Nanka, M’sian jackfruit plant-based meat startup receives funding

Lever Foundation’s LF Advancement Fund has a short while ago invested in Malaysian foodtech startup Nanka.

The undisclosed expense in Nanka, a plant-based mostly meat brand name with merchandise based on jackfruit and plant protein, marks LF Advancement Fund’s to start with expenditure in a Malaysian business.

Primarily based in the US, Lever Basis is an energetic investor in the different protein class. It aims to build a extra humane and sustainable protein offer chain in Asia, believing that modifying East Asia’s protein offer chain is vital to its mission.

To do so, it offers significant early guidance to promising existing startups this sort of as Nanka.

“Public interest in plant-dependent meat is escalating quickly in Malaysia, with far more people picking out plant-primarily based solutions to enhance their wellbeing or guard the ecosystem and animal welfare,” explained Vilosha Sivaraman, Sustainability Program Manager for Lever Foundation in Malaysia.

Pushing meat-no cost alternatives in Malaysia

Nanka was established by F&B veteran Syafik Jaafar and food stuff technologist Amirah Mohd Noh.

This spouse-and-wife duo instructed Vulcan Article in 2021 that their intention with the brand was to persuade fellow Malaysians to consume healthier eating plans, building their target current market meat eaters.

Its solutions are produced of jackfruit, which is native to Malaysia and grows all 12 months spherical. Past its resistance to illnesses and superior temperatures, the fruit is also identified to increase a fibrous meat-like texture to plant-primarily based meat. 

On the other hand, not all of its items are 100% meat-totally free, as it has two “blended” possibilities that combine in the jackfruit with chicken and beef.

In any case, Nanka’s products and solutions do not appear to be to be conveniently obtainable on line at the time becoming. Probably the enterprise is extra focused on B2B customers these as lodges and dining places for now.

In accordance to Syafik, though, the fund will be put in on growing the company’s manufacturing potential, R&D capability, as well as constructing much more online existence in penetrating international markets.

Syafik also shared that Nanka is functioning on a stick to-on funding by way of an fairness crowdfunding campaign utilizing the LEET Cash platform, which will enable develop a even bigger investor-consumer base.

In the lengthy time period, the startup hopes to get the job done with more food items firms to cut down the utilization of animal meat in their products and solutions and alternatively introduce more plant-centered merchandise.

With this in brain, it would seem like it is in the publications for Nanka to be ramping up the scale of its small business down the road, generating the jackfruit patties additional accessible to the general public.

• Learn far more about Nanka listed here.
• Read other funding posts we’ve published here.

Featured Image Credit history: Nanka