CRUST Group Expands Into Japan With New Strategic Investments and Collaborations

Singapore, November 1, 2021 - Singapore-based food tech company CRUST Group has expanded its presence in the Japan market by announcing a new round of strategic investors and collaborations today. The company has received new investments from Leave A Nest Singapore, Glocalink Singapore, Ales Global, and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital (MSIVC), the corporate venture arm of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance under MS & AD Insurance Group.

CRUST Lager and CRUST Pilsner in Hakuba, Japan

Source: CRUST Group

With this new round of investment, CRUST Group will work closely with its partners to develop new upcycled products in Japan with the aim of creating more partnerships with businesses in food service and retail. The company recently collaborated with Leave A Nest Group, Cafe Company Inc., Vector Beer, and Maison Kayser to launch a pale ale made with surplus bread from Maison Kaiser. The collaboration brew will be distributed through Cafe Company subsidiary GOOD EAT COMPANY’s e-commerce platform called GOOD EAT CLUB and its cafe and marketplace at GOOD EAT VILLAGE called PUBLIC HOUSE Yoyogi Uehara, which is opening November 10, 2021. Along with Leave A Nest, Glocalink Singapore, Ales Global, and MSIVC will further support CRUST Group's accelerated expansion in Japan.

"We are excited to partner with strategic investors such as Leave A Nest, Glocalink, Ales Global and MSIVC for our expansion in Japan. Working alongside strong investors who are dedicated to the SDGs, we’ll be able to pioneer the upcycled movement in Japan and shift the way we manufacture beverages for the better,” says Travin Singh, Founder & CEO of CRUST Group.

CRUST Japan’s collaboration brew with Leave A Nest, Cafe Company, Vector Beer, and Maison Kayser. Source: CRUST Group

Earlier this year, CRUST Group participated in Tech Planter organised by Leave a Nest Singapore and were eventually selected as one of five startups to participate in Leave A Nest’s Enter to Japan Market Program 2021. The company recently took home the prestigious SIGMAXYZ award at this year’s Food Tech Grand Prix.

CRUST Japan’s General Manager Hiroki Yoshida took the stage at this year’s Food Tech Grand Prix to receive the prestigious SIGMAXYZ award.

Source: ©Miyography

The company also participated in Enterprise Singapore (ESG)’s Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) program to further expand its footprint in Japan and recently joined the Circular Food Promotion Working Team, a project launched by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The company has also brought on two key advisors in Japan - Hironori Ishizaki, CEO of Ales Global and Seiichi Mizuno, lecturer, politician, and former president of Seibu Department Stores.

Hironori Ishizaki [Left], Seiichi Mizuno [Right]

Source: CRUST Group

Founded in 2019, CRUST Group upcycle surplus ingredients like bread and food waste like fruit peels into unique products like CRUST sustainable beers and CROP functional drinks. The company works closely with partners in the food service and retail industry such as restaurants, hotels, and supermarkets to create its products.

With the increasing scarcity of resources and limited agricultural expansion in land-scarce countries such as Singapore and Japan, food waste and loss is high on many countries' food security agenda. According to the UN, the global cost of food waste amounts to a shocking US$2.6 trillion a year. In 2018, 6 billion kgs of food was lost and wasted in Japan, approximately the amount of food the 13 million residents of Tokyo consume in a year.

Working with its strategic partners in Singapore and Japan, CRUST Group aims to continue partnering with more aligned businesses by empowering them to reduce and repurpose their food waste and loss and turn it into value-added products.

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About CRUST Group

Based on a belief in a more circular economy, CRUST Group is a food tech startup on a mission to fight food waste by upcycling surplus ingredients into unique beverages for food service and retail partners CRUST Group works with businesses in food service and retail to turn surplus ingredients like bread and waste like fruit peels into unique products like CRUST sustainable beers and CROP functional beverages.

The company aims to empower businesses in food service and retail to upcycle their food waste and loss into high-value products. You can find out more at www.crust-group.com. #saveacrust

CRUST Group

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CRUST JAPAN

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For media enquiries, please contact:

Shen Ming Lee, Group Chief Marketing Officer

shen@crust-group.com

Yu Shimizu, Marketing Executive (CRUST Japan)

yu@crust-group.com