Creating pork from jackfruit: How this whole-plant start-up is taking on Asia’s multibillion-dollar meat industry

Creating pork from jackfruit: How this whole-plant start-up is taking on Asia’s multibillion-dollar meat industry

Appetite for alternative meat is growing across the globe.As the nutritional and environmental impacts of meat consumption become better known, producers and consumers are looking to different sources to address the continued demand for protein.One among them is Dan Riegler, whose own evolving relationship with meat inspired him to co-found Karana."I was very much a vegan skeptic, a meat-eater for a lot of my life, and I've taken a major turn," Riegler told CNBC Make It.

A meat alternative for Asia

Karana is the Singapore food start-up positioning itself as Asia's first whole-plant-based meat brand. Its flagship product “” a pulled pork substitute “” is made entirely from jackfruit, oil and salt, without processed ingredients or preservatives.Started in 2018 as demand for meat alternatives was growing, Riegler said he saw a gap in the market for meat substitutes designed specifically for Asian cuisines.

"We saw a huge need to identify products that had more local applications for APAC," said Riegler, now 35, who built a career working in agricultural supply chains across Southeast Asia."Pork is the number one meat that's consumed in this region and that's where we didn't see a lot of products really addressing a need."

Indeed, half of the world's pork is