Insect foods start-up Plento is set to launch its range of baked crisps containing pea protein and cricket flour, which the firm claims counteract nutrient limitations of snacks made solely from plant-based protein, in South Korea this February.
The better-for-you snacks sector in Asia Pacific will need to step up its focus on product functionality and freshness if it is to build on the boom it has enjoyed in recent years.
Chinese snacking sensation San Chun has revealed a focus on the ‘strange and unique’ is behind its transition from a local viral hit to a launch in major supermarkets nationwide.
Malaysia-based Miaow Miaow says taste still tops health claims in the snacking category as it prioritises marketing campaigns for greater brand awareness in its key regional export markets.
Singapore brand Kelly Snacks is aiming to bring its locally flavoured and produced tidbits to overseas markets by this year, following positive responses from international customers.
Indian firm Beyond Snack has mapped out expansion plans both in the country and globally as part of an ambitious move to see banana chips outstrip sales of potato-based products.
Cambridge-based biotech start-up, Impossible Materials, has developed a sustainable cellulose-derived white pigment to replace “unsafe” titanium dioxide (TiO2) across food and pharma industries.
The South Korean government has imposed tougher criteria on ready-to-eat (RTE) and ready-to-cook (RTC) instant products that want to make healthier nutritional claims on pack, in an expansion of rules first placed on instant noodles earlier this year.
The consumption of fortified infant cereals could help reduce the burden of iron-deficiency anaemia on Indonesian infants and young children, and have longer-term economic, health and social benefits, according to a study funded by Nestlé Infant Nutrition...
New research has found that vegan and vegetarians with a taste for processed foods are more susceptible to depression than those with diets high in fresh produce.
Japan’s Morinaga Milk Industry is banking on the confectionery and snacks as emerging formats for its paraprobiotic LAC-Shield (heat-killed Lacticaseibacillus paracasei MCC1849) application.
The bakery and snacks category is offering new opportunities for probiotic food innovation in APAC and the Middle East, beyond traditional chilled dairy products.
Tokyo-based snack subscription service Snaq.me is planning to develop more than 100 new snack products annually with the help of fresh funding of JYP260m (US$2.46m).
Insect-based foods firm Bugsolutely is developing a new snack comprising both insect-based and plant-based proteins, aiming to maximise nutritional, cost and consumer benefits.
The snack sector in the Middle East is soaring as consumers become increasingly time poor, with more healthy options also becoming increasingly popular, albeit from a low base.
DuPont’s food and beverage arm has just launched a snacking campaign focused on research into ASEAN consumer trends and has identified seven food and beverage concepts to zoom into within this.
With the Asia Pacific food and beverage food industry growing at a rapid rate over the past few years, and even more advancement predicted to come, we bring you three of the most significant emerging categories showing strong potential for growth moving...
Malaysian ready-to-eat manufacturer BioHaruan hopes its recent visit to the SIAL trade show in Jakarta will open the doors to the Indonesian market for its brands, including its innovative Rezza Hot 2 Go snack kits.
Mondelez Australia has revealed widely differing factors driving snack choice between different generations in Australia, although convenience and quality still stand out as major reasons for snacking across all age groups.
French organic snack company, Good Gout is expanding quickly into China’s US$14 billion children snack market through e-commerce platforms, and plans to enter Hong Kong and Singapore in September.
The Asia Pacific region has emerged as a global leader in salty snacking markets and innovation, claiming four of the top five spots for salty snacks product launches last year.
The market for functional foods containing omega-3 is ripe for innovation in Asia and the Middle East, with one start-up claiming it can provide 250mg of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in 30g of chocolate.
DuPont in Japan says it is striving to spur innovation in the supplement and functional food space for the ageing population by launching 11 ‘smart ageing’ concepts at this week’s HI Japan show.
People in New Zealand need to be more aware of how increasing polyunsaturated fats, dietary fibre, and plant sterols in their diets can help cut cholesterol.
There are more essential fatty acids in the lipids of two species of crickets and a grasshopper from Asia, compared with the yellow mealworm larvae, which is widely reared in Europe for human food.
A £48m (€55m) five-year, large-scale fortification programme is being rolled out this month in Pakistan in a bid to combat malnutrition in women and children.
By-product Okara, otherwise known as ‘soy pulp’ or ‘tofu dreg’, is a promising novel prebiotic, according to researchers testing the ingredient in a human gut model.
The South Korean company Daesang Corp has applied for novel food approval for its DHA-rich algal oil, claiming ‘substantial equivalence’ to an already-approved oil produced by DSM-owned Martek Biosciences.
Health and nutrition retailer Holland & Barrett has secured a £20m (€25.44m) deal with Indian hospital chain Apollo Hospitals, an agreement which will see 1000 franchise stores open across India over the next five years.
Western Europeans are numero uno when it comes to per-capita protein consumption; bread is surprisingly the most popular protein medium; and protein has well and truly invaded the healthy snacking category.
Meiert Grootes, chairman of Europe’s biggest supplier of speciality baking products, has acquired a stake in a Malaysian-Australian biotech firm that earlier this year launched ingredients to produce the world’s first clean-label, low-GI “diabetic” white...
Adding a mangosteen fruit by-product to cheaper low cocoa chocolates could improve their nutritional content without compromising flavour, researchers have discovered.
Blood glucose levels vary widely across individuals even for the same food, say researchers who have developed an algorithm to calculate the ‘right’ diet – paving the way for mass personalised nutrition and casting doubt over the usefulness of universal...
An advertising campaign that focusses on the transformative nature of cooking insects is more effective than 'entomophagy education', says a US-based researcher.
Korean food giant Daeseng wants to enter the EU omega-3 market and has applied for novel foods approval for an algae-derived DHA (docosahexaenoic acid).
A high energy intake from total fat, saturated fat and monounsaturated fat in middle and older age increases the risk of malnutrition ten years later, say Swedish researchers.
Two firms that generated a lot of buzz at the IFT show this year were Parabel and Hinoman, which are both selling brand new nutrient-packed ingredients from tiny aquatic plants. But do they have what it takes to give more established players in the plant-based...
It’s no secret the peer review system that is supposed to subject academic research to rigorous scrutiny before publication is not perfect, but a [mock] German professor has revealed just how much of a joke it often is.
Special edition: Innovations in better-for-you confectionery
Gummies fortified with collagen peptide or magnesium could be money-spinners outside niche drugstore channels, says Swiss functional confectionery producer Hunziker.
Start-ups have faced tough times along with the rest of the European food industry in recent years as a tight economy and ever tighter regulations have bitten deep.
Gala Awards night at Vitafoods Europe, Geneva, Switzerland
200 people from the European and international food and nutrition sectors helped 20 finalists and seven winners celebrate at the inaugural NutraIngredients Awards last night at Vitafoods Europe.
April 8, 14:00 CET: Experts debate hot issues in NutraIngredients omega-3 forum
Are omega-3 fisheries really under threat? How many functional foods have cracked omega-3 blockbuster status? How is the sector recovering from the ‘Brasky effect’? How are developing markets developing? How is the latest research influencing regulation?...
