1955 Capital is pleased to announce that Kathy Chen has been promoted to Vice President and will report to Andrew Chung, founder and managing partner of the venture capital firm.

Jim Hinson joins 1955 Capital as Chief Financial Officer and will report to Andrew Chung, founder and managing partner of the venture capital firm. In his role, Hinson will oversee the financial planning, financial reporting, and operational controls of the firm.

China’s pork consumption has probably peaked, as consumers are opting for a healthier and a more varied diet.

Andrew Chung, founder of 1955 Capital which led Sustainable BioProducts’s financing round in February that included an investment from US billionaire Bill Gates’ fund, said there is definitely a role for alternative protein in a market like China.

“Not only is there a massive supply gap owing to the ongoing African swine fever, but in a country [affected by] food safety concerns and scandals, there is clear demand for a clean, traceable source of protein in food production,” he said.

Chicago-based Sustainable Bioproducts could provide a substitute protein to help China cope with pork shortages as a virus threatens to halve the nation’s hog industry this year, according to two board members at the start-up.

Andrew Chung, a board member of Sustainable Bioproducts and founder of the venture capital firm 1955 Capital, said the company expects a full-scale commercialisation of their product platform in the next 12 to 18 months, and is currently working on gaining regulatory approvals in the US.

“There is definitely a role for alternative protein in a market like China,” said Chung. “In a country where there are constant food safety concerns and scandals, there is a clear survival-driven demand for a clean, traceable source of protein in food production.”

With big-name CVC investors like ADM Ventures and Danone Manifesto Ventures, Sustainable Bioproducts is preparing to unveil new plant-based product offerings targeting what it describes as the white space in the plant-based segment.

It was only a matter of time before companies started to emerge from Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods’ titanic shadows.

“In terms of why we are throwing our hat in the ring, there is so much opportunity and Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have by no means taken over the market,” Karuna Rawal, chief marketing officer at Sustainable Bioproducts (SBP), told AFN. “We think we will have a differentiated offering that will make us a very viable competitor in the space.”