Brand New: Thai Union, Nestle Malaysia, Julie's and more big F&B names feature in our round-up

‘What consumers want’: Thai Union to launch plant-based product range in response to consumer demand – Exclusive Interview Part I​

Asian seafood giant Thai Union has revealed plans to launch a range of plant-based products comprising both seafood and non-seafood items this year in response to high consumer demand - and believes its longstanding seafood expertise will give it an edge in product development.

Thai Union has already launched some plant-based items in European supermarkets via private label/OEM, but has revealed plans to launch these into the Asia Pacific region under different channels as well.

“We’re launching plant-based products in foodservice in Thailand soon, and are also exploring launching these to more countries under a new brand name which we are in currently the process of creating,”​ Thai Union Group Director for Global Innovation Dr Tunyawat Kasemsuwan told FoodNavigator-Asia​.

Nestle Malaysia CEO Exclusive Part II: Plant-based products to be key 2021 focus but ‘will take time’ to reach full potential​

Nestle Malaysia CEO Juan Aranols has outlined the production and marketing strategies for the firm’s venture into the plant-based arena, although he believes it ‘will take time’ for the sector to reach its full potential in Asia.

Nestle Malaysia recently completed the establishment of a specialized plant-based facility in its Shah Alam plant, its first in South East Asia and the only other one in Asia apart from a China-based facility located in Tianjin which just started operations at the end of 2020.

According to Aranols, the firm spent around RM150mn (US$37mn) out of a total of RM280mn (US$69.1mn) allocated CAPEX for this year on the facility, dubbed the Plant-Based Meal Solutions (PBMS) manufacturing facility.

“The facility has basically been completed and we are now running trials on the products, which will be hitting the market very soon, I would say some time in February this year,”​ he told FoodNavigator-Asia​.

Taking the biscuit: Bakery brand Julie’s positive on ASEAN outlook amid rebranding and market penetration plans​

Bakery heavyweight Julie’s has forecasted a positive outlook for the biscuits market in South East Asia, amidst its complete brand makeover efforts and plans to dive deeper into various existing markets.

Julie’s is one of the most well-known household brands in Asia, best-known for its peanut butter sandwiches in many markets, and the firm recently underwent a complete brand makeover which saw it switch to a younger version of the girl adorning the original Julie’s logo.

“This makeover was three years in the making since 2017, we just wanted to refresh the spirit of Julie’s after having had the same face for about 30 years, and lift internal and external spirits – but we definitely did not expect it to coincide with COVID-19,”​ Julie’s Director Sai Tzy Horng told FoodNavigator-Asia​.

Strange but true: Nissin’s not-so-mysterious meat cup noodle series continues to soar in Japan​

Japanese instant noodle manufacturer Nissin Food Products has extended its hugely popular mystery meat cup noodle series with a new kimchi flavour hitting the shelves this month.

The series was first launched in 2016, and was a huge marketing success for the brand…even if there wasn’t really much of a mystery around the meat used at all.

The ingredient list always referred to the product containing seasoned minced pork, but the company later admitted it was a mixture of pork and soybeans.

‘No compromise on taste’: Al Islami Foods CEO reveals plans to expand plant-based range and GCC distribution​

UAE-based frozen food producer Al Islami Foods has unveiled plans to expand its frozen plant-based product range following the launch of its first vegan burger this month.

This is the company’s first foray into the plant-based market, responding to growing appetite for vegan options in the region.