SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Plant-based egg substitute startup Eat Just Inc said on Tuesday it had partnered with a consortium led by Proterra Investment Partners Asia to build a plant protein production facility in Singapore to serve the Asian market.
The consortium will invest up to $100 million and Eat Just will invest up to $20 million to build and operate the factory, its first in Asia.
"Once built, the first factory will generate thousands of metric tons of protein, adding to existing large-scale protein facilities in North America and Germany," Eat Just said in a statement.
The San Francisco-based start-up makes a mung bean-based egg substitute that comes in bottles and looks like beaten fresh eggs. Eat Just, which also makes a mayonnaise substitute, sells its products in stores including Walmart (N:WMT), Kroger (N:KR) and Whole Foods.
Its existing distribution partners in Asia include South Korea's SPC Samlip and Thailand's Betagro.
Demand for plant-based meat substitutes and proteins has grown as customers have become increasingly health conscious and are concerned about the environmental impact of industrial animal farming.
Singapore, a densely populated city-state that produces only about 10% of its food needs plans to increase that proportion as climate change and population growth threaten global food supplies.