MILO at 75: Exclusive behind-the-scenes look at iconic Nestlé brand
Earlier this year, Nestlé has opened its doors to industry players in Singapore for the first time in MILO’s 75-year local history, offering a closer look at the region’s most-beloved malt drink.
“MILO has always been focused on taking simple agricultural ingredients and applying the science and magic to transform it into variations of the nutritious drink everyone knows and loves,” head of Nestlé R&D Singapore Guglielmo Bonora said during the event.
“Singapore is the Centre of Excellence for MILO globally, home to Nestle’s expertise and global innovation for this brand as we are the home ground for the manufacturing of the proprietary special malt that the signature MILO taste and nutritional benefits in MILO products globally.”
Nestle’s Singapore factory produces around 15,000 tons of MILO for both Singapore and other international markets annually.
Most R&D as well as new product innovation for the brand is also conducted in this location.
‘Next gen growth’: Asahi reveals plans to strengthen APAC business
Asahi has highlighted plans to boost its whiskey, water and non-alcoholic product portfolios in order to drive growth in Japan, South Asia, South East Asia and Oceania
Asahi’s core business has long been focused on beer products e.g. Asahi Super Dry and confectionery e.g. Mintia, but the firm believes it will increase long-term corporate value by building up ‘next-generation growth’ areas.
“Looking to the future, Asahi Group aims to position our Nikka Whisky brand as a driving force for the company’s long-term growth, by turning the brand’s 100-year anniversary in 2034 into a key milestone,” Asahi Group Japan CEO Kenji Hamada announced at its Business Strategy Conference.
“We will do this by increasing our production of unblended whiskey, optimising production systems and investing in marketing to promote long-term premiumisation and expansion of this portfolio.”
Nestle highlights home cooking and MAGGI brand as key growth drivers for Asia and Oceania
Nestle highlighted significant growth potential for its flagship Maggi brand earlier this year, with plans to tap into home cooking solutions and smaller meals.
MAGGI is well-known worldwide as an instant noodle and cooking solutions brand, and its level of recognition is particularly strong in what Nestle calls Zone Asia, Oceania and Africa (AOA) which contains the entire Asia Pacific region as well as Africa.
“MAGGI is for us a powerhouse in Zone AOA, with unmatched presence across 113 countries and our data indicating products being used in some 297 million households here,” Nestle Zone AOA CEO Remy Ejel said.
“Its brand power is very much rooted in local culture and local R&D expertise and manufacturing – MAGGI has the number one market share in important markets such as India, Malaysia and more.
“This has laid down very solid growth foundations for the brand to accelerate growth even further, which Nestle has been doing by making strategic choices [to] grow the Cooking Solutions and Small Meals categories under MAGGI.”
Mengniu hopes to beat ‘industry turbulence’ via premiumisation, ASEAN-driven growth
Chinese dairy giant Mengniu expressed hope earlier in the year to overcome reduced local demand with premium innovation and an increased focus on overseas markets.
“Despite facing the challenges of weak domestic demand and industry turbulence [leading to] a negative impact on net profits, adjustments in [the past year] have enhanced stability and improved the visibility of Mengniu’s sustainable and healthy development,” the firm stressed.
Mengniu CEO Gao Fei also urged confidence in the company’s long-term growth.
“Mengniu is now operating on a One Core Two Wings strategy which will focus first on strengthening our six core business units: ambient dairy, chilled dairy, fresh milk, cheese, ice cream and milk formula,” he told investors.
“We intend to implement more upgrades and innovations to meet diverse and personalised consumer needs, [particularly] in terms of premium, value-added products.
Taiwan state distillery taps food market with alcohol-based instant noodles
Taiwan’s state distillery diversified into the food industry with alcohol-based instant noodles, blending beverage expertise with ready-to-eat innovation
The Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation (TTL) was established as a government agency in 1901 under Japanese colonisation, and has maintained its state-owned function to date as a state liquor manufacturer.
Its most well-known products are Taiwan Beer which is considered an icon in Taiwanese culture and also the most popular beer locally; as well as traditional Chinese Hua Tiao wine.
The firm used the latter its instant noodle innovation, creating its viral TTL Hua Tiao Chicken Noodles, which incorporated not only significant Hua Tiao wine content but also Chinese herbs and meat chunks.
“These are not your average instant noodles – Hua Tiao wine elevates the noodles to another level, as it is traditionally known for its antioxidant content as well as benefits for digestion and blood circulation,” TTL Division of International Business spokeswoman Elle Liao told us.
Glico looks to shift consumer perspective of rice with its first soft candy
Japan confectionery giant Ezaki Glico moved earlier this year to change the perception of rice as a staple food by creating its its first clean label, rice-based soft candy
Ezaki Glico (Glico) is one of Japan’s most well-known confectionery and snack companies, famous for its Glico-brand soft candies and Pocky-branded stick biscuits.
“Glico decided to utilize Japan’s key staple food, rice as the main ingredient for this innovation,” Glico Nutritious Confectionary and Supplement Business Division spokesman Takayoshi Machida said.
“One of our main areas of focus in developing this product was to offer an experience that reveals the new appeal and wider potential of rice beyond the rice bowl.
“We decided to apply the soft candy technology that Glico has cultivated for over 100 years into this innovation, with the priority being to create a flavour that is simple yet delicately unfolds to unmistakably be that of rice.”
Betting on breakfast: Calbee to double down on granola business in Asia
Calbee amplified focus on its Frugra granola brand in Asia this year, in hopes of becoming the region’s top ‘healthy breakfast’ option
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.
“Frugra has been identified as one of the brands to lead this charge due to its strong market performance both in Japan as well as markets like China.
Meiji: Protein intake trumps exercise to build muscle gains
Meiji has urged consumers to focus on protein consumption over exercise for muscle growth and maintenance, across all groups from seniors to athletes
According to research data revealed by Japanese dairy giant Meiji, the majority of consumers today are not consuming enough protein despite looking to improve their muscle mass.
“Previous research has shown that a combination of protein consumption and resistance training will lead to the building of muscle mass, but we wanted to determine whether this resistance training is truly necessary in building muscle,” Meiji Nutrition Development Research Unit Manager Atsushi Kanda said.
“Based on analysis conducted by Meiji, we found that muscle resistance training is not always necessary – the consumption of protein alone without any exercise can lead to significant muscle mass increase when protein intake reaches 1.3g per kg of body weight.”
One India: Lotte looks to expand presence after liquidation scare
South Korean food and beverage giant Lotte Welfood has been targeting growth in India and high-value product innovation domestically to improve profitability.
Lotte was faced a liquidity crisis at the end of 2024 after poor performance by the Lotte Chemical arm left the company needing to repay some KRW2tn (US$1.4bn) in corporate bonds, a crisis that Lotte averted by offering the Lotte World Tower as collateral and selling various assets.
The firm announced various strategies for each of its affiliates - for Lotte Welfood, this included an increased focus on its India business and high-value product innovation, amongst others.
“Lotte has had high dependence on revenue from just several specific business units, which resulted in high EBITDA volatility for the group,” Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin said.
“Within the food business, we currently have 50 factories and 313 stores across 14 countries such as India, Pakistan, Vietnam and more – in 2025 we are working on a One INDIA strategy which involves integration of local operations and expanding our regional coverage."
Kirin Brewery to boost focus on low and non-alcoholic beverages in 2025
Kirin Brewery announced a renewed focus earlier this year, which included developing more low-alcohol and non-alcoholic beverages within its portfolio.
In 2024, the firm already announced that the overall beer market in Japan saw standard beer account for over 55% of the total market for the first time in 17 years.
This standard beer sector benefitted from tax cuts, while the overall category was buoyed by and the introduction of products like happoshu and New genre (no-malt beer) to the market.
Given this positive growth, Kirin Brewery believes this is the right time to refocus its energies on areas of importance in the market.
