▲ H&N Novatec / CEO Kim Yang-hee

CH4 created from livestock farming is known to be 21 times more bad than CO2 to the environment. Many experts scholars and industry alike have warned about the issue and brought up the need for alternative meat in a way to protect environment as well as to solve food crisis in the future for many years.

While alternative meat industry in the US and Europe is in the phase of growth at the moment, South Korea is still struggling to get it even started. However, as hope is always there where there seems not to be any, a South Korean food tech company H&N Novatec introduced seaweed-extract heme particle and fish meat processing technology with which the company is developing hamburger patty, grilled meat, sausage and dumpling. 

"We don't need to make alternative meat if we are willing to pay royalties to original technology holders or to just import them. And H&N Novatec is not willing and has pushed forward R&D to secure our own original technology by extracting heme (the source to make us feel meat taste) from seaweed for the first time in the world" says Kim Yang-hee, CEO of H&N Novatec. 

The company has succeeded development of heme particle for the taste of beef and chicken and received a ministerial prize from the Oceans and Fisheries Ministry in 2019. Also in 2020, the company received the technology innovation from the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency at the Innovation Winner 2020 alongside listing the company in the Innovation Company 1000 to receive both financial and non-financial support from the ministry.

Nestled in the Seoul Food Tech Startup Center for the moment, H&N Novatec is pushing forward its entrepreneurship in cooperation with food companies while building a food processing factory in North Gyeongsang Province. PowerKorea ￫ powering Korean business to the world!