WEBVTT - Fancy a beer made from leftover bread? Welcome to the world of upcycling

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<v Speaker 1>This is a C N A podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>When you think of food waste. What images come to mind,

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<v Speaker 1>overflowing garbage bins filled with spoiled leftovers, rejected fruit and

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<v Speaker 1>vegetable peels or landfill where mountains of rotting food waste

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<v Speaker 1>emit methane gas. Here's a not so fun fact.

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<v Speaker 1>Bread is one of the most wasted foods. No, thanks

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<v Speaker 1>to its short shelf life. Globally. Almost 900,000 tons of

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<v Speaker 1>bread is thrown away annually. That's around 24 million slices

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<v Speaker 1>every day. Throwing food away is a serious problem. It

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<v Speaker 1>makes up about 12% of the total waste generated in Singapore.

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<v Speaker 1>And among that, only 19% gets recycled.

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<v Speaker 1>But one startup has a solution making beer from surplus bread. Today,

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<v Speaker 1>you'll hear from the ceo of crust. Traven. Sing his

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<v Speaker 1>startup crust looks at how you can make drinks from

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<v Speaker 1>food waste. Welcome to the climate conversations. Traven. Good to

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<v Speaker 1>see

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<v Speaker 2>you. Thanks for having me. Let's

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<v Speaker 1>start with the story of the birth of crust. How

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<v Speaker 1>did this idea of, of slime

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<v Speaker 1>surplus bread into beer? Come

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<v Speaker 2>about when I was a kid. So I come from

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<v Speaker 2>a family where if we don't finish the entire meal

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<v Speaker 2>my mom gonna incorporate today's meal into something new tomorrow.

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<v Speaker 2>She did not do that because she was a sustainability

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<v Speaker 2>of a kid or anything. She had no idea what

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<v Speaker 2>sustainability even meant, but she did it because we did

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<v Speaker 2>not come from much and she had to maximize her resources.

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<v Speaker 2>So I would say the up cycling idea came from that.

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<v Speaker 2>Why be why the beverage industry and all it was

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<v Speaker 2>more out of interest is I guess

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<v Speaker 2>the playground that I thought I could really come and

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<v Speaker 2>help with or bring something more fun. And that's what happened,

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<v Speaker 2>I guess I love food and beverage in general. I

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<v Speaker 2>like the concept of how something so simple can also

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<v Speaker 2>be a lot more complex, right? And vice versa. And

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<v Speaker 2>I also definitely was home brewing for a while before

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<v Speaker 2>I started crust. So I already knew how to make

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<v Speaker 2>my own beers and everything. And I started doing my

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<v Speaker 2>own R and D s and then I went on

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<v Speaker 2>social media, built a company profile before I even had

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<v Speaker 2>any company and started just posting about my home brew

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<v Speaker 2>batches and

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<v Speaker 2>started getting quite a bit of traction. And then that

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<v Speaker 2>was when I just went to Akron company.

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<v Speaker 1>Then I see you did mention that your mom had

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<v Speaker 1>a bit of an influence. But what got you started

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<v Speaker 1>to care so much about food waste. What did you

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<v Speaker 1>want to make a difference? Why

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<v Speaker 2>food or like why sustainability or maybe even why environmental

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<v Speaker 2>concerns is,

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<v Speaker 2>I don't think it would have been interesting enough for

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<v Speaker 2>me to start a company that was not really bringing

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<v Speaker 2>a solution to the market. I didn't just want to

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<v Speaker 2>start like a restaurant, for example. Right. Or anything else

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<v Speaker 2>that is very sme based, I want to really bring

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<v Speaker 2>a real solution to the market. I think the food

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<v Speaker 2>part came from birth and then when you dive a

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<v Speaker 2>bit deeper, this was before even the product into the market.

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<v Speaker 2>When I was doing a lot more research about food

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<v Speaker 2>waste and then when you become more informed, you realize

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<v Speaker 2>how significant of a problem it is, right? And I

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<v Speaker 2>guess make sure that you want to do more and

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<v Speaker 2>that became sort of my

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<v Speaker 1>purpose. Yeah, bring that story to life through beer is

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<v Speaker 1>really inspiring. But Travis walk us through the process, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>from the collection to making the beer. So

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<v Speaker 2>of course, when we first started what we did was

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<v Speaker 2>to connect small amounts from different bakeries.

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<v Speaker 2>Then we realized it was intern not really economical, right?

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<v Speaker 2>But then at the same time, not really environmental. So

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<v Speaker 2>what we did was we started identifying much larger companies.

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<v Speaker 2>So we'll give like Gardenia for example, right? And then

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<v Speaker 2>we just have one collection point. We collect the surplus

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<v Speaker 2>from there and

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<v Speaker 1>these are fresh bread, right. Correct.

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<v Speaker 2>So we only use unused and unsold sir. Blast. We

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<v Speaker 2>do not use those consumption stuff.

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<v Speaker 2>And we don't just do beer anymore. I'm not sure

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<v Speaker 2>if a lot of people know that we're going to

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<v Speaker 2>launch a second brand called Crop. Crop is our sparkling soda.

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<v Speaker 2>So it's non alcohol. And for that one, we actually

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<v Speaker 2>up cycle mostly fruits and vegetable. Whereas for crust, the

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<v Speaker 2>beer side, we actually don't just give bread. We actually

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<v Speaker 2>work with rice as well. We have even done a

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<v Speaker 2>pumpkin and key to a beer. We've done a coffee beer.

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<v Speaker 2>We've done a pineapple beer. We've even done an apple

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<v Speaker 2>peel beer and everything.

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<v Speaker 2>Also a plus, it's pre consumption unused and unsold. So

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<v Speaker 2>for the beer side of things, what we extract is

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<v Speaker 2>the sugar content from bread and rice to replace our grains.

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<v Speaker 2>So of course, when we do the collection of the bread,

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<v Speaker 2>we just have to make sure that it is in

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<v Speaker 2>the right condition, right environment. And in the delivery process

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<v Speaker 2>is also in the right manner, making sure that then

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<v Speaker 2>the bread is also in the right size so that

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<v Speaker 2>we can extract as much sugar content out of it.

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<v Speaker 2>And then

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<v Speaker 2>of course, we go to the brewery and then we

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<v Speaker 2>make up beers there and then we package it after

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<v Speaker 2>then we distributed. So

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<v Speaker 1>you are experimenting with different things now, but obviously, crust

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<v Speaker 1>is no more for cycling bread. So to date how

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<v Speaker 1>much bread has your company saved from being wasted and

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<v Speaker 1>more importantly, how many happy beer bellies have you served

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<v Speaker 2>So far? We have actually saved, I think close to

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<v Speaker 2>2500 kg of

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<v Speaker 2>bread in Singapore, Japan. I don't really have the number

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<v Speaker 2>at the top of my mind right now. So in Japan,

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<v Speaker 2>we are still doing a proof of concept there. I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>we're probably going to do a proper launch once we

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<v Speaker 2>get our license later this year.

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<v Speaker 1>So from beer to bread, I'm sure many of us

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<v Speaker 1>just wondering what does it taste like? What's been the

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<v Speaker 1>feedback from the drinkers and the industry? So

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<v Speaker 2>if you think that the beer's gonna taste different, like

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<v Speaker 2>how alternative protein tastes very different from like actual meat,

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<v Speaker 2>then you will be disappointed because it tastes more or

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<v Speaker 2>less like whatever the market already has. So we make

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<v Speaker 2>sure to always not have to educate our consumers when

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<v Speaker 2>they try new product. So the idea from the R

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<v Speaker 2>and D standpoint was to make a product that already

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<v Speaker 2>tastes like what the market already is used to. And generally,

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, early on, we had some constructive feedback about

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<v Speaker 2>the product at the moment right now, generally, we have

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<v Speaker 2>got really good feedback on the product so

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<v Speaker 1>far. Okay. Does labor change with a different type?

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<v Speaker 2>It does slightly, but we have also done, I think

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<v Speaker 2>probably close to 100 over variations of different combinations. So

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<v Speaker 2>even mixed it with like whole meal, old grain, mixed

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<v Speaker 2>with white. And then we realized that there's a certain

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<v Speaker 2>way of formulating the recipe whereby you can have the

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<v Speaker 2>exact same product but different formulation and it will still

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<v Speaker 2>taste more or less the same. But then of course,

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<v Speaker 2>when you go a bit further and you try a

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<v Speaker 2>rye bread, then rye bread goes really well with like

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<v Speaker 2>a darker

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<v Speaker 2>if you actually try a sour dough bread and it

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<v Speaker 2>actually goes really well with, for example, an I P A.

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<v Speaker 2>So those are just different ways of functioning. Interesting.

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<v Speaker 1>So travel, are you making

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<v Speaker 2>money? Um Yes, we are making, we're not profitable yet

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<v Speaker 2>because unfortunately, we enter the market about three months before COVID.

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<v Speaker 2>So I would even go as far as to say

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<v Speaker 2>that the first three years of the company, I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>the first three months was really good because because so

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<v Speaker 2>much of feedback, so much of good traction and then

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<v Speaker 2>COVID

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<v Speaker 2>came and everything went downhill, right? And we were on

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<v Speaker 2>survival mode for as long as possible. The last six

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<v Speaker 2>months of last year was really, really good for us,

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<v Speaker 2>especially when COVID settling a little bit more and Singapore

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<v Speaker 2>opened up a little bit more. We now tend to

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<v Speaker 2>be first choice when it comes to most major events

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<v Speaker 2>or conferences as a beverage partner because we then realized

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<v Speaker 2>that a lot of them one sustainable supplier. And in

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<v Speaker 2>the beverage industry, we are the only ones that does

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<v Speaker 2>both alcohol and non alcohol sustainably.

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<v Speaker 2>So that's been really great for us. We have a

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<v Speaker 2>B2B model called the Sustainable Unique label. So that's another

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<v Speaker 2>model that we also brought into the company about a

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<v Speaker 2>year ago. And it's our main differentiating factor. So yes,

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<v Speaker 2>we make bread beer. Yes, we also sell the cross brand. Yes,

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<v Speaker 2>we sell through various channels online and offline just like

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<v Speaker 2>any other beverage come.

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<v Speaker 2>But our main differentiating factor is the SQL model whereby

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<v Speaker 2>we actually work with big hotels. Big supermarket is big

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<v Speaker 2>F and B groups, even aviation companies, airlines basically. And

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<v Speaker 2>these are all companies who have their own surplus and

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<v Speaker 2>right now they either throw it away or they donated.

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<v Speaker 2>So what we do through our SQL model is coming

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<v Speaker 2>as the R and D partner up cycled er surplus

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<v Speaker 2>and create their house brand for them.

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<v Speaker 2>So we have actually done a beer with like cold storage.

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<v Speaker 2>We have done with food panda. We've done with Redmart

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<v Speaker 2>in Japan. We have done with like a man, Tokyo Ritz,

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<v Speaker 2>Carlton Osaka and in Singapore right now, we're also talking

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<v Speaker 2>to a few other hotels.

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<v Speaker 1>Hello, my name is Steve Lie and I'm Teresa Tang.

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<v Speaker 1>And we are the hosts of Sienna correspondent, a podcast

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. My collaboration seems to be the key here. It

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<v Speaker 1>sounds like a dragon. But I wonder, do you face

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<v Speaker 1>a dilemma though? I mean, you're producing beer from bread waste,

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<v Speaker 1>but you're also hoping to reduce or eliminate waste completely

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<v Speaker 1>in the future. So how can you sort of deconflict this?

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<v Speaker 1>So

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<v Speaker 2>we don't just do bread when we speak about food

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<v Speaker 2>waste in general, we make sure that it's really food waste.

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<v Speaker 2>But we also know that there's some

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<v Speaker 2>limitations or different types of food that can only use

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<v Speaker 2>for beer and hence crop came into the picture because

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<v Speaker 2>the same hotels, supermarket that I'm going to up cycle

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<v Speaker 2>and create the house brand for them while up cycling

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<v Speaker 2>their bread out price, I can now work with the

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<v Speaker 2>fruits as well to create a non alcohol brand for them.

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<v Speaker 2>And we give other companies an avenue to reduce food

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<v Speaker 2>waste or fight this fight with us through Crust Group.

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<v Speaker 2>So that's one way another way of trying to make

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<v Speaker 2>sure that we deconflict ourselves and also making sure that

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<v Speaker 2>when profits come into the picture and we eventually turn profitable,

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<v Speaker 2>I will not have a shareholders meeting or board meeting

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<v Speaker 2>where profit is the only thing that is mentioned, why

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<v Speaker 2>forgetting environmental and social concerns. So being be cop so

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<v Speaker 2>be corporation is a certification unknown worldwide where if you

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<v Speaker 2>do get be Cops certified, it means you're environmentally and

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<v Speaker 2>socially extremely responsible. But the good thing about being be

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<v Speaker 2>cops certified is that you have to re certify yourself

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<v Speaker 2>once every three years, which means essentially in a nutshell,

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<v Speaker 2>you cannot sway to the dark side. We took us

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<v Speaker 2>18 months to get B Corp certification,

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<v Speaker 2>but we're very adamant that it was the right decision

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<v Speaker 2>to do. And in the process, we tighten a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of our loose ends also and make sure that everything

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<v Speaker 2>that we do, we question and we make sure that

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<v Speaker 2>we reduce our carbon footprint also.

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<v Speaker 1>That's very interesting because, you know, read some reports saying

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<v Speaker 1>brewing is not exactly the most sustainable practice. It takes

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of water energy from fermentation process and when

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<v Speaker 1>the brewing is done, there's obviously undrinkable water and spent

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<v Speaker 1>grains as so I wonder how

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<v Speaker 1>you're approaching your sustainability practice as a company. So

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<v Speaker 2>everything you mentioned is absolutely correct. And that's exactly why

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<v Speaker 2>we started cross group also, right. There's so many alternative

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<v Speaker 2>companies right now, but mostly the meatspace, there's alternative chicken, beef, fish,

0:11:02.585 --> 0:11:05.934
<v Speaker 2>seafood right now in the beverage space, that is really

0:11:05.934 --> 0:11:08.635
<v Speaker 2>only an alternative for milk, not so much in the

0:11:08.635 --> 0:11:11.755
<v Speaker 2>alcohol industry and also not so much in the soda industry.

0:11:11.765 --> 0:11:13.449
<v Speaker 2>And that's the playground that we

0:11:13.460 --> 0:11:16.729
<v Speaker 2>basically coming in to help it started with up cycling,

0:11:16.740 --> 0:11:19.030
<v Speaker 2>but cycling is not the only way that we can

0:11:19.030 --> 0:11:21.300
<v Speaker 2>reduce our carbon footprint. What we have also done in

0:11:21.300 --> 0:11:25.080
<v Speaker 2>Singapore is to use locally grown produce. So when I

0:11:25.080 --> 0:11:27.599
<v Speaker 2>talk about locally grown produce, right? What I mean is

0:11:27.610 --> 0:11:29.760
<v Speaker 2>we have done one beer in Singapore that is called

0:11:29.760 --> 0:11:32.380
<v Speaker 2>Central and is in collaboration with Gardens by the Bay.

0:11:32.390 --> 0:11:35.870
<v Speaker 2>And for that beer, we actually replace a good amount

0:11:35.870 --> 0:11:39.640
<v Speaker 2>of our hops with a botanical grown at gardens by

0:11:40.054 --> 0:11:43.495
<v Speaker 2>and it's a botanical called Lemon Myrtle. Another botanical that

0:11:43.495 --> 0:11:46.765
<v Speaker 2>we've also worked with is um Raja. So this is

0:11:46.775 --> 0:11:49.954
<v Speaker 2>other avenues where we have constantly looked at every single

0:11:49.965 --> 0:11:53.015
<v Speaker 2>ingredient that it takes to make our beverages. And we

0:11:53.015 --> 0:11:55.545
<v Speaker 2>see what we can do that could help reduce our carbon.

0:11:55.554 --> 0:11:57.985
<v Speaker 2>So it's not just R and D innovation is actually

0:11:57.985 --> 0:12:00.565
<v Speaker 2>supply chain as well. Making sure that you understand your

0:12:00.565 --> 0:12:03.535
<v Speaker 2>supply chain is really key. And the more botanicals I

0:12:03.535 --> 0:12:05.845
<v Speaker 2>can find in Singapore, maybe even in Japan,

0:12:06.059 --> 0:12:09.450
<v Speaker 2>I don't have to then fly hops in huge amount

0:12:09.450 --> 0:12:12.610
<v Speaker 2>in from overseas to Singapore. So that also helps to

0:12:12.610 --> 0:12:15.780
<v Speaker 2>reduce our carbon from the water side of things. We

0:12:15.780 --> 0:12:19.069
<v Speaker 2>contra manufacturer, we don't really own any of the assets

0:12:19.080 --> 0:12:22.880
<v Speaker 2>that so many production facility worldwide that right now are

0:12:22.880 --> 0:12:26.080
<v Speaker 2>not maximizing the capacity, I would say maybe at best,

0:12:26.080 --> 0:12:29.490
<v Speaker 2>they are maximizing 30-60 or 70% of their capacity. And

0:12:29.490 --> 0:12:31.980
<v Speaker 2>that's why we did not even bother with our own

0:12:31.980 --> 0:12:32.320
<v Speaker 2>production

0:12:32.638 --> 0:12:35.028
<v Speaker 2>because that will also add to our carbon. But it

0:12:35.028 --> 0:12:39.808
<v Speaker 2>makes us so asset heavy. So we engage existing production

0:12:39.808 --> 0:12:44.357
<v Speaker 2>facilities worldwide and we help them maximize their capacity. Another

0:12:44.357 --> 0:12:47.488
<v Speaker 2>alternative that you brought up earlier was spent green, very

0:12:47.488 --> 0:12:50.518
<v Speaker 2>valid point. Right. Again, spent grain right now is mostly

0:12:50.518 --> 0:12:53.568
<v Speaker 2>used as animal feed. This is a bit more harsh, harsh,

0:12:53.568 --> 0:12:56.448
<v Speaker 2>but that crust we actually did some internal R and

0:12:56.448 --> 0:12:59.200
<v Speaker 2>D and we converted our spent grain into

0:12:59.216 --> 0:13:01.856
<v Speaker 2>to a pancake mix. And right now, we are exploring

0:13:01.856 --> 0:13:05.246
<v Speaker 2>a granola bar as well. So we most likely will

0:13:05.246 --> 0:13:06.976
<v Speaker 2>not be stopping at just beverage.

0:13:06.986 --> 0:13:11.956
<v Speaker 1>Absoluteal. Not right. And your goal actually is to reduce 1%

0:13:11.956 --> 0:13:15.276
<v Speaker 1>of global food waste by 2030. Are you on track

0:13:15.276 --> 0:13:18.546
<v Speaker 1>to hit this target? It's just what, seven years away.

0:13:18.556 --> 0:13:22.236
<v Speaker 2>Um Yeah, we're not really on target right now but

0:13:22.246 --> 0:13:25.366
<v Speaker 2>why we had that goal initially was so that everybody

0:13:25.366 --> 0:13:25.780
<v Speaker 2>in the camp,

0:13:25.794 --> 0:13:29.154
<v Speaker 2>I could focus a lot of our business model on

0:13:29.154 --> 0:13:34.834
<v Speaker 2>collaboration because collectively, while working supermarkets, hotels, aviation companies, the

0:13:34.833 --> 0:13:38.754
<v Speaker 2>big FMB groups, we will inch closer to the 1% goal.

0:13:38.764 --> 0:13:41.464
<v Speaker 1>Just how challenging is. It just can you just give

0:13:41.464 --> 0:13:43.764
<v Speaker 1>us a sense of how hard it is? What sort

0:13:43.764 --> 0:13:47.074
<v Speaker 1>of hurdles that you're facing and anticipating every

0:13:47.074 --> 0:13:49.804
<v Speaker 2>day is a challenge? I think as long as you

0:13:49.814 --> 0:13:52.304
<v Speaker 2>constantly focus on innovation every day.

0:13:52.372 --> 0:13:56.031
<v Speaker 2>It's really a challenge, right? Understanding your delivery points and

0:13:56.032 --> 0:13:59.302
<v Speaker 2>how many are there? Understanding the supply chain, understanding your

0:13:59.302 --> 0:14:04.722
<v Speaker 2>raw materials, understanding, alternative, understanding different recipe and formulation and processes,

0:14:04.732 --> 0:14:07.802
<v Speaker 2>understanding what the market already has and what elects right now,

0:14:07.802 --> 0:14:10.482
<v Speaker 2>understanding what you have and what you like right now

0:14:10.492 --> 0:14:13.352
<v Speaker 2>and then going on day to day and then fundraising

0:14:13.352 --> 0:14:15.592
<v Speaker 2>on top of that, right? And trying to explain to

0:14:15.592 --> 0:14:18.742
<v Speaker 2>the investors with regards to up cycling. So every day

0:14:18.742 --> 0:14:18.912
<v Speaker 2>is a

0:14:18.950 --> 0:14:21.620
<v Speaker 2>challenge, I do not know where to start, but at

0:14:21.620 --> 0:14:23.720
<v Speaker 2>least I know I was closer to my goal today

0:14:23.720 --> 0:14:24.980
<v Speaker 2>than I was yesterday. That's

0:14:24.980 --> 0:14:27.660
<v Speaker 1>a long list right there at Traven. But I wonder

0:14:27.670 --> 0:14:30.000
<v Speaker 1>what gives you hope? I mean, what sort of opportunities

0:14:30.000 --> 0:14:35.210
<v Speaker 1>do you see for food entrepreneurship, to empower systems and

0:14:35.210 --> 0:14:37.940
<v Speaker 1>communities towards a more sustainable future in the

0:14:37.940 --> 0:14:39.630
<v Speaker 2>last six months? You know, we have had a lot

0:14:39.630 --> 0:14:41.890
<v Speaker 2>of inbound, a lot of companies are coming to us

0:14:41.900 --> 0:14:45.230
<v Speaker 2>for what we have to offer so that in itself

0:14:45.240 --> 0:14:45.510
<v Speaker 2>keeps

0:14:45.528 --> 0:14:47.438
<v Speaker 2>just a week and night, right? And make sure that

0:14:47.438 --> 0:14:48.958
<v Speaker 2>we wake up early in the morning to do what

0:14:48.958 --> 0:14:51.988
<v Speaker 2>we do. And in Japan, for example, in Singapore, we

0:14:51.988 --> 0:14:54.328
<v Speaker 2>don't really work with farms and farmers. But in Japan,

0:14:54.328 --> 0:14:56.888
<v Speaker 2>we have the opportunity to work with farms and farmers

0:14:56.898 --> 0:15:01.018
<v Speaker 2>and seeing how they see hope for their end product

0:15:01.028 --> 0:15:02.668
<v Speaker 2>that they have put in so much of time and

0:15:02.668 --> 0:15:05.678
<v Speaker 2>resources to grow or make because we are coming to

0:15:05.678 --> 0:15:08.328
<v Speaker 2>the picture. Right? Also gives us hope. Of course, a

0:15:08.328 --> 0:15:10.388
<v Speaker 2>lot of it has got to do with internal motivation,

0:15:10.388 --> 0:15:12.090
<v Speaker 2>but usually when you start your own company, that's all

0:15:12.106 --> 0:15:14.696
<v Speaker 2>a lot of internal motivation. But when we collaborate with

0:15:14.696 --> 0:15:16.706
<v Speaker 2>other partners and we see that they're really happy with

0:15:16.706 --> 0:15:19.636
<v Speaker 2>the product and it does really well or other farmers

0:15:19.636 --> 0:15:22.656
<v Speaker 2>as well, who knows that they're ugly. Produce is not

0:15:22.656 --> 0:15:24.846
<v Speaker 2>really going to go to waste. There will be a

0:15:24.846 --> 0:15:27.246
<v Speaker 2>second life for it instead of the bin also gives

0:15:27.246 --> 0:15:28.146
<v Speaker 2>us a lot more hope.

0:15:28.156 --> 0:15:31.536
<v Speaker 1>I mean, as a food waste warrior, what do you

0:15:31.536 --> 0:15:34.876
<v Speaker 1>think is the answer to this global issue of food waste?

0:15:34.876 --> 0:15:38.686
<v Speaker 1>Did you come across any initiatives or innovation that you thought? Wow,

0:15:38.840 --> 0:15:40.880
<v Speaker 1>that's going to be a game changer. I think there's

0:15:40.880 --> 0:15:44.780
<v Speaker 2>no one solution to world problems, right? I think what

0:15:44.780 --> 0:15:46.830
<v Speaker 2>the world really needs is everybody to just come together

0:15:46.830 --> 0:15:49.140
<v Speaker 2>and do a part. I'm not in the clean energy sector.

0:15:49.140 --> 0:15:52.110
<v Speaker 2>So I can't say for sure what's the best solution there?

0:15:52.120 --> 0:15:54.470
<v Speaker 2>And I think we believe that the future of food

0:15:54.605 --> 0:15:57.225
<v Speaker 2>should be more collaborative and less competitive. Then it's as

0:15:57.225 --> 0:16:00.345
<v Speaker 2>simple as that, right? We would actually find more business

0:16:00.345 --> 0:16:02.985
<v Speaker 2>models that collaborate instead of compete because a lot of

0:16:02.985 --> 0:16:06.255
<v Speaker 2>competing business models are at the detriment of environmental and

0:16:06.255 --> 0:16:09.035
<v Speaker 2>social causes. So I think that is where our North

0:16:09.035 --> 0:16:09.685
<v Speaker 2>Star is

0:16:10.520 --> 0:16:12.710
<v Speaker 1>Before I let you go. What sort of ambitions do

0:16:12.710 --> 0:16:15.270
<v Speaker 1>you have for crust in the next 5 to 10 years?

0:16:15.270 --> 0:16:17.550
<v Speaker 1>And how do you see your business growing? I think

0:16:17.560 --> 0:16:20.870
<v Speaker 2>in apec, we don't really have an up cycling movement.

0:16:20.870 --> 0:16:24.040
<v Speaker 2>There's a lot of alternative protein but a lot of people,

0:16:24.050 --> 0:16:26.430
<v Speaker 2>a lot of disease as well. A lot of individuals

0:16:26.430 --> 0:16:30.180
<v Speaker 2>don't really understand up cycling in Asia Pacific. There's a

0:16:30.190 --> 0:16:32.900
<v Speaker 2>larger trend in I would say in the U S

0:16:32.900 --> 0:16:35.360
<v Speaker 2>or different parts of Europe in the U K. And

0:16:35.370 --> 0:16:37.400
<v Speaker 2>we want to pioneer that sort of movement here in

0:16:37.410 --> 0:16:39.980
<v Speaker 2>Asia Pacific and show that food waste.

0:16:40.060 --> 0:16:43.440
<v Speaker 2>It's a viable problem. It's a huge problem and the

0:16:43.440 --> 0:16:45.420
<v Speaker 2>solution that we're bringing into the market is also a

0:16:45.420 --> 0:16:47.040
<v Speaker 2>really viable solution. Why do you

0:16:47.040 --> 0:16:49.280
<v Speaker 1>think that is that there's a bit of a slow

0:16:49.280 --> 0:16:51.380
<v Speaker 1>take up when it comes to up cycling? Lack of

0:16:51.380 --> 0:16:52.750
<v Speaker 1>understanding education,

0:16:52.760 --> 0:16:57.660
<v Speaker 2>I guess various factor maybe from a Singapore context, for instance, right, again,

0:16:57.660 --> 0:17:00.370
<v Speaker 2>we don't have farms and farmers here. So none of

0:17:00.370 --> 0:17:02.870
<v Speaker 2>us who grew up, born and bred in Singapore have

0:17:02.880 --> 0:17:06.489
<v Speaker 2>actually seen the amount of resources, the amount of manpower

0:17:06.500 --> 0:17:09.580
<v Speaker 2>inefficiencies that actually goes into creating or

0:17:09.600 --> 0:17:12.760
<v Speaker 2>growing something. So it becomes really second nature for us

0:17:12.760 --> 0:17:15.070
<v Speaker 2>to just throw something away without even having to think

0:17:15.070 --> 0:17:17.970
<v Speaker 2>about it. So that's why when you up cycle, a

0:17:17.970 --> 0:17:20.290
<v Speaker 2>lot of people don't really understand the concept of why

0:17:20.290 --> 0:17:23.649
<v Speaker 2>the need when you asked that question earlier. So are

0:17:23.650 --> 0:17:26.540
<v Speaker 2>you using unused unsold? And I said yes, a lot

0:17:26.540 --> 0:17:29.180
<v Speaker 2>of companies and a lot of Singaporeans also don't really

0:17:29.180 --> 0:17:32.590
<v Speaker 2>understand that a lot of our food risk comes operationally.

0:17:32.600 --> 0:17:35.520
<v Speaker 2>It comes from supermarkets, it comes from hotels and they

0:17:35.520 --> 0:17:39.119
<v Speaker 2>are trying their best to predict consumer demands,

0:17:39.140 --> 0:17:41.990
<v Speaker 2>but you're never on track all the time. So there

0:17:41.990 --> 0:17:44.780
<v Speaker 2>will always be food waste operationally and that's where we

0:17:44.780 --> 0:17:47.709
<v Speaker 2>come into the picture. But I think cross, even though

0:17:47.710 --> 0:17:50.770
<v Speaker 2>the Singaporean company, I also do think that a lot

0:17:50.770 --> 0:17:53.460
<v Speaker 2>of the greater work that we will do will come

0:17:53.460 --> 0:17:56.939
<v Speaker 2>overseas in markets where there are farms and farmers also

0:17:56.950 --> 0:17:59.500
<v Speaker 2>because those are really large markets where we can come

0:17:59.500 --> 0:18:01.960
<v Speaker 2>in and help to reduce a significant amount of food

0:18:01.960 --> 0:18:05.669
<v Speaker 2>waste compared to Singapore. So different markets, our role is

0:18:05.670 --> 0:18:08.680
<v Speaker 2>slightly different, but the endgame is the same.

0:18:08.880 --> 0:18:12.040
<v Speaker 1>All right. So when it comes to innovative ideas and

0:18:12.050 --> 0:18:15.180
<v Speaker 1>of course, environmentally friendly. BR I think that's definitely something

0:18:15.180 --> 0:18:17.850
<v Speaker 1>we can all drink to. Thank you very much traveling

0:18:17.850 --> 0:18:21.840
<v Speaker 1>for joining me today, sharing your story. It's been very inspirational.

0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:25.449
<v Speaker 1>Well, thanks to my guest, Traven Sing and thanks to

0:18:25.450 --> 0:18:28.080
<v Speaker 1>all of you for tuning in. We hope you enjoyed

0:18:28.080 --> 0:18:32.270
<v Speaker 1>this episode. Do remember to subscribe and like this podcast. So,

0:18:32.270 --> 0:18:35.570
<v Speaker 1>you know, when a new episode drops, you can find

0:18:35.580 --> 0:18:40.320
<v Speaker 1>Ciena's climate and sustainability coverage online at Sienna dot Asia

0:18:40.890 --> 0:18:44.850
<v Speaker 1>the team behind this podcast is Joanne Chan Cyan win,

0:18:44.859 --> 0:18:49.710
<v Speaker 1>Jacqueline Chan and Christina Robert and I'm Julie, you signing off.