Singapore’s ImpacFat Launches Tokyo Hub for World’s First Cultivated Fish Fat

Singapore-based foodtech startup ImpacFat has announced its full-scale expansion into the Japanese market. At a press conference held on October 1, 2025, at Takanawa Gateway City in Tokyo, the company revealed strategic investments from Toyo Seikan Group (Japan’s largest packaging conglomerate), 144 Ventures (under the Leave a Nest Group), and ESCO Aster’s CEO personally, along with the establishment of a research and development hub in partnership with JR East (East Japan Railway Company).

ImpacFat is recognized as the world’s first company to successfully develop cultivated fish fat using stem cell technology. Led by founder Dr. Shigeki Sugii and CEO Mandy Hon (Both in the center of the team photo below), the company’s technology cultivates fish fat cells to produce high-quality fat rich in omega-3 fatty acids, free from ocean contaminants such as mercury and microplastics, while avoiding overfishing and environmental impacts. This Japanese market expansion represents a crucial step in accelerating business development across the Asia-Pacific region.

Notably, Toyo Seikan Group, Japan’s packaging industry leader, continues to invest in this sector. In 2020, the company participated in the Series A funding of Shiok Meats, a Singapore-based cultivated shrimp startup (Merged with Umami Bioworks in 2024). The investment in ImpacFat represents the second case demonstrating Toyo Seikan’s strategic commitment to the cell-based food sector.

A Researcher’s Discovery of “Good Fat” Potential

Dr. Sugii was originally a researcher specializing in fat and stem cells. His research career began with the medical applications of stem cells contained in human and mammalian adipose tissue. Adipose tissue is rich in mesenchymal stem cells, a field with high expectations for regenerative medicine and clinical applications.

However, Dr. Sugii decided to reconsider his research direction. While adipose stem cell research in the medical field was certainly important, many researchers had entered the space and competition intensified. It was then that he encountered the emerging field of cultivated meat and saw potential to apply his expertise there. While the main components of cultivated meat are muscle and fat, research at the time focused primarily on cultivating muscle tissue, with the fat component relatively neglected.

When we started, fat wasn’t getting much attention, so I thought that might be an area where we could contribute. Fat is often vilified, but it’s not as bad as people think. In fact, it contains many essential components we need.

Of course, excessive amounts aren’t good, and there are clearly harmful types of fat. But there are also fats that play crucial roles. Omega-3 is at the forefront of these. Fat cells actually play essential roles in maintaining life, but they become degraded through conditions like metabolic syndrome, obesity, and diabetes. Good quality fat is essential for our lives. (Dr. Sugii)

This desire to “spread awareness of good fat” led Dr. Sugii to fat research in cell-based foods.

ImpacFat was founded in 2022 as a spinoff from a research project at A*STAR (Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research). The project itself started around 2019-2020, and Dr. Sugii, conducting research at A*STAR’s government research institute, launched ImpacFat as a spinoff based on the resulting patents. Led by Dr. Sugii and Hon, the company has established a unique position by focusing on “fat”—an element often overlooked in the cultivated meat industry.

Why Fish Fat?

When beginning cultivated fat research, Dr. Sugii decided to focus on fish fat rather than the mammalian sources commonly consumed as meat. This choice involved nutritional considerations, technical challenges, and his identity as a Japanese researcher.

While mammalian fat can be produced using existing technology, it’s not necessarily ideal from a nutritional standpoint. Fish fat, on the other hand, is rich in omega-3 fatty acids essential for human health, particularly DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). If fish fat could be cultivated—either as the fat component of cultivated meat or as a standalone nutritional ingredient—it could contribute to developing healthier food products. Dr. Sugii also expressed his desire, as a Japanese person, to promote fish fat.

However, this choice presented a significant technical hurdle: no cell lines existed for cultivating fish fat. The early trial and error was challenging. Even when attempting to obtain fish from markets and isolate cells, they faced problems where cells could be separated but wouldn’t proliferate. Through continued research, however, they discovered cultivation conditions suitable for fish cells and succeeded in establishing quality cell lines.

Currently, ImpacFat’s primary cell line is established from pangasius, a white fish. Pangasius is a popular catfish species in Southeast Asia, also known as basa, and is commonly consumed in Singapore.

The pangasius cell line is excellent. It’s the easiest to cultivate. It proliferates quickly, grows rapidly, and has very high efficiency in differentiating into fat cells after proliferation. (Dr. Sugii)

Starting research with fish available in Singapore’s local market ultimately led to discovering the optimal cell line. Beyond pangasius, ImpacFat has established cell lines from multiple fish species, including Japanese eel and seabass. However, considering commercialization, they needed to select the cell line most suitable for scale-up and mass production, currently focusing on pangasius-derived cells.

ImpacFat’s cultivated fish fat offers several important advantages compared to existing fish oil supplements.

Advantage 1: Stability

The most notable feature is its stability. While DHA and EPA are beneficial omega-3 fatty acids, they have a major weakness: they oxidize easily. Fish oil often contains added antioxidants, but it remains vulnerable to long-term storage and temperature changes. In ImpacFat’s cultivated fat, these components are contained within cells, preventing oxidation. Protected by cell membranes acting as natural capsules, the delicate omega-3 fatty acids remain stable.

Advantage 2: Absorption Efficiency and Brain Delivery

Even more intriguing is the absorption efficiency and brain delivery. Fish oil faces difficulty reaching the brain. The brain has a strict barrier called the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which only specific lipid forms can cross.

When DHA and EPA are inside cells, they’re said to pass through the brain barrier more easily. While we haven’t completely proven this yet, theoretically, DHA and EPA within cells should have better absorption efficiency and pass through the brain barrier more easily, making them more likely to reach the brain. The reason eating fish is said to be better than fish oil supplements relates to this. We believe this provides an advantage. (Dr. Sugii)

ImpacFat’s cultivated fish fat may replicate this “eating fish” effect.

Advantage 3: Purity and Safety

The fish oil market includes inferior products with concerns about contamination from mercury, microplastics, and other pollutants. ImpacFat’s cultivated fat, produced in clean environments, has no possibility of contamination from heavy metals, microplastics, pathogens, or other pollutants that fish might accumulate during their lifetime. In an era of worsening ocean pollution, this becomes an increasingly important advantage.

Interestingly, while using white fish cells, they can achieve omega-3 content exceeding that of oily fish. While oily fish often don’t reach the daily recommended intake, ImpacFat’s products contain enough DHA and EPA to exceed daily recommendations with just 10 grams of consumption. The ability to optimize nutritional composition during cultivation is a unique advantage of cultivation technology. While omega-3 content in natural fish varies by species and growing environment, cultivation can guarantee consistent high quality.

Initial Products: Supplements and Cosmetics

While many cell-based food startups aim to develop alternative meat, ImpacFat adopts a different strategy. The company’s first market products will likely be omega-3 supplements and cosmetics using oil extracted from cultivated fat, rather than food products.

This strategy has clear reasoning. For cosmetics, they’ve essentially cleared both cost and scale challenges, reaching the stage where only productization remains. While awaiting regulatory approval for food products, they aim to secure revenue and stabilize operations with products that can reach market more quickly.

Cosmetic applications can utilize not only fat cells but also stem cells from earlier stages. Adipose stem cells secrete various beneficial substances for skin, including collagen and antioxidants, which can serve as cosmetic ingredients.

Human adipose stem cells are already used as cosmetic ingredients. Dr. Sugii himself previously worked with human adipose stem cells used in commercial products. However, regulatory issues exist: while Japan and South Korea allow human-derived ingredients in cosmetics, Southeast Asia and Europe prohibit them. ImpacFat’s fish-derived stem cells would be permitted in these regions. Additionally, fish-derived components may be more readily accepted by human skin. Fish cartilage components, for instance, may benefit human skin.

Odor concerns are also minimal. Under normal conditions, no particular smell has been confirmed.

ImpacFat’s products offer clear differentiation for omega-3 supplements as well. Using white fish cells, they can achieve omega-3 content exceeding that of oily fish. Successfully enriching DHA and EPA during cultivation, just 10 grams provides sufficient omega-3 to exceed daily recommendations.

Through this phased approach, ImpacFat aims to secure initial revenue through supplements and cosmetics while refining technology, reducing costs, and ultimately offering food-grade cultivated fish fat at accessible prices. While diversifying revenue streams is common in the cell-based food industry, ImpacFat’s choice to target the relatively accessible cosmetics market is distinctive.

Strategic Partnerships with Packaging Leader and Deep Tech Investor

A notable aspect of this Japanese market entry is the strategic investment from Toyo Seikan Group, Japan’s largest packaging company. The company’s continued investment in cell-based food signals the technology’s future potential, given its deep roots in the food and beverage industry.

In 2020, Toyo Seikan Group participated in the Series A funding of Shiok Meats, a Singapore-based cultivated shrimp startup. That investment demonstrated the company’s interest in cell-based food supply chain development. ImpacFat’s investment represents a continuation and deepening of that strategy.

Kozue Toyama, General Manager of Business Development and Marketing Department at Toyo Seikan Group Holdings, explains that their connection with ImpacFat developed through relationships with Dr. Sugii during his time at A*STAR, expanding through multiple ecosystem stakeholders including JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization) and ultimately leading to collaboration. Dr. Sugii and Hon have met repeatedly with Toyo Seikan Group executives and research institute members.

Dr. Sugii and Mandy are very sincere people with a genuine commitment to and consumer needs—that was my first impression. Our executives also have high expectations, believing they can work together with Toyo Seikan Group’s researchers and developers. We expect they can overcome challenges together, even in difficult new businesses and new food development. (Toyama)

Toyo Seikan Group’s interest likely encompasses both supply chain and packaging technology. This emerging category of cell-based food requires new packaging solutions. Developing packaging technology that maximizes cultivated fish fat characteristics—temperature control, oxygen barriers, shelf-life extension—could form the basis for mutually beneficial collaboration.

The simultaneously announced investment from 144 Ventures, under the Leave a Nest Group, is also significant. Leave a Nest occupies a unique position in Japan’s deep tech startup ecosystem, operating programs like Tech Planter to support researcher-entrepreneurs.

Dr. Sugii and Leave a Nest CEO Yukihiro Maru have a long-standing relationship. Celligenics, a Singaporean biotech startup Dr. Sugii previously co-founded, won the Grand Prize at the 3rd Biotech Grand Prix under Leave a Nest’s Tech Planter program, a research-based venture support initiative. This long-term trust led to the current investment.

Additionally, personal investment from ESCO Aster CEO XL Lin was announced. ESCO Aster, a Singapore-based life science equipment manufacturer producing biosafety cabinets and CO₂ incubators, strategically invests in ImpacFat’s technology from the position of providing equipment necessary for cell-based food. The company also plans to establish operations at Takanawa Gateway for research and development, suggesting ImpacFat’s Japanese hub will form an international collaborative network.

Tokyo Hub: Establishing R&D Base in New Life Sciences District

ImpacFat’s Japanese hub is located at LiSH (Link Scholars’ Hub) within Takanawa Gateway City in Tokyo. LiSH is a life science-focused shared laboratory facility operated by JR East (East Japan Railway Company), one of Japan’s major railway operators. Various life science companies occupy the facility, with management handled by Leave a Nest.

An interesting connection exists between ImpacFat, Takanawa Gateway, and Singapore. Dr. Sugii and Toyama first met at One&Co., a coworking space JR East operates in Singapore. The Shinagawa-Tamachi area where Takanawa Gateway is located increasingly attracts major pharmaceutical companies, research institutions, and startups.

ImpacFat initially considered dividing business development in Tokyo and research development in Singapore, but because collaboration with Japanese companies includes research development, they decided to locate both functions in Tokyo. While distance between Singapore and Japan made research collaboration challenging, conducting it at Takanawa Gateway enables smoother progress.

Finding Japanese market collaboration partners will accelerate from this hub. Hon notes that Japanese companies, particularly those in food-related sectors, express interest in research from a future-of-food perspective. They particularly seek partners in supplements and cosmetics. While they have collaboration partners outside Japan—especially in Singapore and South Korea—they want to expand in Japan.

The reason is clear: Japan has rigorous quality control and long history in both cosmetics and nutritional supplements. Partnering with such companies could enable higher-quality product development, Hon expects.

In Singapore, many foodtech exhibitions and international conferences are held, providing many opportunities to meet various people. However, for supplements and cosmetics industries, we don’t yet have sufficient networks. By establishing operations in Tokyo, we want to connect with such companies. We want to use this Japanese market entry as an opportunity to begin full-scale market development. (Hon)

Currently, ImpacFat’s business development centers on the Asia-Pacific region, though they have broader interest in the American market. This Japanese market entry means more than simple market expansion for ImpacFat. It represents a crucial step in building a cell-based food ecosystem across the Asia-Pacific region, attempting to fuse Singapore’s technology with Japan’s manufacturing and quality control expertise.

The cell-based food industry remains in its infancy. However, companies like ImpacFat are proving the industry’s viability by building strategic partnerships and pursuing phased market entry. Innovation beginning in the seemingly modest field of fish fat may someday become a crucial piece of the food sustainability revolution.