The hub, which is set to open in 2023, is a partnership between homegrown plant-based butcher Love Handle and Dutch food tech Meatable
The future of meat is lab-grown, and homegrown plant-based butcher Love Handle and Dutch food tech Meatable have joined forces to cater to the growing demand for cultivated and plant-based meat with the opening of the world’s first hybrid meat and innovation centre in Singapore next year.
Both companies have invested SG$6 million to create hybrid products from plant-based proteins that will retain the familiar bite, taste and texture of real meat. “It’s an exciting moment for Love Handle”, said co-founder Ken Kuguru, who has launched everything from pastrami made using jackfruit, to meatless chicken breast, chicken satay, beef steak and sausages since it was established in 2020. Early this year, Love Handle also opened the first plant-based butcher and deli on the island.
Read more: What to Expect From Love Handle—Singapore’s First Plant-Based Butcher and Deli
Kuguru let on that with this joint venture, “people no longer need to make a choice between delicious meat and being kind to the planet”. Love Handle will be providing its innovative recipes, which will be used to develop a range of new hybrid products. The goal is to create new meat substitutes using a plant-based protein that will still retain the bite, taste and texture of real meat.
These food innovations—which will include the likes of dumplings, pulled pork, pork belly, cold cuts and patties—are targeted to launch in restaurants in 2024, and then in supermarkets in 2025.