This is part of the firm’s efforts to lessen food waste and help consumers gain more nutrition from ingredients that would otherwise be discarded.
Made from byproducts peanut protein and sweet potato fibre, ProTEGO noodles contains 32g protein, 27g carbs and 13g fibre per 100g,
ProTEGO aims to support digestion and a low-carb diet with its high-protein, high-fibre formulation. It is under the W0W noodle brand, which also includes low GI noodles made from spent barley grains.
The firm gets its raw materials from various sources, including suppliers from China and Singapore-based Prima Group.
These product lines reflect KosmodeHealth’s broader philosophy around food byproducts – a mindset Leong describes as “upvaluing”.
“Upvalue, not upcycle”
KosmodeHealth co-founder Florence Leong prefers to use the term “upvalue” instead of “upcycle”, which she feels does not capture the true spirit of giving food byproducts a second life.
“I prefer to use the term ‘upvalue’ – which involves maximising value and minimising waste,” Leong told FoodNavigator.
“Food processing waste is unavoidable unless we stop producing food altogether. So we should be looking at how to extract the most value from byproducts.”
For example, spent grains often become more nutrient-dense during brewing because starches and sugars are removed, leaving behind higher levels of protein and fibre.
Because of this, Leong believes there is untapped potential to “upvalue” these materials and apply them in more advanced or health-focused products.
“We shouldn’t only focus on reducing landfill waste or stop at turning byproducts into foods like granola bars and bread – these are good uses, but we should also ask ourselves whether we can go further.”
“There are bigger issues around health concerns and food security. So why can’t we maximise their value and direct them into health-focused applications?” said Leong.
While these are practical aspirations, realising them requires addressing some challenges.
How to make upcycled foods mainstream?
Food businesses tend to be reluctant to make the switch, which Leong believes is the main barrier to making upcycled foods mainstream because this limits consumer exposure.
“Food manufacturers are busy enough. If they don’t see the financial benefits, why should they change their operations and source for food-grade upcycled byproducts?” said Leong.
“The government could, for example, provide incentives for collecting food grade spent grains from local food businesses. That way, they wouldn’t need to import these from overseas, which would lower their operating costs.”
KosmodeHealth also tries to make an example of how upcycled foods can be profitable through ProTEGO, which are sold via its website at SGD34 (USD26) for 10 packs of 80g noodles.
This is strategic and temporary – the higher pricing is intentional at the early stage not to make the product exclusive, but to inspire other companies to see value in developing similar upcycled innovations.
“At the moment, ProTEGO is priced like medicine,” Leong said.
“If I want to inspire others to create this type of product, it cannot start as a low-priced item. No one gets inspired to innovate for something that will end up on the shelves of a value store. They might do a good job expanding access, but it doesn’t motivate people to enter the space.
“It’s the same idea as Tesla – if Elon Musk had priced it like a budget car, no one would have been excited or inspired by the market. It was the premium positioning that made people pay attention,” explained Leong.
As part of its awareness campaign, ProTEGO noodles are featured in restaurant menus, where diners learn that Asian staples can be healthy and tasty.
“Asian staples are high in starch, which leads to a prevalence of diabetes among our populations. That is what W0W noodles are trying to address,” said Leong.
Expanding in Asia, where diabetes is prevalent
KosmodeHealth aims to expand beyond Singapore because the diabetes-related challenges it targets are far more pronounced across Asia, which is home to two-thirds of the world’s diabetic population – according to the International Diabetes Federation and the National Institutes of Health.
She noted that while Asia has a sizeable market for diabetic-friendly foods, most available products are Western-style items such as low-GI bread, granola bars and beverages – leaving a gap for solutions tailored to Asian eating habits, particularly carbohydrate-heavy staples.
“Going beyond Singapore is definitely part of the plan. Singapore is a good market to demonstrate proof of concept, but the health challenges we’re addressing – especially diabetes – are much bigger across Asia,” Leong said.
Given its mission and limited resources, the company is prioritising Asian markets, especially noodle-consuming countries with high diabetes rates, ageing populations and strong purchasing power, including Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Interest has also come from other South East Asian countries.
“We’ve also received queries from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. These markets show strong interest, but as a small company based in Singapore, we can’t build everything from scratch on our own. If partners in those countries are interested, then we can enable them,” said Leong.
Audrey Yow
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