The PlantEat is a Korean-based company that seeks to change how people eat. It plans to do this by solving global nutrition imbalance through its plant-based products. The team believes that by making essential proteins more accessible–at equitable prices–people will have a better quality of health, eliminating imbalances caused by financial or geographic situations. Jaesik Yang founded the company in 2017 to encourage society to eat more plants than meat in order to have a sustainable planet. 

When Yang discovered XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion, he believed the competition aligned perfectly with the company’s mission. He entered, and four years later, PlantEat stands as one of six remaining finalists.

 

PlantEat’s core mission is equality–particularly relating to the global nutrition imbalance. PlantEat believes that good, nutritious, and sustainable food is one of humanity’s basic rights, which is why it wants to make alternative proteins available for all. 

“I think it is more important how we eat, how we lead others towards a sustainable future, and how we approach our food habits. I think this competition and XPRIZE’s thinking will lead to improvements in how we live and the choices we make in the future. I am very proud of everyone doing this competition!” -Jaesik Yang, Founder and CEO

The PlantEat’s solution is an alternative tilapia filet. Their product uses soybeans as the main ingredient and is inspired by the original fish, which is high in protein, affordable, and popular with people from many walks of life. Yang is proud of their product and believes that this is the key to creating nutrition equality. He also believes that PlantEat’s version is more tasty than the original.

The rules and regulations guiding Feed the Next Billion impressed Yang, who praised the competition for refusing to compromise on taste, texture, nutrition, or price to create a pivotal product. He believes that this comprehensiveness made participation in Feed the Next Billion more challenging, but also more rewarding. Yang believes that PlantEat was able to develop a better product because of the high standards they were held to. 

In the future, Yang sees the PlantEat team as developers, educators, and pioneers. Building on their research, they will strive to lead the charge toward developing high-quality, sustainable, and accessible alternative protein products. 

To learn more about The PlantEat as they head to finals, follow along at xprize.org/feed.