Disruptr: Justin Chan, Founder & Director of Snappea
Share with us on what you do and what inspired you to start the business.
- Snappea is a dairy-free company where we produce dairy alternative products using mainly one of the most sustainable food sources in the world, yellow peas. We are also the 1st and no.1 pea milk brand in Asia.
- The idea of producing milk out of peas came from this famous sustainability study done by the University of Oxford in 2018. The study suggested that the single easiest way for anyone of us to cut down on our carbon footprint is not by driving less, but reduce our dairy and meat consumption. The research showed that if we remove meat and dairy from our diet, we are able to reduce our carbon food print from food by a staggering 75%, which is incredible.
- We were looking at the plant-based milk options available out there. Although there were almond and oat milks in the market, they are always nutritiously inferior compared to cow’s milk and some of them aren’t as sustainable as we thought. Just for example, almond milk only contains 1g of protein, which is 8X less than cow’s milk. In addition, almond is a very thirsty crop and each piece of it requires up to 4 litres of water to harvest, which is insane.
- Hence, in search for the best milk alternatives, we found that peas were actually the answer all along. It is one of the most sustainable food sources in the world and pound for pound, pea farming emits 500X less carbon emission than beef. It also requires the least amount water to produce the same amount of protein contents among all the crops. And hence, we created Snappea, a dairy-milk alternative with high content of plant-based protein and zero cholesterol.
What has the journey been like?
- It has been an interesting journey. Fun fact: Snappea was actually launched right at the beginning of the pandemic, which was in May 2020. It was an interesting period because with the lockdown, we couldn’t launch our products through the normal retail channels but we produced the 1st batch of Snappea to be launched. Hence, we had to pivot and launch Snappea purely online.
- And to our surprise, people were actually opened to try out a new product category like Snappea based on the marketing communication we pushed out via our social media. And now, you could find Snappea not just online, but also in over 1000 retail outlets including many retail chains such as Jaya Grocer, Village Grocer, 7-Eleven, Aeon, Mynews, Emart-24 and more.
Biggest achievement and what is one regret that you wish you had or had not done?
- Biggest achievement would definitely be receiving Cradle Fund and closing our series A funding in the 2nd year of Snappea. In terms of regrets, I couldn’t really think of any because I believe that everything is assumption until we do it. Once we do it, it becomes a lesson learnt.
Where do you see yourself in the next 1 year?
- In the next 12 months, we will be focusing on making pea milk as accessible as possible to the end consumers, not just in Malaysia but also across other APAC markets, including Singapore and Hong Kong. We aim to have over 2000 retail points carrying Snappea in the coming months. We will also have product extension to bring more dairy alternative products to our customers.
Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
- We hope to see pea milk as a category to be as big as oat milk in the next 5 years and Snappea will continue to grow via product extension and regional expansion. We goal is to be the no.1 leading brand in the dairy alternative market in the region.
What keeps you going to keep running the business?
- My biggest satisfaction comes from customers seeing the values behind the products we created. When customers choose the products we have created, that shows we are adding values to the society. That kind of recognition from customers is extremely fulfilling and it keeps us going as a company.
What is one local startup you would like to work together with and why?
- Rather than a hypothetical question, we actually have worked with Carching, a local startup which provides additional income to drivers through advertisement, for a merdeka campaign recently. It was a meaningful collaboration as it created brand awareness for Snappea on the road while providing side income to the local drivers. Win-win!
Who is one founder (local or international) that you look up to?
- One of my favourite founders was Tadashi Yanai, the founder of Uniqlo. I am a big follower minimalist lifestyle and Uniqlo just provides all my clothing needs: affordable price, comfortable fitting with timeless design.
- Tadashi’s book, “One Win Nine Losses”, tells the whole story about entrepreneurship. One should seek just one victory in life because success is built upon countless failures. When we see failures as the stepping stones to success, it simply helps us to stay resilient in the face of challenges.
Why should investors invest in your startup?
- If you believe in plant-based diet and alternative protein, have a chat with our team at Snappea and let’s make a splash together in the dairy-alternative world.