Asian students leading the charge in the food sector, collaborating with major international corporations to revolutionize the future of global dining.

In a groundbreaking victory, student-led teams from across the Asia-Pacific region have triumphed in the 2025 ProVeg Food Innovation Challenge. This prestigious competition, sponsored by industry giants such as Unilever, Mars, Beyond Meat, CJ Foods, Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF), DaChan, Monde Nissin, and Thai Union, aimed to foster innovation in the alternative protein sector.

The Baa-yonders team from the National University of Singapore made headlines with their creation of a marbled plant-based lamb, designed to appeal to flexitarians and Gen Zers. This innovative product was developed for Beyond Meat.

Meanwhile, the VeggieAlgaeSeafusion Sauce team, hailing from an unspecified location, claimed the second prize with their unique rice dressing. This savoury creation features savoury peptides extracted from a Chinese seaweed called Porphyra, and boasts a seafood flavour. The team used microalgae as a raw material in their innovative sauce.

Another second prize winner, Burstatic, impressed the judges with their Bomb Bites!, an innovative ready-to-eat plant-based product.

The first prize went to Hanbap, a team that developed a self-heating lunch box featuring vegan Hanwoo beef. This plant-based innovation was created for CJ Foods.

In a significant development, World Peacemakers, a team from Jiangnan University (China), used microalgae protein, plant polysaccharides, and 3D-printing technology to create plant-based, high-protein octopus legs for CPF.

Teamo, an all-Indonesian group, caught the attention of Mars with their chocolate made from the whole cacao fruit, filled with okara, tempeh, and chocolate paste.

Natugi, a collaboration between the Ho Chi Minh University of Technology (Vietnam) and the University of Hohenheim (Germany), developed a convenient, vegan sticky rice meal using Thai Union's fish-free tuna and shrimp products.

Asia, set to be home to half the world's population by 2050, is a culinary trendsetter. The continent will likely account for half of the global increase in beef and poultry consumption by the end of the decade. However, there is a major knowledge gap around plant-based meat in Southeast Asia.

Experts have identified alternative proteins as crucial to decarbonising Asia's agrifood sector. A recent poll in China revealed that 98% of respondents are willing to add more vegan food to their diets once they are informed about its health benefits.

Anay Mridul, the website's resident news reporter, brings a passion for coffee, plant-based milk, cooking, eating, veganism, food tech, writing, and the Oxford comma to his coverage of this exciting field.