Love carbs but want healthy eating? This S’porean couple know how it feels and created options for F&B businesses

SINGAPORE — When it comes to food, every generation has its distinct idea about what makes something worth eating.

These days, the common trend is a shift towards healthier food choices — even better if it is sustainable and transparently sourced.

The latest data from a survey by online market research firm YouGov revealed that as of January this year, more than a third (34 per cent) of Singapore consumers said that they are actively trying to cut down on their meat intake.

More than a third are undecided about changing their level of meat consumption (36 per cent), which indicates that they may be at least considering it.

Separately, the global Innova Consumer Survey 2020 found that the top reasons for considering plant-based alternatives were health, diet variety, sustainability and taste.

It found that six in 10 global consumers are interested in learning more about where their food come from and how it is made, while three in four consumers expect companies to invest in sustainability.

These trends have had a tangible impact on the food scene here as well.

In the first of a three-part series, TODAY takes a look at a few homegrown brands to learn how they are doing their part to make positive changes to Singaporeans’ dietary choices and eating habits. 

This week, a husband and wife talk about why they set up Alchemy Foodtech, an award-winning Singapore-based company that produces a fibre blend, so that people may consume healthier carbohydrates.

ON A MISSION TO 'MAKE CARBS GOOD'

Food science company Alchemy Foodtech provides carbohydrate-reduction and sugar-reduction food solutions, but its co-founders Alan Phua and Verleen Goh love their rice and bread — especially chicken rice for him.

Mr Phua, 40, its chief executive officer, said: “I really, really love chicken rice and I can eat it for two meals in a row. It’s one of the foods that I really like and I would miss when I travel for work.”

As for his wife, she loves bread so much that she can eat it for three meals a day.

Knowing how much Singaporeans love their carbohydrate-rich foods spurred the couple to look into ways to “make carbs good” — a mantra that they kept in mind while finding innovative ways to make staples containing carbohydrates, such as rice, healthier.

Ms Goh, 36, a food scientist by training and the company’s chief technology officer, said, “In this part of the world, we eat a lot of carbs, and all or most of what we are eating are refined carbohydrates (such as white rice and white bread).

“However, we’ve also seen how our diet can affect our health, which is why we decided to work on 'making carbs good’.”

Mr Phua’s strong family history of diabetes was a reason why he was drawn to the field of food technology solutions.

He wanted to help people eat and live better. 

As a child, he saw how his late grandmother suffered greatly due to diabetes complications.

In the last stage of her life, she lost the ability to walk and had to visit the bathroom every 15 minutes. Frequent urination is one of the symptoms of diabetes.

“Someone had to carry her to the bathroom every 15 mins. Very soon, it became untenable, so my relatives built a plank over the toilet bowl with a hole in it,” he recalled.

“My grandma just slept there, ate there and relieved herself there — that was her entire life in the last one year of her life.

“That left a very deep imprint in my mind; just because you’re alive doesn’t mean you’re living.”

Despite knowing the complications of poorly controlled diabetes, he realised how challenging it was for many of his relatives with the chronic disease to take up healthier eating habits.

“Even though people know what they’re supposed to do (eat more healthily, such as by cutting down on refined carbohydrates and sugar), they may not end up doing it. This is because most of us live to eat and we really enjoy our food.

“We want to make the hard things easier to do for them — by making sure that the taste and textures of the food that we love are still there while reducing the carbohydrates, sugars and glycaemic index,” Mr Phua added.

YEARS OF RESEARCH

A gruelling four to five years of research and development led to the launch of Alchemy Fibre.

This is a patented fibre blend that is made using plant ingredients such as peas, corn, beans and legumes.

It can be added to rice, noodles and bread products to moderate glucose release, preventing sudden blood sugar spikes.

The low-GI blend, which has 10 times more fibre than regular white rice, also provides prebiotic fibres that promote better digestive health and are known to boost overall immunity.

GI stands for glycaemic index, which is a rating system for food containing carbohydrates to show how quickly each food affects blood sugar level.

A challenge that the couple faced during the research and development phase was finding a way to maintain the taste, texture and mouthfeel of food that are familiar to Singaporeans and people in the region.

“Health is always on people’s minds but it’s very difficult for anyone to say they want to eat healthier and disregard the taste entirely, even for the super health-conscious types,” Ms Goh said.

“If we want to eat healthier, most people turn to brown rice and whole grains, which are great because they are complex carbohydrates that take longer to digest and have a lower GI.

“But the taste and texture are different, and many people still prefer refined carbohydrates much more.

“What we did was to turn simple carbs into more complex ones by adding fibres to the food,” Ms Goh explained.

“The choice of fibres that we have added is ‘invisible’ — it doesn’t change the taste and the texture, so you may not know there’s added fibre. But it improves the quality of the carbohydrates.”

The innovation has been a huge success.

Alchemy Fibre is now being sold in supermarkets and used by food-and-beverage (F&B) businesses such as Boon Tong Kee and Lim Kee. It is also exported to the Philippines and the United States.

Earlier this year, sandwich chain Subway used Alchemy Fibre in a new cookie launch in Singapore, called the Chocolate Chip Cookie Siew Dai (which means less sugar in the Hokkien dialect).

Alchemy’s patented technology reduced the sugar content of Subway’s original chocolate chip cookie by almost half while maintaining its familiar taste.

At home, the couple use Alchemy Fibre regularly — in homecooked rice or soupy dishes and even when they drink coffee. Their relatives are fans of their innovations as well.

Mr Phua said: “My dad told me that whenever he eats out or in restaurants that don’t use Alchemy products, he gets hungry very quickly.

“That’s a tell-tale sign that you’ve eaten something that has high GI because it breaks down and is digested (fast).

“My parents use Alchemy products at home every day so he feels the difference.”

The couple's innovative solution also led to multiple awards, such as the top prize at the global competition Slingshot 2018, where they were awarded a S$200,000 grant by trade agency Enterprise Singapore.

Last year, Ms Goh was one of three Singaporeans honoured for their contributions to food sustainability in the global 50 Next gastronomy list. 50 Next recognises young people shaping the future of the food and drink scene globally.

The company recently set up an office in China and is working with some of the leading brands there, Mr Phua said.

He feels especially fulfilled when brands that they work with let him know of encouraging consumer feedback.

“Some customers use a continuous glucose monitor to measure their blood sugar on the spot. Post-meal (after consuming food prepared using Alchemy Fibre), they notice that their sugar levels are stable and didn’t spike dangerously.

“It makes us very happy to know that our innovation has made an impact on people’s health,” he said.