Our Entrepreneurs
Kiki WU
Co-Founder, Starfield
Kiki Wu is a co-founder of Starfield Food & Science Technology, a Chinese next-generation plant-based venture headquartered in Shenzhen, China. Having raised over $100 million since its inception in 2019, Starfield is the best funded plant-based meat company in mainland China to-date, with the backing of the U.S.-based New Crop Capital, Matrix Partners China, Joy Capital, as well as us Dao Food International, among others. It is working with more than 100 brands -- including Hey Tea, Luckin Coffee, Dicos, Nai Xue’s Tea (Nayuki), Charoen Pokphand Group, GaGa Café, Gui Man Long, Tim Horton’s and more -- and in addition to its own B2C platform, Starfield is already in some 10,000 stores in China. Starfield is hugely invested in R&D, with the leading plant protein laboratory in China and its own manufacturing facility that is capable of producing 50,000 tons of alternative protein products every year, with backup capacity of up to 500,000 tons.
Eve SAMYUKTHA
Co-Founder, 70/30
Eve Samyuktha co-founded 70/30 Food Science & Tech in collaboration with two Chinese co-founders, one of whom is a chef with close to 20 years experience and the other is a social media and marketing guru. 70/30 Food Science & Tech is a maker of plant- and mycelium-based foods. They make functional ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat meal products. After receiving incubation and advisory services from Dao Foods, the company launched operations in January, 2021 at China's commercial capital, Shanghai, and is quickly becoming a popular health food option for white collar workers.
Anna YANG
Co-Founder, WOW Kids
With over 20 years experience in Chinese children's education market, Anna Yang is a co-founder of WOW Kids, an innovative nutrition technology company located in Beijing Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park (China's Silicon Valley), focusing on providing healthy drinks with high-quality plant protein combinations for Chinese children ages 6 to 12. The product can be consumed both cold and hot, with a sweet and sour mellow taste that children love. In line with the company's environmental focus, the product's small bottle design uses environmentally friendly packaging to reduce waste. The company is also planning to launch its own plant-based meat snack products for Chinese kids and youngsters as part of its product roadmap.
Meijun QIU
Founder, Fresh Foods
Meijun Qiu is founder of Fresh Foods based in Shenzhen, China, whose flagship product True Plants is a new plant-based yogurt brand. Prior to Fresh Foods, Ms. Qiu successfully founded and ran a snack food company with annual revenue of approximately RMB100 million. By using plant protein raw materials and utilizing its patented technology, Fresh Foods develops fresh and nutritious yogurt with less sugar and 8 kinds of probiotics created through constant temperature fermentation. Its exciting and engaging line of products include plant-based yogurt, hand-made plant-based milk tea, plant-based milk-shake, plant-based cheese and other
plants+ products.
William Wang & Richard MA
Co-Founders, Mr. Raw
Richard Ma and William Wang are co-founders of Mr. Raw, a plant-based healthy lifestyle brand that provides plant-based meal replacement solutions for busy white-collar workers, fitness enthusiasts, and people interested in losing weight. Mr. Raw develops a range of nutrient dense products to meet consumers' daily needs including organic plant-protein smoothies, cold pressed juices, energy shots, nut milk, and vegetable and fruit fiber snacks, all derived from natural ingredients from its own organic farm and alliance of organic suppliers.
James Chang
Co-Founder, Geb Impact
James Chang co-founded Geb Impact Chang with CTO Dr. Wang Zhonghui to cultivate and ferment microalgae for alternative protein applications, including the high protein and highly efficient axenic Euglena dry biomass. Geb Impact has been awarded a grant from the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF) under the Enterprise Support Scheme (ESS). The funds will be used to support its project to develop its advanced fermentation technology to use microalgae to develop plant-based meat replacements.
Ying XU
Co-Founder, Shanghai Protein
Ying Xu co-founded Shanghai Protein together with a food scientist, a marketing expert, and a finance executive. Based out of Shanghai, the company has created a process for upcycling soybean pulp (okara) from food processing into sustainable protein powder for a series of healthy food products.
Denis ZHU
Co-Founder, ShiShen Food Tech
Denis co-founded ShiShen Food Technology in collaboration with three other food industry veterans in China. Based in Shanghai, ShiShen has a traditional Chinese medicine background and has been working with the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Chinese Academy of Sciences to develop their plant-based food products. This unique product methodology aligns with China's traditional culture of medicine and food having the same origin and the current functional food trends in China.
Chenfeng LV & Juchuan ZHOU
Co-Founders, Blue Canopy
Chenfeng and Juchuan met and graduated from China's food science-focused Jiangnan University, and later reconnected with each other and co-founded Blue Canopy given their shared interest in alternative proteins and complementary experiences and skillsets from the food sectors in the US (Chenfeng) and China (Juchuan). Operating in Qingdao, Shandong Province of China, Blue Canopy supplies food companies with affordable, nutritious, and tasty protein ingredients for alternative meat products through traditional mycelium fermentation or their proprietary precision-fermentation processes.
John Pattison & Ian Johnson
Co-Founders, Cultured Decadence
John Pattison, CEO, and Ian Johnson, CSO, co-founded the company to create sustainable seafood products that have a dramatically lower environmental impact and higher nutritional quality—and at a lower price point compared to current products. Increasing acidification and warming of oceans, overfishing, and a growing world population all contribute to the need for better solutions for producing high-quality seafood. Cultured Decadence's technology will utilize the cells of shellfish, such as lobster, to make real meat without the shell or organs, thereby offering seafood that's more sustainable, animal friendly, and indistinguishable in form and function from wild caught. Cultured Decadence is the first cross-border venture recruited by the Dao Foods Incubator.