Didi Gan had an epiphany during a Lunar New Year family gathering. Amid the clatter of nutshells and mandarin orange peel, she pondered: What if she could transform these remnants of feasting into something that’d help save the planet?
ViKang was born from that brain wave. It is the world’s first edible, non-toxic antibacterial agent made entirely from recycled food waste, and it effectively eliminates 99.9 percent of bacteria, pollutants, and viruses. The innovative, versatile solution can be incorporated into products ranging from disinfectants and face masks to food-grade plastics.
Developed by Gan and Dr Jaslyn Lee, her former biomedical science university classmate and N&E Innovations Co-founder, ViKang embodies their mission to marry sustainability with medical technology.
While upcycling food waste is nothing new, turning it into a nontoxic, natural antimicrobial agent is revolutionary. She declares proudly: “N&E Innovations is the first in the world to do so.”
In addition to banana peels, her company uses durian husks and cashew nut husks, the last of which Gan has experience handling. During her childhood, she moulded “cakes” from nut waste at her family’s melon seed shop in Chinatown.
In 2020, during the early days of Covid-19, Gan quit her job as a textile company managing director to establish N&E Innovations with Lee. Named after her two older children—besides Nathaniel, 12, and Emma, eight, she also has an 18-month-old toddler, Asher—the business began in her home.
Calfskin trench, from Tod’s.
“We couldn’t leave our houses during lockdown, so I converted a spare room into our lab.” They decided to make a sanitiser first. “Having bad eczema, Emma cries when she uses toxic alcohol sanitisers. We wanted to create one with natural ingedients that kills viruses and bacteria.”
The experiments began immediately. Both spent hours milling and grinding scraps in the home lab using whatever was thrown away from their kitchens such as mandarin orange peel and grape skin. Lee camped at Gan’s and both worked through many nights to check on the bioreactions of the different ingredients.
The formula for ViKang was developed in late 2021 after thousands of iterations. Gan’s face lit up when she received the lab results showing ViKang’s effectiveness, calling it her “proudest moment”. “We were both exhausted from the long days, but we shared a nice whisky to celebrate.”
Vi-Mask was N&E Innovations’ first product. This N95-certified nanotech antiviral mask was launched in late 2021, and is still available online. It filters out dust, bacteria, and virus particles, but goes one step further by eradicating viruses on the surface with a ViKang coating. A version in batik-print was produced for Singapore Airlines.
Silk blend jacket and matching trousers, both from Loro Piana.
VIKANG FOR ALL ASPECTS OF LIFE
Gan has been working hard to push the company further and faster since the pandemic ended. As cashews, bananas, and durians are grown and consumed regularly, she believes the team will never run out of ingredients.
Durian husks and banana peels are sourced from Malaysia, while cashew shells come from Vietnam. Though she declines to elaborate on how the husks are obtained, she reveals that the team sometimes visits durian stalls around Singapore to acquire husks. “During the low season, we ask stall owners to keep their husks clean and dry. Yes, we get some funny looks,” laughs Gan, a durian lover.
“However, as we are making a medical-grade product, we are very particular about the ingredients we use.” ViKang is used by many clients in the B2B sector, such as those in the food, aviation, hospitality, and hotel industries.
The antimicrobial properties help food last four times longer because they inhibit mould and bacteria growth. With 99.9 percent virus protection and 180 days of overall protection, it is a popular coating spray for interiors.
Gan is confident about the possibilities: “We can incorporate ViKang into clothes, handphone covers, and even car seat interiors. My dream is to have ViKang embedded into all aspects of life.”
Now that the antimicrobial agent has been tested, patented and certified, her focus is on expanding their consumer business with C2+, a brand of natural all-purpose disinfectant sprays and hand sanitisers. It is already available in Korea.
Keep Well, a line of kitchen supplies, will be available in Q1 of 2025. The first product is upcycled food waste cling wrap with antibacterial properties that comes in reusable packaging.
“It helps reduce bacteria growth and releases fewer toxic gasses during incineration,” Gan says. She also shares that “this is the hardest plastic to recycle, as the molecules in cling wrap are fragmented and often too contaminated to recycle”. Other items in the pipeline include zip-lock and vacuum bags.
Silk dress, from Ralph lauren Collection.
STANDING UP TO CHALLENGES
N&E Innovations has generated $2.5 million in revenue and received $3.8 million in funding. MNCs have been knocking on its doors to explore how ViKang can be incorporated into their products.
Gan remembers the early days when potential investors often rejected her. “Nobody believed food waste could be upcycled. I felt like I was on an emotional rollercoaster. We stopped raising money and bootstrapped the company after shedding a few tears. We focused on speeding up our research and development and launching our technology.”
Her plans to expand into other markets, such as Germany, Thailand, and Indonesia, will be bolstered by the Red Club X Cartier Young Leader Award (YLA). The French luxury brand launched the programme in 2019, which connects global young multicultural entrepreneurs who wish to impact society positively.
With foods like cashews, bananas, and durians being grown and consumed regularly, Didi Gan is confident her team will never run out
of ingredients.
For YLA 2024, the theme was Tech For A Sustainable Future, focusing on technology solutions that address environmental and social concerns. More than 500 entries were received from 66 countries. Gan was selected as one of two winners, and was the first Singaporean to receive the award.
Cyrille Vigneron, Chairman of Cartier Culture & Philanthropy, reaffirmed Cartier’s commitment to impact entrepreneurship. “We believe young leaders can drive meaningful change. The YLA is a testament to our commitment to shaping a better future.”
“We are honoured to support these extraordinary individuals who are making a tangible difference in our world by inventing across-sector solutions and stimulating economic progress while improving environmental and social well-being.”
Gan received a grant of 50,000 euros (S$70,780), international exposure, media visibility, and mentorship from the NUS Business School and the University of Sydney Business School. “Cartier is a global brand. This award will allow us to tap on its network, and help us amplify our work on a regional and global scale.”
Recently, N&E Innovations also won the Food Systems & Sustainable Agriculture track at Net Zero Challenge 2024. Co-organised by Singapore’s Temasek Foundation and Vietnam’s Touchstone Partners, it received total funding and investment of US$246,700 (S$332,235).
Polyester blend blazer, from & Other Stories.
STRONG FAMILY SUPPORT
Gan draws inspiration from her mum, Estina Ang, who runs a textile manufacturing business. “My mum is also an entrepreneur. She successfully ran her business as a single parent raising five kids. She taught me that if you want to make something happen, you have to have strength and resilience and work really hard.”
Furthermore, she credits her two elder sisters and a younger sister with supporting her mentally, physically, and spiritually. The last is trained in design and helped create the packaging for C2+. Then there is her aunt who ran the melon seed shop.
“She looked after me while my mum was busy,” says Gan. “She now lives with me and helps take care of the kids.” Gan is a devoted mother. She gets up at 5am every day to get the kids ready for school despite her long work days.
Each morning, she spends 30 minutes with each child. Attending their school activities is one of her priorities. She rushed back from the Entrepreneurship World Cup in Saudi Arabia to watch Emma perform in her school’s year-end concert.
Following in her mum’s footsteps, Emma upcycles unwanted items, like bottle caps into cable organisers. Gan spends most of her weekends with her children, at the beach or biking around East Coast Park. She has also promised to take the kids on solo vacations after their PSLE exams.
This year, she and Nathaniel went to the Maldives as he wanted to snorkel with whale sharks. She admits she has little me-time, but she tries to squeeze in some “yoga as often as I can by following videos from YouTube”.
Nevertheless, she isn’t complaining. They have motivated her even more. “I always think about my kids. The best thing I can do is give them a more sustainable planet.”
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Photography Joel Low
Styling Chia Wei Choong
Hair and makeup Rick Yang/Artistry Studios, using Tom Ford Beauty and Keune Haircosmetics
Photography assistant Kevin Khng
