From a laboratory located in Hong Kong Science Park, Carrie Chan is mapping out the future of fish. The CEO of Avant Meats, she co-founded the company in 2018 with biotech scientist Mario Chin, with the aim of making food production more sustainable.

Focusing on fish as a result of Hong Kong’s seafood-heavy diet, and because of the unsustainable methods currently used to harvest it, the company creates protein in a factory, taking small amounts of cells from fish and feeding them nutrients in a bioreactor. It sells fish fillet, fish maw and other products under the Avie brand, and also offers Zellulin, a marine protein polypeptide powder for use in skincare products. In 2021, the company expanded its operations to Singapore. In 2022, it raised US$10.8 million in series A funding from investors including S2G Ventures, ParticleX, Lever VC, Artesian, Thia Ventures, CPT Capital and the Good Protein Fund, bringing its total raised to US$13.9 million.

An architect by professional background, Chan worked from 2010 to 2018 as a project manager for property developer ITC. She was also project manager and then design director for Macau casino resort The 13; and she has worked for the Hong Kong government’s Architectural Services Department and the Urban Renewal Authority, as well as for leading architecture firms Farrells and Wong & Ouyang.