ANZ Focus: Starward whiskey, Vow cultivated meat, Zespri fruit and veggie research and more feature in our round-up

Reach for the stars: Starward launches colourful packaging range to put ‘modern’ Australian whiskey on the map​

Australian spirits distillery Starward has launched a range of whiskies with brightly-coloured packaging to distinguish its ‘modern’ products from traditional scotch and carve out a place for itself in the liquor market.

Whiskey is considered one of the oldest and more traditional liquors in the market, with variants such as Scotch whiskey and bourbon generally prized as being more valuable with age.

Modern whiskey places less value on age and more on ingredient quality, flavours and provenance. Some successful brands in this sector include Taiwan’s Kavalan and India’s Amrut – and Australian distillery Starward believes that it is time for Australia to be put on the map as well.

“Being a modern Australian whiskey very much means that we are definitely not trying to recreate Scotch whiskey and are focused on the Australian story instead,”​ Starward Commercial Director Scott English told FoodNavigator-Asia​.

‘Deliberately different’: Vow targets Singapore’s premium consumers to boost awareness and acceptance of cell-cultured meat​

Sydney-based firm Vow is targeting premium consumers in Singapore through the launch of its cell-cultured meat at high-end restaurants, which it says is the first step towards wider acceptance and adoption of such products.

Founded in April 2019, Vow has been working on making meat products from the cells of animals. Its first brand, Forged, aims to offer “deliberately different” food experiences through previously unachieved flavours and textures using cell-cultured meat technology.

For instance, its debut product Forged Parfait is made from the cells of Japanese quail. It claims to deliver a rich umami flavour and a weightless, melt-in-your-mouth texture.

Starting from young: Zespri invests in research to cultivate higher consumption of fruits and vegetables in children​

Kiwifruit firm Zespri plans to shape future initiatives aimed at increasing awareness and consumption of fruit and vegetable (FV) based on findings from its recent study, which showed positive effects of FV intake on children’s well-being.

The nutritional benefits of FV to physical health are widely known, but almost one in two children globally are not consuming enough FVs, according to data cited by Zespri.

To explore the relationship between FV consumption and children’s well-being, the firm commissioned a feasibility study named the Feel Good Study conducted by researchers at University of Auckland, New Zealand.

“Zespri believes that early education increases the likelihood of children carrying healthy habits into adulthood, which directly influences their lifelong health. The Feel Good Study aimed to raise awareness of the impact and importance of nutrition on a child’s overall well-being, and to promote the cultivation of good eating habits from a young age​,” ​Dr Paul Blatchford, Innovation Manager – Core Products at Zespri, told FoodNavigator-Asia​.

Salt-free strategy: Heartful Flavours on a mission to reduce sodium levels with innovative Asian staples range​

Australian-based start-up Heartful Flavours is on a mission to educate consumers that their taste buds can get used to less salt, as it ramps up promotion of its salt-free Asian staples.

Food start-up Heartful Flavours offers salt-free packet sauce powders that replicate Asian favourites without compromising taste.

Asian food is unique because of its condiments and sauces. However, pantry staples such as soy sauce, oyster sauce and fish sauce are sodium laden.

In 2023, a World Health Organization (WHO) report stated that the global mean sodium intake of adults is 4310 mg/day, or 10.78 g/day salt. This is more than double the WHO recommendation of less than 2000 mg/day sodium, or <5 g/day salt, which means a tablespoon of soy sauce would already make up half the recommended daily intake.

Un-confusing probiotics: Life-Space highlights crucial role of healthcare provider education – Growth Asia Summit 2024​

Australian probiotics heavyweight Life-Space believes that it is important to improve the quality and effectiveness of biotics education for healthcare providers in order to ensure consumers can benefit from more precise and efficient prescriptions.

The APAC probiotics industry has seen a significant boom in the recent past, driven by rising awareness of health and wellness amongst consumers – but according to Life-Space Group Lead Scientific Educator Jessica Simonis, there is still a very real need for better probiotics education amongst healthcare providers (HCPs) to really ensure consumers are receiving the right products.

“Probiotics have the potential to play a significant role in modern medicine [but currently] we are seeing a lot of confusion amongst HCPs regarding this sector – and confused HCPs lead to confused patients,”​ she told the floor at our recent Growth Asia Summit 2024.