Singapore sugar and carb reduction startup, Alchemy Foodtech, signs MOU and Investment Agreement with Chinese food conglomerate giant’s investment arm, Ting Li, in multimillion-dollar value deal

SINGAPORE, Nov. 24, 2023 – Ting Li Development, the investment arm of Ting Hsin International Group, which controls around 35% of China’s instant food and beverage (F&B) market, ties up with  in a strategic move to reduce sugar and carbohydrate content in their F&B products.

In a landmark move for the food technology sector, Alchemy Foodtech, a pioneering Singapore start-up, has received a strategic investment from Ting Li Development. A memorandum of understanding (MOU), valued at over S$8 million, was signed by the two parties today and signifies a major stride for Alchemy Foodtech in its quest to bring healthier offerings to people across the globe.

A strategic investment in Alchemy Foodtech’s innovations

Ting Li Development is the investment arm of the Ting Hsin International Group, which owns some of the largest F&B brands in China, including Master Kong, Wei Chuan Foods Corporation, Dicos, and FamilyMart. This investment signifies the group’s trust in Alchemy Foodtech’s innovations and is particularly noteworthy given the current global economic downturn, where investors have been more cautious. To Alchemy Foodtech, this collaboration also presents opportunities to elevate Singapore’s reputation as a food technology hub.

“Our commitment to Alchemy Foodtech highlights our belief in their technology and capabilities. We are confident that this collaboration will be able to meet the rising demands of increasingly health-conscious consumers globally,” said Ting Li’s representative, Mr. Michael Chen, Wei Chuan Foods Cooperation International Business Division Director.

Creating a healthier, lower sugar and carb future

Presently, Ting Li has already completed an initial monetary investment into Alchemy Foodtech. In this initial phase of collaboration, Alchemy Foodtech will be working closely with 14 of Ting Hsin International’s business units to create new, healthier products for their best-known brands of instant food and baked goods – without compromising on taste or texture. In addition, Alchemy Foodtech’s solutions will significantly boost the nutritional content by increasing dietary fibre and prebiotics of the F&B products. And this is just the beginning, with future collaborations set to further expand Alchemy Foodtech’s line of sugar and carb reduction solutions and Ting Hsin International’s F&B product offerings.

This collaboration is also poised to have a profound impact on sugar reduction efforts across Asia. With the MOU, Alchemy Foodtech will be able to leverage Ting Hsin International’s manufacturing facilities to lower their cost of goods sold by an estimated 30%.

This in turn, will make their solutions more affordable and accessible to F&B manufacturers across the continent. Furthermore, Alchemy Foodtech will also leverage Wei Chuan’s network to distribute their existing sugar reduction solutions and extend the reach of our nation’s home-grown food technologies to other F&B businesses across Asia Pacific.

“We are honoured to work with Ting Li and Ting Hsin’s subsidiaries in this strategic partnership to develop more sugar reduction applications across the instant food and beverage sector. This is a very exciting collaboration that will create meaningful opportunities, not just for Alchemy Foodtech, but also for businesses with their sights set on creating healthier and better food for our future generations”, said Mr. Alan Phua, CEO of Alchemy Foodtech.

The wider impact for Singapore Foodtech

This partnership is a beacon of hope for local foodtech companies aspiring to expand into larger markets, and Alchemy Foodtech credits Enterprise Singapore (ESG) for their supportive role in establishing Alchemy Foodtech’s Shanghai office during COVID-19 lockdown, as one of the stepping stones leading to this strategic investment.

More broadly, this alliance could plant a seed for other local tech startups – showcasing how home-grown technologies can successfully expand beyond our shores, grow the reach of our intellectual properties, and make a meaningful impact to potentially millions of lives across the region.

This initiative also aligns with our nation’s ambitions for bringing Singapore technology abroad to enrich the economy and facilitate information transfer, as outlined by Mr. Chee Hong Tat, Acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance. Minister Chee, who was present at the MOU signing, also had a taste of Alchemy Foodtech’s latest innovation, Alchemy SweetFibreTM – a fibre-based sugar substitute that is high in dietary fibre and prebiotics – with a cup of his favourite morning drink, kopi o kosong (black coffee without sugar).