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Sustainable Food Future Seminar
📅 Date: 8-10 April 2025
📌 Venue: Singapore Expo, Hall 4
The Sustainable Food Future Seminar delves into the evolving landscape of sustainability in the F&B industry, tackling pressing issues such as food security, sustainable packaging, novel foods, and alternative proteins. Across three days, thought leaders, innovators, and policymakers will engage in insightful discussions and share breakthrough solutions shaping a more resilient and sustainable food ecosystem.
Seminar attendance is exclusive to registered attendees only. RSVP now to secure your spot in the sessions of your choice!
Programme
💡 Theme: Sustainable Food Systems, Novel Food & Packaging Innovation
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM | Sustainability Playbook: 10 Consumer Trends Reshaping F&B NielsenIQ, the world's largest consumer intelligence company, will share insights on Asia Pacific's consumers' perceptions on sustainability, whether what they say is what they do, case studies of brands who have thrived and also those who have faltered when driving sustainability and what we can expect in the coming years. Speaker: 👤 Craig Houliston, Regional Executive Director of Consulting and Insights, NielsenIQ |
| 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM | From Setback to Breakthrough: How Science Can Future-Proof Alternative Proteins While alternative proteins support food security and sustainability, the industry has faced a downturn since early 2023 due to critical gaps in scientific and technological advancements. This session explores these challenges, key research developments at NUS’s Department of Food Science and Technology, and strategies adopted by the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Proteins. Speaker: 👤 Weibiao Zhou, Head, Department of Food Science and Technology, National University of Singapore |
| 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM | Future-Proofing our Food Supply: Success Strategies for Sustainability and Resilience From climate pressures to turbulent geopolitics, food production and supply chains are under great strain, and ripe for disruption. Learn one futurist’s vision of food-smart cities of the future, anchored by personalised nutrition for all, and engage with a panel addressing diverse national, corporate, and carbon credit-based strategies for food system transformation. Panellists: 👤 David Chen, CEO, AgriG8 👤 Zhang Hongzhou, Assistant Professor & Deputy Coordinator of MSc (International Political Economy), S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University Keynote speaker & Moderator: 🎤 Luke Tay, Founder, Cornucopia FutureScapes Topic: Food Futures and the Food-Smart City: Resilience and Sustainability through Personalized Nutrition for All |
| 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM | Lunch Break |
| 2:00 PM - 2:20 PM | Cultivated Meat & Seafood: Is the Future Here Yet? The year was 2013 – cultivated beef burger was seen for the first time live on television. 12 years on, what has changed? What lies ahead for the cultivated meat and seafood sector? The APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture shall highlight emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities for stakeholders looking to enter the nascent industry. Speaker: 👤 Peter Yu, Program Director, APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture |
| 2:20 PM - 3:00 PM | Funding the Food Revolution: Investing in Cellular Agriculture Funding for the cellular agriculture industry – cultivated meat & seafood and precision fermentation – ramped up in the early 2020s but has seen a dip in the past two years. What is the investment appetite today? What support is needed for the industry? Gather around for a panel discussion moderated by the APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture with investors in the field to find out more. Panellists: 👤 Elaine Lee, Innovation Scientist, Nourish Ventures 👤 Hon Mun Yip, Investor and Adjunct Associate Professor, National University of Singapore 👤 Neha Poddar, Partner, Good Startup Moderator: 👤 Peter Yu, Program Director, APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture |
| 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM | Future of Wellness in Work Environment Improving wellness by integrating biophilia in the built up environment is well-documented. However, few are doing it right! Join our session as we learn about how humans and plants can thrive as an interdependent community in a highly urbanised world! Speaker: 👤 Youwei Neo, Marketing Manager, Singrass |
| 3:30 PM - 3:50 PM | Sustainable Packaging Consumer Insights and Innovations GlobalData has identified the top themes influencing the packaging industry as: the impact of the market, the environment and technology. These themes can be further categorised under several trends that need to be understood in order to weigh the need for sustainability with the other competing demands on the producer. These trends include: shrinkflation, winning-at-shelf, regulations for environmental change, material evolution and tech enablers for smart supply chains. This presentation will take a closer look at consumer attitudes towards these themes in order to identify the outlook and appetite for sustainability in packaging in SE Asia. Speaker: 👤 Tim Hill, Key Accounts Director, GlobalData |
| 3:50 PM - 4:20 PM | Sustainable Packaging in F&B: Closing the Loop with Innovation & Consumer Action Sustainable packaging is a major F&B challenge, but companies are innovating beyond recyclability. This panel brings together industry disruptors to explores upcycling, reusable models, and tech-driven consumer adoption while tackling waste, scalability, and industry shifts. Panellists: 👤 Aidan Chan, Head of Asia Pacific, .bungkus 👤 Caroline Struye, Singapore Country Director, Muuse Moderator: 🎤 Tim Hill, Key Accounts Director, GlobalData |
| 4:20 PM - 5:00 PM | Scaling Sustainable Palm Oil: Overcoming Challenges & Unlocking New Market Opportunities • Beyond Commitment: How F&B Manufacturers Can Scale Sustainable Palm Oil Adoption • The Next Chapter for Sustainable Palm Oil: Policy, Compliance & Innovation • Consumer Perception & Demand: Shaping the Future of Sustainable Palm Oil in Asia • Collaboration & Solutions: Achieving Sustainability Targets Together through RSPO Shared Responsibility Speaker: 👤 Islah Ishak, Deupty Director, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil |
💡 Theme: Regulatory Frameworks, Alternative Proteins &
Food Tech Innovation
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM | Sustainability Advantage – Certified B Corporation The presentation will explore the role of B Corp certification in fostering sustainable and socially responsible business practices within the food and beverage industry. It will highlight how B Lab’s standards, covering environmental impact, ethical sourcing, and corporate governance, drive positive change by holding companies accountable to higher social and environmental performance metrics. Case studies of certified food and beverage brands will illustrate how the B Corp’s certification journey guides policies and practices. Attendees will gain insights into the certification process, key challenges, and the broader impact of B Corps in shaping a more responsible global food system. Speaker: 👤 Cecilia Hough, Impact Management Lead, B Lab Singapore |
| 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM | Navigating Regulatory Compliance for Cultivated Meat & Seafood The cultivated meat & seafood industry is a massive agent in the creation of a sustainable future for coming generations. Since 2020, 5 regulatory approvals have been issued worldwide, with 2 in Singapore. Despite considerable industry progress, what other factors are required for companies to reach commericalisation? Gather around for a panel discussion moderated by the APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture to learn what more is needed from the perspectives of regulator, scientists, and the industry. Panellists: 👤 Andy Tan, Principal Scientist & Group Leader at A*STAR Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) 👤 Nandini Prabhakar, Head of Singapore Operations, Meatable 👤 Tan Yong Quan, Specialist Team Lead, National Centre for Food Science, Singapore Food Agency Moderator: 🎤 Calisa Lim, Senior Project Manager, APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture |
| 12:30 PM - 1:00 PM | Future-Proof Your Food Business: Legal Challenges in Alternative Proteins & FoodTech With significant advances to science and technology and shifts in consumer preferences, the FoodTech industry is transforming at a rapid pace. Explore how to navigate through the evolving regulatory landscape, especially in respect of key labelling requirements and regulatory hurdles for alternative proteins and novel foods. Learn how to implement a robust IP strategy to future-proof your business and stay ahead of the curve. Speaker: 👤 Jonathan Teo, Associate, Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow |
| 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM | Lunch Break |
| 2:00 PM - 2:45 PM | Agrifoodtech Breakthroughs from Singapore to the World: What’s Next for Sustainable Ingredients & Processing? Profiling the latest advances from lab to table in alternative proteins, precision fermentation, and sustainable food processing from a cross-section of Singapore-based startups, corporates, and research institutes. Speaker and Panelists: 👤 Ng Shengyong, Co-Founder and CTO, ANTS Innovate Pte Ltd Topic: Accelerating the Hybrid Meat Transition - A Functional Ingredient Approach 👤 Bi Xuezhi, Senior Principal Scientist/Group Leader (Protein analytics), Bioprocessing Technology Institute, A*STAR Topic: Singapore’s capabilities in cultivated meat R&D through the Singapore Food Story CRISP program, and the ProScreen platform Keynote Speaker and Panel Moderator: 🎤 Raymond Tham, Founder, Mycrocell Topic: Novel Foods Manufacturing in Singapore and How Collaborations Enable Standards and Product Co-creation Emcee: 🎤 Luke Tay, Founder, Cornucopia FutureScapes |
| 2:45 PM - 3:15 PM | Food Security Megaprojects Reshaping Asia’s Supply Chain Ambitious initiatives are underway to tackle the big challenges and opportunities facing Asian food security. This panel profiles transformative projects including Indonesia’s Free School Lunch programme, the agrifood potential of the Johor-Singapore SEZ, and the rising concept of Food Trade Hubs such as at Clark, Philippines. What are the plans, prospects, and success strategies? What might the prospects be for such initiatives to future-proof the region’s food supply? Panellists: 👤 Elyssa Kaur Ludher, Visiting Fellow, Institute for Southeast Asian Studies 👤 Jeremy Goh, Founder, WorldFarmX, World Food Chain, and MetaFarms Moderator: 🎤 Luke Tay, Founder, Cornucopia FutureScapes |
| 3:15 PM - 3:45 PM | Diversifying Asia’s Staple Foods: Taste Adlai, a Climate-Resilient and Healthier Grain Amid the climate crises and global fluctuations, there is need to diversify Asia’s staple foods production and consumption. This session introduces Adlai rice (also known as “Job’s Tears”) as a potential candidate to be Asia’s next superfood. Attendees will get a taste of Adlai, and savour a discussion of how the food industry may leverage Adlai to feed Asia’s consumers nourishingly and sustainably. Panellists: 👤 Jeremy Goh, Founder, WorldFarmX, World Food Chain, and MetaFarms 👤 Kelvin Ng, Managing Partner, Green Bridge Partners Singapore 👤 Paul Teng, Food Security Adviser, Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, NTU Moderator: 🎤 Luke Tay, Founder, Cornucopia FutureScapes |
| 3:45 PM - 4:30 PM | Food-Energy-Water Innovations: Catalyzing a Sustainable Future Agrifood cannot become more sustainable without working the other sides of the food, energy, and water equation. Introducing innovative ventures at the epicentre of food-energy-water innovation! • BSF to SAF? – Can Black Soldier Fly waste be turned into Sustainable Aviation Fuel & high-protein animal feed? • Agrivoltaics: Combining solar farming with food production – dual land use for efficiency. • Next-Gen Aquaculture: Advances in land-based fish farming and offshore sustainable seafood production. Speakers: 👤 James Yin, Co-Founder/Director, V-plus Agritech 👤 Matthew Tan, Chair for Sustainable Development in Agriculture & Fishery Sectors, APEC Policy Partnership on Food Security 👤 Sunand Razu, Venture Capitalist and Chief Commercial Officer, GrubFeeds |
| 4:30 PM - 5:00 PM | Redefining Luxury Through Sustainability Speakers: 👤 Christian Lukey, Managing Director, Asia, BE WTR 👤 Emmanuel Stroobant, Two Michelin-Starred Chef-Owner, Saint Pierre and Shoukouwa 👤 Ricarda Schneider, Director of Sustainability, Asia Pacific excluding China, Marriott International |
💡 Theme: Enjoy, it’s from Europe! Day Seminars & The Spark Pitch
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM | It’s the Perfect Match: Discover EU Authenticity on Your Plate: European Quality Products (With Cooking Show) This session will bring you a taste of authentic European products protected by geographical indications. Discover the value of geographical indications and understand how businesses can tap into the benefits of these quality schemes. Come and taste delicious European dishes prepared by our star chef in an interactive cooking show. Organised By: 🌐 EU Pavilion |
| 1:00 PM - 1:30 PM | Lunch Break |
| 1:30 PM - 2:00 PM | Sarawak AgriFoodTech Sustainability Impact Fund Investment Awards Celebrate the Future Food Innovators receiving strategic investments from the Sarawak AgriFoodTech Sustainability Impact Fund. Selected from The SPARK @ FHA-Food & Beverage 2025, these innovators are pioneering breakthrough solutions to enhance food security, sustainability, and local agri-food development. This milestone underscores a shared commitment — between public and private sectors — to support scalable innovation and shape a future-ready food ecosystem. 1:30 PM - Meet & Greet with Future Food Innovators 2:00 PM - Presentation of Sarawak Agrifoodtech Sustainability Impact Fund Investment Awards Organised By: 🌐 Impact Circle |
| 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM | THE SPARK Challenge Back by popular demand, The Spark, powered by Impact Circle, returns to spotlight bold ideas and game-changing solutions in food and agriculture. This dynamic platform brings together Food Future Innovators, investors, and global leaders to drive sustainable transformation through collaboration, innovation, and impact. Expect live pitches, networking with key stakeholders, and powerful discussions that shape the future of food systems — from FoodTech to ClimateTech. Be part of the movement that’s lighting the way toward a resilient, sustainable food future. 3:30 PM - Welcome & Introduction • Welcome Address by Janice Lee, Senior Portfolio Director, Informa Markets • Opening address by Sean Mak, Founding Partner, First Frontier Ventures • Introduction of Judges, strategic and supporting partners 4:00 PM - Pitch Session 5:00 PM - Prize-giving Ceremony 5:30 PM - Closing Organised By: 🌐 Impact Circle |
Seminar attendance is exclusive to registered attendees only. RSVP now to secure your spot in the sessions of your choice!
