Accelerating the growth of ethical and sustainable food systems in Asia with actionable research and design
Read our latest research
Discover general population trends, different customer personas and product/market strategies for plant-based meat in China, as found by Good Growth's proprietary mixed-methods study.
How familiar are Chinese consumers with plant-based meat?
Our study published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics looked at Chinese consumers’ diets, familiarity with plant-based meat, how they feel about these products, and which attitudes and demographic characteristics were associated with willingness to purchase.
Read summarised findings in this blog post.
What are the different types of Chinese consumers?
We drilled deeper into different consumer personas based on their motivators for food consumption, and found 5 different personas with varying levels of potential for plant-based meat consumption.
Read our report for product/marketing strategies for plant-based meat in China here.
About Us
At Good Growth, we work with alternative protein companies, animal welfare nonprofits and social impact funders to understand consumers, scope new markets and prototype products & programmes.
Our Vision
A sustainable food system that ensures the well-being of both humans and animals.
Our Mission
Accelerating the growth of ethical and sustainable food systems in Asia with actionable research and design
Our Clients
We support local and international organisations to build ethical and sustainable food systems in Asia.
Food Systems & Animal Welfare Nonprofits
We help organisations understand Asian markets, assess threats, identify opportunities, and find talent for potential expansion.
Alternative Protein Companies and Investors
We help companies looking to assess and enter markets in Asia, and provide investors with insights that aid deal decisions while supporting existing portfolio companies.
Research Organisations and Funders
We help funders looking for Asian-based researchers to tackle a list of prioritised research questions and/or RFPs. Looking for an Asia-based contractor to help deliver international research? We can help!
Our Work
Some of the research and studies we have done so far
Chinese Consumer Attitudes Toward Animal Welfare
We partnered with Faunalytics to conduct focus groups regarding the attitudes of Chinese consumers towards meat consumption, the concept of farmed animal welfare, and tested different types of messaging.
We found nuanced perceptions towards meat, animal welfare and health, and shared recommendations for stakeholders working in the ecosystem.
Capacity Building Gaps within Farm Animal Welfare/Vegan Organisations in Asia
Commissioned by Animal Advocacy Africa, we sought out to understand the challenges and needs faced by FAW/vegan organisations in Asia.
The findings and recommendations are intended for funders and capacity builders in the region who want to find actionable, effective ways to grow the movement in the region.
Understanding the Plant-based Market in China
Using a survey of 1200+ consumers, 10 focus groups and a series of food diaries, we tried to uncover motivations behind why people eat what they eat, and what may trigger them to try/buy plant-based meat.
To understand more about the general population, read our blog post here, and the peer-reviewed study can be found here.
For a deeper dive into consumer personas for plant-based meat, read our report below.
Growing A Community: How To Support Farmed Animal Protection In China
Our lead researcher, Jah Ying, partnered with Faunalytics to conduct a study of farmed animal welfare-related advocates in China. The report identified key challenges and bottlenecks to growing the movement, as well as opportunities for capacity building and advocacy.
China Alternative Protein Data Catalogue
A working prototype of a database that aggregates industry data sets to provide a consolidated view of China’s alternative protein industry.
We are continuing to explore ways on how we can make data useful for advocates and companies. Message us if you have ideas on how we can work together!
New Business Ideas to Support the Plant-based Industry in Asia
We worked with a client to identify business opportunities and come up with a business plan. The business model would revolve around helping industry players grow the market for plant-based food products in one of the biggest countries in Asia.
Industry Landscape and Consumer Perceptions on Farmed Animals in Thailand and Inodnesia
We worked with a client to conduct research on the production systems, animal welfare standards, market for animal products and alternative protein in these two Southeast Asian countries. We also conducted a quantitative survey to understand what consumers understood and thought of farmed animal welfare, as well as motivators for purchasing food.
Our Team
We bring together professionals across academia, business and design to deliver rigorous and actionable research. With a network across the globe, we bring multicultural, interdisciplinary perspectives to research and design.
Founder and Lead Researcher
Jah Ying is a social and market researcher, with 10 years of experience working with NGOs, social enterprises and startups across Asia and Europe. Her recent work focuses on the animal welfare and alternative protein industry in Asia, including consumer studies on attitudes towards plant-based products and farmed animal welfare in China, as well as landscape analyses of animal advocacy across Asia.
She is currently studying the intersection of farmed animal welfare and organisational decision-making at the University of Sydney, aiming to apply academic research and entrepreneurial experience to develop effective tools for animal advocacy in Asia. Previously, Jah Ying founded and sold a student sponsorship startup, and led climate change campaigns in China and East Asia.
Head of Projects and Operations
Ella is an experienced project manager in user research and stakeholder engagement. She has led stakeholder and market research projects related to the alt protein industry in China, as well as the animal advocacy movement in Asia. She is also in charge of the distribution of research insights and general operations for Good Growth.
Prior to joining, she was involved in running sustainability-related training programmes for corporates and government bodies. She also has experience in UX research & design and stakeholder management for a top property developer in Hong Kong and Mainland China. In her spare time, you can find her trying the latest plant-based protein products around town.
Researcher
Jack is a Researcher and Writer at Good Growth. He has 6 years of experience working with academic institutions and NGOs in Asia, Europe and Africa. He started his career in China, where he spent over 4 years conducting ethnographic research with the Hmong/ Miao ethnic group with various academic and NGO research projects.
Since graduating from a second MA in International Development from Sciences Po, Paris, in 2020, he has conducted research on hospital resilience in China, on movement growth for climate organisations, and on innovation in the nonprofit sector.
In his spare time, he loves playing percussive guitar, freediving, playing 5-a-side football and cooking ridiculously spicy Chinese food. He speaks fluent Chinese, English and French, and is proficient in Hmong and Japanese.
Our Advisors
A panel of expert researchers and industry professionals advise the direction and strategy of our organisation
Dr. Jo Anderson (she/her) is the Research Director at Faunalytics, a nonprofit organization that provides research and data to empower animal advocates in their work. She has a PhD in social psychology from the University of Waterloo and completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at Cornell University.
With over a decade of social science research experience, Jo has led and supervised studies pertaining to individual, institutional, and corporate animal advocacy efforts. In addition to directing Faunalytics' research program, she is also a co-leader of the RECAP (Research to End Consumption of Animal Products) researcher collective and an Adjunct Research Professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.
Dr. Michelle Sinclair is an International Animal Welfare Program Director, an academic and an author from Australia. Michelle moved to the USA to join the team at Harvard Law School Animal Law & Policy Program where she has been conducting her work since 2021.
Academically, Michelle is a cross-cultural anthrozoologist with qualifications in psychology, human resources and animal welfare. Aiming to better understand the stakeholders capable of making impactful change for animals around the world, such as livestock leaders in Asia, she conducts collaborative research to identify barriers, opportunities, mutual benefits and solutions with the goal of engaging traditionally adversarial parties into strategic collaboration to improve animal welfare.
Michael Tam is an optimist and creative at heart. As the Global Design Director at IBM iX, the experience design consulting arm of IBM, he helps enterprise clients place HUMAN at the centre of Why and How their business should Think, Act, and Innovate.
A true restless soul, Michael is also an Education Designer who teaches UX Design at Happyer Skills while serving as a Global Mentor & Board Advisor for ADPList, a platform that aims to make mentorship accessible to everyone.
Having spent half his life in New Zealand and done over a decade of storytelling for brands, Michael now lives every day like a prototype.
Zhao Zhong is the founder and director of Green Camel Bell, a grass-root environmental NGO in Northwest China. At the local level, he conducts a range of programs and projects focusing on environmental education, water pollution monitoring, and community-based eco-agriculture and sustainable development. At the national level, he promotes and researches public participation in environmental decision-making and provides training and mentorship to grassroots partners. He also promotes responsible green investment overseas.
He was a Hubert H. Humphrey fellow in 2015-16 at the University of California, Davis on Natural Resources Management and Climate Change. In 2009, he was named a “Hero of the Environment” by Time magazine, and in 2017, he was nominated as an Asia 21 Young Leader by Asia Society. Zhong received his Bachelor’s degree in Electronic and Information Engineering from the Hefei University of Technology and a Master degree of Laws from the University of Hong Kong.
