Afternoon Tea with KisStartup

This afternoon, in the middle of a long working day, if you pour yourself a glass of lightly chilled passion fruit juice, you may notice something very clearly: passion fruit does more than quench your thirst. It carries a distinctive flavor—gently tart, deeply aromatic, unmistakably tropical yet never overpowering. In this week’s Afternoon Tea with KisStartup, we take a closer look at Vietnamese passion fruit—an industry that is growing rapidly and holds remarkable potential for value-added processing.

From a familiar fruit to an “export star”

Few would have imagined that from a backyard fruit, Vietnam has now entered the top 10 passion fruit exporters globally. In 2023, export value reached approximately USD 222.5 million, and if growth momentum continues, exports could reach USD 240–250 million by 2025. Vietnamese passion fruit is now present in more than 20 markets, including China, the EU, and Australia, and is completing the final steps to enter the U.S. market.

This reflects a critical shift: passion fruit is no longer just a fresh fruit for domestic consumption, but a global industrial ingredient for beverages, processed foods, desserts, and functional products.

Natural advantages, perfectly aligned

Vietnam enjoys conditions that few passion fruit–producing countries can match. The Central Highlands—accounting for over 86% of planted area and more than 90% of output—offers a cool plateau climate and fertile basalt soil. Harvest can begin after just 4–5 months, with high and stable yields, and in many areas, production is possible year-round—an advantage highly valued by international buyers.

Both purple and yellow Vietnamese passion fruit are praised for their strong aroma, balanced sweet–sour taste, and high juice content. Purple varieties suit fresh consumption, desserts, and premium beverages, while yellow varieties are ideal for industrial processing due to their high yield, stable color, and consistency.

Value lies in deep processing

Notably, more than 80% of Vietnam’s passion fruit output is already processed rather than exported fresh. This provides a strong foundation for higher value creation. Current products include juice, frozen purée, and concentrates—widely used in beverages, ice cream, bakery, yogurt, and functional foods.

Yet the potential goes far beyond juice. From an innovation perspective, passion fruit can evolve into:

• Premium purée and concentrates for beverages and FMCG
• Syrups, toppings, and bases for the F&B sector
• Extracts rich in polyphenols and natural vitamin C for functional foods
• Freeze-dried or spray-dried powders for snacks and instant drinks
• Even natural flavorings to replace synthetic aromas in high-end products

Value creation is not just about technology, but about designing products that truly match market needs rather than selling raw materials.

A rapidly opening market

The global passion fruit market is projected to grow at over 5% annually, potentially reaching nearly USD 7 billion in the early 2030s. Consumer trends are strongly favoring natural beverages, tropical flavors, and clean-label ingredients—all areas where passion fruit excels.

China’s phytosanitary protocol, Australia’s market opening, and the upcoming approval from the U.S. are highly positive signals. However, these opportunities come with stricter requirements on traceability, plant health, food safety, and sustainability.

The challenge ahead

For Vietnamese passion fruit to grow not only in volume but also in value, the path forward is clear: standardize varieties and growing regions, invest more deeply in advanced processing, and build a strong reputation for Vietnamese passion fruit as a reliable, high-quality ingredient. This is also fertile ground for innovation-driven enterprises, agri-food startups, and technology-based collaborations.

This afternoon, when you take a sip of passion fruit juice, you may simply feel refreshed by its aroma and coolness. But behind that flavor lies an entire industry in transformation—from a familiar tropical fruit to a high-value global ingredient. That is the story KisStartup hopes to share with you in every Wednesday Afternoon Tea: seeing Vietnamese agricultural products not only through the lens of consumption, but through an ecosystem mindset and a long-term future.

See you at the next Afternoon Tea with KisStartup.

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(Trend, Technology, and Growth Model Analysis 2024–2025)
Compiled, analyzed, and edited by KisStartup

In the world of alternative proteins, Mosa Meat isn’t the loudest name — but it’s one of the few that has mastered turning science into product, product into regulatory standard, and standard into market. Its journey — from the world’s first cultured burger in 2013 to submitting a Novel Foods dossier to the European Commission for cultivated beef fat on January 22, 2025 — sketches a rare deeptech growth curve: slow and steady at the foundation, then accelerating precisely when society is ready to shift dietary habits.

However, to see Mosa Meat merely as a “lab burger company” misses the essence: this is an organization that knows how to commercialize science within existing legal frameworks, using regulation as a runway for its first product, and building bridges of trust toward mainstream adoption. From the historic 2013 tasting to the EU submission for cultivated beef fat in 2025, Mosa Meat connects three deeptech fragments that rarely align: science → regulation → market.

Ingredient-first: The fastest route to the dining table

Rather than launching an ambitious 100% cultivated steak, Mosa Meat adopts an ingredient-first strategy, starting with cultivated beef fat. This ingredient enhances hybrids (e.g., burgers, meatballs, bolognese), providing authentic aroma, taste, and mouthfeel at a lower regulatory threshold. By submitting fat as the first Novel Food, Mosa Meat accelerates market entry within approved frameworks. An EFSA-reviewed fat dossier also serves as a “social proof” for retailers and regulators across other regions — effectively shortening the commercialization path.

Regulation as a growth lever — not a barrier

Few startups see regulation as a growth channel. Mosa Meat does. Beyond the EU Novel Foods filing, it became the first cultivated meat company certified as a B-Corp (September 2023) — a strong ESG signal in Europe’s retail landscape. Mosa Meat also expands through multi-region regulatory pathways (EU, Switzerland, UK), leveraging “sandbox” tasting programs to collect data and trust, while cutting down isolated trial time and market education costs.

Market education through experience, not just messaging

Since the 2013 London tasting — designed as a “press conference for the palate” — Mosa Meat has consistently promoted the “see–understand–taste” model: public R&D updates, transparent process explanations, and controlled tastings with pioneering chefs. As consumer behavior shifts (2024–2025) toward short videos, on-site experience, and transparency, this model outperforms traditional advertising. The €1.5 million crowdfunding in February 2025 (raised in 24 minutes) turned supporters into early adopters and brand storytellers — converting social consensus into capital.

Scaling is not just more bioreactors — it’s unit economics

Mosa Meat’s 7,340 m² Maastricht campus, with 1,000 L bioreactors, establishes a full R&D → pilot → pre-commercial chain. But true scalability lies in cost curves and productivity, not facility size: serum-free media, higher cell productivity (g/L/h), and stable differentiation cycles. Costs have dropped ~80× since the $330,000 burger, approaching commercial viability. The company distinguishes between “image scaling” and “economic scaling”, prioritizing the latter.

Environmental impact: Potentially strong, but conditional

LCA studies show major emission, land, and water reductions if cultivated meat reaches scale and uses renewable energy. Benefits fade under fossil-heavy grids. The real sustainability lies in system design: clean energy, circular media, and waste management. Reduced livestock dependency also restores soil and biodiversity, but cultivation processes must manage chemical and material footprints carefully.

Social impact: Ethics, jobs, and culture

Cultivated meat eliminates large-scale slaughter and creates skilled biotech jobs but also requires just transitions for traditional workers. Mosa Meat’s ingredient-first, hybrid approach respects food culture — upgrading familiar dishes rather than replacing them entirely. Still, concentrated IP ownership (cell lines, media, bioreactors) risks forming “Big

Food 2.0”; open standards and fair licensing are essential for inclusive industry growth.

Transparency on long-term safety

Though EU/UK/Singapore frameworks are rigorous, long-term consumption data remain limited. Mosa Meat’s approach — proactive transparency, public LCA assumptions, and post-market monitoring — builds credibility in an evolving landscape.

Takeaways for Vietnamese Biotech Startups

• Start ingredient-first. Focus on components (cultivated fats, fermented flavor molecules) to enhance familiar dishes like phở, bún bò, or bánh mì rather than full meat replacements.
• Design legal runways early. Align datasets with EFSA/FDA standards even for local pilots; propose regulated tasting sandboxes with traceable QR data.
• Educate via controlled experiences. Combine chef-led tastings, short videos, and transparent safety sheets to let consumers see–understand–taste.
• Report unit economics quarterly. Share media cost/kg, productivity, and batch cycles to build trust with investors and regulators.
• Blend diverse capital sources. Mix climate VC, public funds, and community crowdfunding with measurable KPIs (LCA, safety, cost).
• Localize the supply chain. Develop domestic inputs for media and bioreactors to reduce cost and import dependency.

Sources:
EU Submission (22/01/2025): Mosa Meat filed Novel Foods dossier for cultivated beef fat (Mosa Meat).
B-Corp (09/2023): First cultivated meat company to achieve certification (Forbes).
Scale: 7,340 m² campus, 1,000 L bioreactor (Mosa Meat).
Market education: From London 2013 tasting to transparent R&D communications (eitfood.eu).
Crowdfunding (02/2025): €1.5M in 24 minutes; social consensus turned into market traction (Cultivated X).