Enterprise profile

Set up in 2019, Worth The Health (WTH) Foods is a plant-based alternative protein company based in Manila, the Philippines. The food tech start-up uses local and sustainable ingredients such as microalgae, mung beans, jackfruit, and seaweed to create nutritious plant-based versions of meat products that appeal to Southeast Asians. For instance, its Umani range offers frozen meat-free substitutes for ham, burger patties, and smoked sausages that are ready to heat and quick to prepare.

WTH Foods, which was founded by three Filipino business partners, is also registered in Singapore and aims to export its products to Europe and the Middle East after Southeast Asia. It has set itself the ambitious target of helping to feed 10 billion people by 2050 through its plant-based alternatives.

Problem statement

To extend its reach in Southeast Asia, WTH Foods sought to expand its range of meat-free products that would cater to different markets. Initial market surveys indicated that crab meat is popular in Singapore, so the company began working with Singapore Polytechnic in April 2022 to come up with a plant-based crab product.

“We thought it would be an interesting challenge as there aren’t a lot of alternative seafood products,” said Mr Carlo Antonio Ng, co-founder and chief science officer of WTH Foods.

Impact Achieved

Under the supervision of a food technologist from the Food Innovation & Resource Centre, two students from the School of Chemical & Life Sciences – Mr Chai Ber Lin and Mr Brian Chua Rui Heng – worked with Mr Ng and his team in Manila to realise WTH Foods’ vision.

The limited range of possible ingredients was a hurdle. “Most of the plant-based ingredients out there have fibre formations and flavours that are geared towards meat alternatives,” Mr Ng explained. “So we had to try different processes to turn those ingredients, especially the protein, into something more flaky to resemble the texture of seafood.”

After four months of lab tests and fine-tuning, the SP team in Singapore produced a prototype that made the cut. Consumer testing and scale-up trials took another few months, followed by further refinements. The final product, called Crab-free Crab Bites, was launched in March 2023.

“Aside from SP, we were also working with the suppliers. So it was like three or four different R&D teams working in different places and on different aspects that added up to the final product,” Mr Ng recounted.

He is particularly pleased with the students, whose work yielded a prototype that exceeded his expectations. “I expected to have to do a lot more R&D on our side because it was something new to them and we had a short lead time,” he said. “But they were very independent and enthusiastic.”

He estimated that SP’s input saved his company about half a year’s work and $4,000 in testing, raw materials, and labour costs. The icing on the cake? Crab Bites went on to win a Katha Award For Food in 2023 by the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry, which celebrates innovative food products by local companies.

The accolade was a boost to WTH’s marketing efforts as it “got accounts and consumers curious and grew the interest in the product”, said Mr Ng.

He is particularly pleased with the students, whose work yielded a prototype that exceeded his expectations. “I expected to have to do a lot more R&D on our side because it was something new to them and we had a short lead time,” he said. “But they were very independent and enthusiastic.” - Mr. Ng

Students’ perspective

Coming up with the right prototype was an intensive process of trial and error, recalled the two students, who worked on Crab Bites as their final-year project from April to August in 2022.

Mr Chai and Mr Chua, who both graduated with a Diploma in Food Science & Technology (DFST) in 2023, would spend three days a week experimenting with different formulations in the lab and devote another two days to research and coming up with other variations for testing.

Replicating the flavour and texture of actual crab meat was a key challenge. “We had to experiment with different types and concentrations of seafood flavourings and natural seasoning such as sea salt, onion, garlic, and white pepper to mimic the delicate sweet flavour of real crab meat,” said Mr Chua.

The trials also involved testing different combinations of textured vegetable proteins and a methylcellulose product – which is formulated for meat alternatives and vegetable-based applications – to get the right bite and texture.

Mr Chua remembers fondly the team spirit his DFST classmates showed as they worked on their respective final-year projects. “We would always help each other taste and evaluate the trial samples while providing suggestions for improvement…we motivated each other, cried, and laughed together.”

Taste aside, the prototype had to meet other criteria, such as nutrition and feasibility of commercial production. “WTH Foods wanted to be able to market the product as being healthy, and we had to take into account the availability of certain products as it manufactures out of the Philippines,” said Mr Chai.

The hard work paid off when Crab Bites eventually hit the market. “It was very engrossing to work in the industry setting where we came up with a product meant for people to actually consume,” he added.