the taste and nutrition profiles of the conventional meat and seafood they know and love – a standard most believe the sector has not yet achieved," commented Mirte Gosker, Managing Director, The Good Food Institute APAC, Asia's leading alternative protein think tank. "The addition of cultivated fish fat, developed by expert-led startups like ImpacFat, could be exactly what's needed to take such products to the next level."