NANKA, a Malaysian jackfruit company, has created a line of alternative meat patties based on young jackfruit pulp, with the goal of gaining considerable market share in both the hybrid and plant-based meat industries.
NANKA’s current strategy to alternative meat innovation is to develop jackfruit as a ‘platform supplier,’ which can be blended with any sort of protein, animal or plant-based, to produce a hybrid or totally plant-based product, depending on the consumer’s preferences.
“Jackfruit has the virtue of being rich in fibre and low in fat, and can therefore operate as a sturdy base to combine with many various types of proteins on the market,” said Ahmad Syafik Jaafar, Head of Strategy at NANKA management firm IRA NOAH.
“It has a cellular structure and fibre content that are extremely comparable to meat, and the patties have essentially identical physical qualities to typical meat patties — we’ve already tested combining it with a variety of proteins, including mushroom, mycoprotein, peas, insects, and beef and chicken.”
“We’re still looking for the finest protein sources to work with, but we’re very certain that it can be combined with any form of protein, acting as a blank canvas on which to create alternative protein art. So, using jackfruit and another protein, we can help develop a rapid plant-based meat iteration.”
“We’re selling the plant-based version at a lower price in the hopes of getting more people to try it and possibly acting as a bridge for individuals transitioning to a plant-based diet,” Syafik explained.
“At the moment, we’re positioning our goods to be more premium, but we also have a lot of cost benefits owing to the large supply and source of jackfruits in Malaysia, as well as neighbouring Thailand and Indonesia.”
“Thus, while we are not trying to start a price war, we can offer these lower prices and will continue to try to develop even more cost-competitive products because we don’t want to be premium for too long – eventually, we do want to democratise our products so that they are accessible to more consumers.”
NANKA presently has investors from Singapore and Japan, and it anticipates Japan to be its next big market, having previously shipped product samples and having a Japanese version of its website.
“Our investor is actively pushing this in cities like as Tokyo and Osaka, where many customers are seeking for plant-based beef alternatives. They have a lot of money and are highly experimental when it comes to cuisine, so we’re optimistic “he stated
“We’re also in talks with a number of large food companies about collaborating on product development, with the jackfruit serving as a foundation for a variety of alternative proteins, as previously discussed. India, where many companies are interested in collaborating on products, and Australia, though this may be a little later, are two more regions we are optimistic about.”
“There were many challenges in the beginning when it came to education and awareness because Malaysia already has its own vegan and vegetarian community that always compares products to Plant-based Meat 1.0 products made from soy, commonly known as mock meat, and we had a lot of work to do to position ourselves away from these,” he said.
“Moreover, until Beyond and Impossible came up, plant-based meat substitutes were primarily appealing to Indian and Chinese customers, with far fewer Malays, but when Beyond and Impossible came out, plant-based meat replacements suddenly became an enticing option for everyone.”
“So, while we’re not literally marketing ourselves as a vegan or vegetarian company since we also provide mixed alternatives, what’s crucial to us is to reach out to those customers who are searching for better options.” Flexitarians, in particular, are an underserved market, since many customers don’t want to go completely plant-based but simply want a better alternative to fast food, which we can give.
NANKA also sells RTE meatball meals and ready-to-heat nuggets in its shop, and it plans to use its jackfruit technology to develop more plant-based meat compositions and protein combinations in the future.
“Making a plant-based butter using another Malaysian fruit from Borneo is another new idea we’re looking at. This would go hand-in-hand with burger dinners, taking us one step closer to a completely plant-based diet “”It’s about the food,” he continued.