Singapore to enforce stricter sodium and fat labelling by 2027
Singapore will tighten labelling and advertising laws for sodium and saturated fat by 2027 — here’s what food brands need to know about this change.
Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) will extend its Nutri-Grade labelling and advertising rules to cover sodium and saturated fat in retail food products sold at supermarkets, convenience stores, and online platforms.
This regulatory change is especially significant for firms across the Asia-Pacific region, given its role as a strategic trade gateway into South East Asia and broader Asian markets.
RTD Tea 3.0: What is the next stage of evolution in China’s beverage space?
China’s beverage industry is welcoming the era of ‘RTD Tea 3.0’, revealing a significant new potential market for the wider category.
Ready-to-drink or RTD teas have been at the core of product innovation innovation for many beverage firms in recent years, driven by a dual interest in tea products as well as convenience.
But whilst this is still growing at a rapid rate in most markets, industry experts in China believe that the country is fast approaching what the market deems the era of ‘RTD Tea 3.0’, meaning that consumers will soon have even more demands when making beverage purchases.
“Over the past two decades we have seen RTD teas evolve in several stages - first was RTD Tea 1.0 in 2005 when flavoured teas were all the rage, then RTD Tea 2.0 in 2015 when consumers starting looking for less sugar or zero sugar teas,” Tasly Great Health Industry Chairman Kaijing Yan told the floor at the recent Food and Beverage Innovation Forum (FBIF) 2025 in Shanghai.
Betting on breakfast: Calbee to double down on granola business in Asia
Calbee is amplifying focus on its Frugra granola brand in Asia in hopes of becoming the region’s top ‘healthy breakfast’ option
Japan-based Calbee is most well-known for its snacks business, particularly its dominance of the potato sticks market in and out of its home ground.
The firm’s Frugra granola brand has also been a market leader in Japan for many years with an average of 52% of local market share, but has only really started gaining significant recognition out of the country in recent years.
“Calbee’s overseas business makes up about 25% of the company, and the ambition is to increase this over the next few years using some of our strong-performing brands,” Calbee (Hangzhou) Vice Managing Director and CMO Hiroyuki Miyakura said.
CP Foods sees ‘optimistic’ 2025 ahead after 642% profits surge
CP Foods is confident its ongoing local production strategy will boost FY2025 sales even amidst ongoing uncertainties, after seeing a 642% surge in profits in Q1
Thailand-based CP Foods is one of the largest food companies in the world, best known for its ready-to-cook (RTC) meat and poultry product brands such as CP in Asia and Authentic Asia in western markets.
The company recently announced its Q1FY2025 financial results, reporting a 3% year-on-year growth in revenue to THB144.2m (US$4.37bn) and a 642% leap in year-on-year net profits to THB8.55bn (US$258.6m).
The company partially attributed the mega leap in profits to the rise of animal agriculture diseases such as African Swine Fever (ASF) in other international supply chains in the past year, but CP Foods CEO Prasit Boondoungprasert highlighted this achievement as a strong, optimistic sign for the company in the upcoming year.
Five ways to future-proof plant-based strategies in APAC
We spotlight five key strategies food firms can adopt to stay competitive in the fast-growing plant-based sector, particularly in APAC where demand continues to rise
Plant-focused diets are gaining traction globally, with the Asia Pacific region showing the fastest growth.
According to the UN FAO, consumer spending on agri-foods and pulses in Asia Pacific is projected to reach nearly US$33bn by 2030, compared to US$11.1bn in Europe and US$5.5bn in North America.
However, this rising interest does not apply evenly across all categories. Murad Al-Katib, president and CEO of Canadian producer AGT Food and Ingredients, cautions that plant-based meat analogues are unlikely to see the same level of growth.
