Heart-healthy + salt-free: Aussie startup reinvents Asian condiments
Australian startup Heartful Flavours launches three salt-free Asian seasonings made from whole plant foods, complementing its heart-healthy meal packs
The new launches are salt-free alternatives to soy sauce, oyster sauce, and fish sauce – condiments central to Asian cuisine.
Yeast, seaweed, and mushrooms re-create authentic flavours for the firm’s “Fiish Sauce” seasoning. “Soi Sauce” and “Oister Sauce” seasonings have the same base ingredients but contain fermented soybeans and dates respectively.
“They’re made from 100% whole food ingredients with absolutely no added salt. They taste rich and full of umami – just like the real thing – but better for your heart,” Heartful Flavours co-founder Dr Rebecca Luong said.
Gen Z & wellness in the digital age: How Mars Wrigley plans SEA growth
Gen Z’s focus on wellness and digital culture drives Mars Wrigley’s South East Asian strategy in snacking, oral care and mental wellbeing
Confectionery heavyweight Mars Wrigley is doubling down on Gen Z, a generation reshaping wellness through fun, indulgence, and digital connection.
The firm sees the Philippines as one of Asia’s growth engines for the next decade due to the country’s young population.
“Filipino consumers spend an average of just US$6.9 per capita on confectionery, compared to a global average of US$28.4 – that gap represents tremendous headroom for growth. Adding a median age of 25.7 to that, it is clear that the market is shaped by Gen Z and millennials who are fun, curious, and impulse-driven snackers,” Regional General Manager for Mars Wrigley Asia, Kalpesh Parmar, told us.
Sparkling green tea: Taiwanese creation meets demand for zero alcohol
Kaohsiung-based tea firm reimagines green tea into a fizzy beverage as health-conscious consumers seek weight-friendly and zero-alcohol options
As more consumers seek healthier, zero-alcohol options without compromising on indulgence, the firm saw an opportunity to blend wellness with enjoyment. Gazebo was created to meet this demand — and to further the company’s broader mission of promoting Taiwanese tea culture through modern formats such as bubble tea and canned beverages.
Launched earlier this year after three years of development, Gazebo sparkling green tea is part of Shi Chia Tea’s plan to diversify its Yuan Rong brand portfolio with innovative tea-based beverages.
UPFs surge unevenly across global markets - where’s next?
In the days following The Lancet report on ultra-processed foods (UPFs), the food and beverage industry will still be reeling.
Many of the ingredients they use, and products they sell, have been tarnished with the same brush. According to the landmark, three-paper series, the ‘ultra-processed diet’ is responsible for an increase in chronic disease worldwide.
And the most damning finding of all? UPFs have been linked to damage in most organs of the body.
But incidence of UPF-related illness won’t be the same the world over, because as the researchers reveal, UPFs aren’t equally dominant worldwide. So where are they most entrenched - and which markets are next in line?
Fashion Food’s healthy instant meals blend wellness and convenience
Fashion Food moves beyond snacks with healthy instant rice soups and noodles, tapping into booming convenience and wellness food trends
The Thai-based brand is best-known for its tomato chips, which gained newfound popularity Kpop girl group BLACKPINK’s Jisoo mentioned these in an Instagram post in 2023.
The company has been making snacks for several decades, but is now moving to align with consumer demands for convenient meal options that are also healthier.
“Snacks are our bread and butter and we have been making the tomato chips, for example, for over 30 years – but we have also noticed immense possibilities for us to grow in the convenience foods sector,” Fashion Food international sales manager Pisit Tiaworapakin told us.