Food-Centered Startups in Thailand You Should Know About

Thailand has a thriving startup scene that encompasses a multitude of industries, from transportation and information technology to delivery, e-commerce, finance, and more.

Several are also dedicated to food, tackling matters like food waste, cricket farming, and food and agriculture technology. Here are four food-centered startups in Thailand you should know about (if you don't yet).

Yindii

Yindii is doing the good work of fighting the food waste problem by rescuing surplus, perfectly edible food from stores and restaurants that would otherwise be disposed. Through its app, F&B establishments' surplus food are connected to consumers at a discounted price, thus helping to reduce the food waste in Thailand.

Thus far, the startup has over 150 brand partners, prevented more than 50,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions, and rescued over 20,000 meals.

The Cricket Lab

The Cricket Lab is a Chiang Mai-based startup that has the biggest cricket farm in the world. Its main product is protein, specifically sustainable protein made from cricket flour. The Cricket Lab recognizes that crickets are the "protein of the future," as these contain proteins with the same amino acid make-up as beef, chicken, and fish. Crickets are also chock full of iron, calcium, B vitamins, and omega-3 fatty acids. Its goal? "Make cricket protein cheaper than chicken, thus making cricket flour affordable for the mainstream food industry."

Freshket

This agriculture technology startup aims to become "the most trusted and sustainable end-to-end food supply chain platform in Thailand." Its platform provides an integrated workflow marketplace for households and restaurants to have access to over 4,000 high- quality and fresh products and restaurant food supplies from Thailand and beyond. At present, over 4,500 restaurants trust Freshket daily.

Eatigo

Eatigo is considered as Asia's foremost restaurant reservation platform. It was founded in Bangkok in 2013 by Michael Cluzel, Pumin Yuvacharuskul, Siddhanta Kothari, and Judy Tan, in a bid to "connect empty tables with empty stomachs by offering time-based discounts of up to 50% everyday..." From its small start in Bangkok, Eatigo is now available in multiple countries, namely Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines.