JONATHAN NG, 30

CEO of SinFootech

Jonathan was introduced to a patented technique for the biotransformation of soya whey – a by-product generated in large amounts from tofu manufacturing – by food scientist Chua Jian Yong in 2017. The next year, the two men co-founded SinFootech, a local food technology company that processes by-products and turns them into innovative ingredients and products that, in turn, promote a resource-efficient circular economy in the food production industry. “My vision for the company is to achieve a more sustainable world via food biotechnology,” he says.

It looks like Jonathan is well on his way to realising this vision with SinFootech’s latest breakthrough: a patented technology, which allows the biotransformation of soya whey into an alcoholic beverage, a world first. Named Sachi, it contains 7 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV) and boasts a fruity, floral sake-like flavour profile without any flavour additives. At the moment, the SinFootech team is looking into growing the Sachi product line to include an alcoholfree version as well as a wine variant with a higher ABV. “We want to revolutionise social drinking with Sachi, while achieving a sustainable food future at the same time.”

Aside from working with government regulators to set up a production facility in Singapore for Sachi, Jonathan has been busy with the licensing and commercialisation of the drink over the last three years. “Licensing is a big part of our business model as we believe that in order for the technology to contribute to sustainability, we have to proliferate the technology worldwide. We secured a licensing deal within the first year of incorporating the company and we’re working towards transferring our technology to our overseas partners by the end of the year.”