Dysphagia, or the difficulty to swallow, is more common in older people and often results from nerve or muscle problems
SilverConnect, a medical nutrition startup creating specialized food solutions for people with dysphagia, announced that it closed a Seed financing round led by Heritas Capital Management, with participation from SEEDS Capital, the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore.
Dysphagia, or the difficulty to swallow, is more common in older people and often results from nerve or muscle problems.
Undiagnosed or poorly managed dysphagia increases the risk of choking, dehydration and malnutrition. Texture-modified diets are often recommended for people with dysphagia, but caregivers frequently find it challenging and time-consuming to prepare nutritionally complete meals with appropriate textures.
Many healthcare institutions in Singapore have recently adopted the framework set out by the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) to ensure that all meals are safely prepared to the right consistency that people with dysphagia need.
SilverConnect was founded by Dr Shen Yiru and Ms Jeannie Ong in 2017 with the intent to enhance nourishment for the elderly and relieve their caregivers from the daily burden of preparing such modified meals.
SilverConnect manufactures puréed moulded food under the brand of GentleFoods®, turning local Singapore food delights into texture-modified meals following the global IDDSI framework.
SilverConnect operates the GentleFoods® brand of ready-to-eat frozen meals that turns local hawker favourites into texture-modified meals that meet global IDDSI standards.
GentleFoods® aims to create familiar, safe and nutritious meals that stimulates the appetite with the way it looks, tastes and smells, thereby bringing the joy of food back into the lives of people with swallowing difficulties.
Over the last two years, Enterprise Singapore provided grant support to SilverConnect for (i) the co-development of three popular local snacks with Khoo Teck Puat Hospital under the Food for Elders initiative, and (ii) a corporate branding project to help them develop a global brand strategy and establish presence in key overseas markets.
Proceeds from this Seed investment round will be used to fast-track the commercialization and rollout of GentleFoods® to both consumers and elderly care institutions.
