Research in Progress
Ongoing research to help organisations make better decisions across Asia’s food systems.
Co-Creating a Research Agenda to Improve Evidence-Based Strategies in China
China plays a pivotal role in global animal welfare progress, but effective advocacy pathways remain insufficiently mapped. This project aims to bring advocates and researchers together to set an actionable agenda and to make sure findings are relevant, credible, and easy to use. We will learn what questions matter most and what kind of research is useful in their everyday work.
Chinese Consumer Perspectives on Aquatic Animals
China produces over half of the world’s farmed fish and crustaceans, but consumer views on aquatic animal welfare remain largely unknown. This study surveys 1,000 consumers in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen to understand awareness, trust in labeling, and willingness to pay for higher-welfare products. The findings will help advocacy organisations sharpen messaging, strengthen corporate engagement, and explore effective labeling strategies.
Research Highlights
We help organisations understand Asian consumers and stakeholders to develop effective strategies in the region.
Food Systems Advocacy In The Global South: A Framework And Pilot In India
Across the animal advocacy movement, there's growing recognition that a strategy's success is closely tied to the environment in which it's implemented. This pilot study proposes a practical framework for India that supports advocates and funders to design, adapt, and evaluate campaigns under India's contextual realities. With feedback from other advocates in the Global South, this framework can be refined and adapted to other contexts in the future.
Read the findings summary here.
Full report here.
Building Culturally-Resonant Plant-Based Campaigns: Audience Research in India
While general vegan advocacy campaigns focus on plant-based meal transitions, India's population requires a tailored approach that accounts for local preferences, food security issues, and societal structures. Commissioned by an international animal advocacy organisation operating in India, this research found consumer segments in selected cities that have high openness to plant-based eating, and explored messaging that may better resonate with them.
How To Message Plant-Based Diets And Products In Southeast Asia: A Social Media Analysis
In partnership with Faunalytics, this study employed social listening analysis to identify key beliefs and misconceptions for South East Asians around plant-based diets and alternative proteins. These findings present a key opportunity for advocates to better understand how this crucial region views plant-based diets and products — and, more importantly, they demonstrate how advocates can fine-tune their strategies to maximize positive impact for animals.
Read the findings summary here.
Full report here.
Ventures
Good Growth Ventures is our in-house space for turning research insights into early-stage ideas, pilots, and initiatives that can strengthen food systems in Asia.
Through our Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIR) programme, we support emerging leaders to develop and test concepts that respond to real gaps in the ecosystem.
The 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.
Co-Founder, 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.
Co-Founder, Head of Projects and Ops
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.
Our Specialists
We source and onboard the right people for your project
Mark McCoy
organisation strategy
With a background as an entrepreneur, coach, and strategy consultant, Mark supports leaders, startups, and institutions in the for-profit and non-profit sectors in meaningfully engaging with complexity. Most recently, Mark was a Principal with the consulting firm Incandescent, with a primary focus on strategy development and execution for clients in the non-profit sector.
Tracy Pun
strategy
After having worked as a Business Analyst at McKinsey and JPMorgan, Tracy now does research at Sanford Bernstein and offers strategy consulting for impact focused organizations.
David Manheim
research
David is an independent researcher working with several universities and research groups, including the Open Philanthropy Project. He is currently involved in understanding large scale risks to humanity in different domains, focusing on biosecurity and artificial intelligence alignment, looking at both technical issues in risk evaluation and public policy approaches. He completed his doctoral dissertation at Pardee RAND, part of the RAND Corporation.
Hendrik Kuhl
digital growth
Former managing director at Lion & Lion digital agency, Hong Kong, Hendrik is a business leader and strategic marketer. He is excited by analytical challenges, driving impact at scale and delivering business growth.
Natasha Williams
communications
Multidisciplinary communication specialist with more than 17 years at communication agencies, Natasha is highly experienced at creating and delivering effective multichannel communication campaigns (digital, events, social, traditional media), integrated communication strategy and planning (international and UK), and partnerships.
Graham Miao
product and growth
Graham is a project manager experienced in growth strategy, product research and localisation. He works with the Good Food Institute in China, and was previously an early employee at China’s first YC tech company Strikingly. He also leads the Shanghai Effective Altruism chapter and works on related China-facing initiatives.
Oliver Bramford
digital marketing
Digital Strategist for boutique branding & digital agency (‘14-’16) and freelance digital strategy consultant (‘16-’18). Advising CEOs and marketing managers. Co-authored Bottlenecks and Solutions for the X-risk Ecosystem report (2018). Facilitated launch of Effective Altruism Geneva’s policy research program. Former host at Impact Hub
Florent Berthet
operations
Entrepreneurship teacher at ECAM Lyon engineering school. Taught startup best practices, supervising more than a hundred entrepreneurship projects. Co-founded Effective Altruism France. Founded and managed a democratic school (Ecole Nikola Tesla). Co-authored Bottlenecks and Solutions for the X-risk Ecosystem report (2018)
Jah Ying Chung
partnerships
Built and sold Launchpilots, a sponsorship marketplace for student NGOs in Asia. Entrepreneur in residence with Swiss aid program in the Balkans and Hong Kong tech incubator. Growth consultant and advisor for startup and social business founders. Former climate campaigner in China and East Asia coordinator. Former associate in social incubation and venture philanthropy
