WTH Foods

Food insecurity is a huge problem in the Philippines. Annually 13 million tons ($10 billion worth) of produce are lost before reaching consumers, yet 1/3 of Filipino children suffer from hunger and malnutrition.

WTH Foods is a plant-based food innovation company based in Manila, Philippines. Together with Good Food Community, we combine community shared agriculture and plant-based food processing to solve food insecurity.

Our solution is both packaging and a business model innovation. We purchase directly from community farmers. Then, we create nutritious plant-based versions of well-loved Filipino food in our facility.

In 6 months we saved 10 tons of seasonal produce. This represents $10,000 in income for farmers, and 40,000 nutritious meals for our customers.

Our vision is to replicate this model across the Philippines. In the next 5-10 years we hope to bring our model to other Southeast Asian countries with similar problems in food insecurity.

Food insecurity is a huge problem in the Philippines. Annually 13 million tons of fruits and vegetables end up as food loss. This represents a loss of $10 billion in income for 13 million smallholder farmers in the Philippines. Globally, 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted annually. 40% of fruits and vegetables and 30% of all grains end up as food loss or food waste. On the other hand 25 million Filipinos suffer from hunger and malnutrition. 

The growing affluence of Asia is also causing the rise in meat consumption and livestock farming. Annually 25 million metric tons of pork and beef are consumed in Southeast Asia. Globally 100 million metric tons of pork and beef are consumed annually. These contribute to loss of biodiversity. The UN estimates that Southeast Asia has lost 80 million hectares of forest to agriculture from 2005 to 2015. 

 In the Philippines the unique combination of these two food system problems present an exciting opportunity for WTH Foods to execute an equally novel solution.

Our solution is the combined model of community shared agriculture and plant-based food processing. It is both a packaging and a business model innovation. It is hitting two birds with one stone.

Community shared agriculture is a system that connects the producer and consumers within the food system through commitment to the harvest of a farming community. Our company purchases local seasonal produce from our partner small-scale farmers. 

In our processing facility our food science team works with local ingredients to create plant-based versions of well-loved Filipino meat dishes, such as lechon. Our products are packaged to be shelf-stable and have a long shelf life, allowing us to reach more consumers throughout the year.

We believe our solution sustains all stakeholders in the food supply chain - the farmers, the consumers, the animals and the planet.

Our target population is the 3 million small-scale, community-based fruit and vegetable farmers in the Philippines. We currently have 3 partner farming communities - citrus farmers of the lowlands of Tarlac, fruits and vegetable farmers from the mountainous forests of Bauko, Benguet, and root crop farmers from Bulacan. Majority of them are the poorest of the poor, and depend on the natural environment for their livelihood. The adults suffer from inconsistent income, and their children suffer hunger and malnutrition. 

Our on-the-ground partner, Good Food Community, visits these farming communities monthly to understand their needs. The team engages with the farmers and forges partnerships to supply us with seasonal, local produce. Through community shared agriculture we purchase whatever produce they grow on the land. This solution allows them to propagate crops suitable in their areas, maintain their ways of life, and provide them with a more stable source of income. 

WTH Foods produces plant-based versions of Filipino meat dishes. Through food processing, the company creates shelf-stable products with long shelf life. This solution encourages the use of seasonal local crops, reduces food loss and food waste, and effectively gives market access to our partner farmers.

As a plant-based protein company, WTH Foods primarily contributes to the promotion to the shift towards low-impact, diverse and nutritious diets. Interestingly through our use of local seasonal produce in our products and the model of community shared agriculture, we also contribute to the improvement of supply chain practices to reduce food loss and scaling new business models for producer-market connection. Our solution leverages the growing trend of the plant-based lifestyle in Asia to create food innovations that sustain all stakeholders in the food supply chain - the consumers, the farmers, animals, and the planet.

We give 'farm-to-table' concept a whole new meaning. Most packaged food are known to be highly processed, low in nutrition and high in preservatives. The plant-based brands available in the market, such as Impossible and Beyond, do not take into account the producers. Importing these brands into Asia only worsens the very problems of an already destroyed global food system. On the other hand local fruits and vegetables wholesalers and distributors are known to take advantage of farmers in terms of farm gate prices and themselves suffer up to 40% food losses, through lack of post harvest processing and decent transportation. 

We do not know of any organization that has thought of combining community shared agriculture with plant-based food processing to create a product that sustains all stakeholders in the food supply chain - farmers, consumers, animals, and the planet.

The core technology at WTH Foods is plant-based food processing and packaging. We are able to create plant-based meat from local ingredients, such as jackfruit, mung beans, cassava and coconut. Our expertise is creating Asian and Filipino dishes, such as adobo and lechon. Our products undergo thermal (retort) processing and packaging in pouches that allows them to be shelf stable with a shelf-life of up to 2 years.

The food processing and packaging technologies we use have been around for a few decades. Retort processing has been widely employed in military ready-to-eat meals around the world. We are using this established technology in a new business model. 

The attached image is a representation of our Theory of Change

Currently we serve around 300 members of small-scale farming communities. With more funding, we are aiming to increase our impact ten-fold, working with 3,000 farmers. In 5 years, we hope to replicate our model across Southeast Asia, targeting 100,000 farmers.

In the next 5-10 years we aim to continually expand our mission of food innovation that benefits all stakeholders - consumers, farmers, animals and the environment. Through plant-based food processing and community shared agriculture, we will be at the forefront in preserving biodiversity through the reduction of meat consumption and encouraging the use of seasonal and local produce. As we continue to grow, we aim to expand our model across Southeast Asia, where meat consumption is ever increasing and is a region with the fastest rate of environmental degradation. Sadly Southeast Asia is also home to the poorest farmers in the world. We aim to create an alliance with local food organizations with the same mission to further expand our impact.

As we are a relatively young organization, we are still building our brand's traction. The bigger the traction the larger our impact would be. 

We are in need of funds, as we push for growth and aim to replicate our business model across the Philippines. 

We are also looking for a toll manufacturer, who has the scale to produce our products and make it truly accessible. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has also exposed vulnerabilities in the local supply chain. The lack of public transportation during the lockdown disrupted our operations and led to loss of business.

We need time and money to build our brand. As part of the Big Idea Ventures accelerator program in Singapore and the large Thought for Food community, we are leveraging on their wide network of experts and mentors for advice, as well as connections to potential investors.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us lessons in business resiliency. We are crafting our business continuity plans that will be put into practice when unforeseen disruptive events occur, such as disasters.

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WTH Foods has 7 full-time staff, 4 part-time staff. Good Food Community has 4 full-time staff, and 2 part-time staff.

We are the only organization in the Philippines that understands and balances sustainability in terms of business and social impact in the food and agricultural sector. Our diverse and experienced team is composed of 7 core members from different backgrounds but share the same vision in creating sustainable food systems. Each member has at least 5 years experience in the agrifood sector. Some of our member's expertise include food manufacturing, sales, food science R&D, recipe development, community organizing, project management. 

The solution itself is a partnership between WTH Foods and Good Food Community. Good Food Community implements the community shared agriculture, while WTH Foods processes and packages the seasonal produce into plant-based meat. 

WTH Foods has been selected as a 2020 global finalist of the Thought For Food (TFF) Challenge. The team taps the wide network of the TFF community that includes mentors and organizations that work towards improving food systems.

WTH Foods is also an incubated company of Big Idea Ventures accelerator program Singapore. Big Idea Ventures invests in alternative protein companies. The team taps its technical and business mentors as it tries to grow its presence in the Philippines.

Looking at the Social Business Model Canvas, our key resources include the team, stable revenue stream, access to our beneficiaries and customers. Our key stakeholders include our partner farmers and customers. Key activities include engaging with and purchasing from farming communities, plant-based food processing and selling to customers. 

Our product is a ready-to-eat, packaged plant-based meat that will be sold in B2C (online) and B2B (restaurants, groceries) channels. Our beneficiaries are small-scale community-based farmers, our customers include young professionals, grocery owners and restaurateurs. Our unique value proposition is a plant-based product made with seasonal local ingredients that sustain all stakeholders - the consumers, the producers and the planet. 

Our main impact measures will be tons of produce utilized, as well as additional income for our partner farmers. We will also aim to measure our contributions against relevant Sustainable Development Goals indicators, such as SDG 12.3.1 (Food Losses Index) and SDG 12.3.2 (Food Waste Index) by monitoring progress on the supply side of the food chain for the seasonal crops that we utilize.

Most of our expenses for the next two years will be in R&D, growth and capacity building of farmers. Our main source of revenue will be sales of products. Profit will be re-invested for growth. Our closest social enterprise model is market intermediary.

The Solver network will be a good resource for strategic partners and funding or investment that can help us grow and scale our impact across the Southeast Asian region. We look forward to the 9-month mentorship program that can guide us in implementing our plans effectively. Being part of the Solve and MIT networks will give us the necessary exposure we need to give our mission more attention on a global scale.

In order for us to reach our goals, we seek partnerships that can help us in the following:

- refine our business model or provide guidance in the creation of new revenue streams

- build a clear case of investment for our solution

- assemble a board of advisors that provides a network for our fundraising and growth

- provide us with necessary marketing, media and exposure for our fundraising campaigns in 2020.

Our team wishes to partner with organizations or individuals who have had experience in the following areas:

- plant-based protein innovations and manufacturing

- community shared agriculture

- impact investing

We wish to bring these organizations or people in as members of our board of advisors