Healthier innovations and sustainable packaging efforts key drivers of Aussie beverage sector, say experts
Trend: Healthier innovation / Sustainability
Australians have been identified as being more health- and eco-conscious than before, prompting shifts in drinking behaviour towards more functional products.
Worrying health trends and environmental concerns have been nudging Australians towards nutrition-focused food and drink, creating opportunities for brands to develop healthier options with sustainable packaging.
According to a Canvas8 report titled ‘Why Aussies want a functional future for soft drinks’, experts observed that craft beverages and product revamps are tapping into an appetite for novelty and nostalgia among Australians, pushing them away from conventional sugary drinks.
RTD Tea 3.0: What is the next stage of evolution in China’s beverage space?
Trend: RTD beverages / Functional products
China’s beverage industry has welcomed 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 believe that the country is fast approaching what the market deems the era of ‘RTD Tea 3.0’.
“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 said.
“Now in 2025, we are rapidly moving into the era of RTD Tea 3.0 which is essentially functional teas - but specifically for RTD teas, this means teas that are no longer just zero or less sugar, but instead now must be able to help consumers to actively reduce their blood sugar.”
Taiwan taps Singaporean sweet tooth to launch ‘Golden Diamond’ pineapples in major retailer
Trend: Localisation
Taiwan launched its specialty Golden Diamond pineapples into Singapore’s NTUC FairPrice supermarket earlier this year, believing that consumers’ liking for sweet fruits were the main basis for success.
The Golden Diamond pineapples hailed from Guanmiao District in Taiwan’s Tainan City, arguably the country’s most famous pineapple production location due to its hilly terrain, acidic red sandy soil, abundant sunlight and naturally suitable irrigation conditions for pineapple planting.
This variant is vastly different from MD2 pineapples which are the most common variant found in Singapore – Golden Diamond pineapples are finer in texture, contain less fibre, are sweeter and juicier in taste, and also have a soft, fully edible core.
According to Taipei Economic & Cultural Office Consular Division Director Wu Wen-ling, these characteristics have helped Golden Diamond pineapples stand out significantly amidst Taiwan’s over 20 variants of pineapples due to both taste and versatility.
South Korea emerges as hotspot for sugar-free innovation
Trend: Sugar reduction
South Korea saw over 20% growth in sugar-free innovation in 2024, highlighting new opportunities for global health-focused brands in 2025
The South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) published the country’s 2024 food industry production performance statistics, reporting a 5.8% year-on-year increase to KRW114tn (US$84.36bn).
This was further buffered by a 10% year-on-year increase in food exports to US$7.26bn, highlighting the positive impacts of South Korea’s continued push to grow its international trade and food exports in particular.
Sugar-free innovation was highlighted as an especially important category, driven by health-related trends.
“There has been a significant increase in the development and production of products reflecting health-related trends in the past year,” MFDS Minister Oh Yoo-kyung said in a formal statement.
Taiwan state distillery taps food market with alcohol-based instant noodles
Trend: Convenience
Taiwan’s state distillery diversified into the food industry with alcohol-based instant noodles, blending beverage expertise with ready-to-eat innovation
The distillery has used its traditional Hua Tiao wine in TTL’s instant noodle innovation to create its viral TTL Hua Tiao Chicken Noodles, incorporating 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.
The instant noodle bowls come with four separate individual ingredient packets on top of the noodles to provide its distinctive flavours.
“The first packet contains seasoning powder, the second has seasoning oil, the third contains the chicken chunks that have been marinated in both Hua Tiao wine and spicy marinade, and the fourth is the alcohol itself - all coming in a tasty and convenient ready-to-eat (RTE) instant noodle format that consumers are familiar with.” she explained.
Coffee Shop At Home: Nestle unveils strategies to boost business in India and China
Trend: Coffee trends
Nestle has been targeting growth for its coffee business in China, India and the Middle East, where consumptions lags far behind the global average.
Nestle’s Nescafe is undoubtedly one of the most well known coffee brands in the world, particularly within the soluble instant coffee category.
The popularity of this along with its other superstar brands such as Nepresso and Starbucks have enabled the company to achieve market leading positions in multiple geographies all over the world, including the APAC, but has now revealed big plans for future growth.
“Coffee is actually Nestle’s number one business, and we are the market leader for this in all our business zones including Zone AOA (Asia, Oceania and Africa) [which includes] both Asia Pacific and the Middle East regions,” Head of Nestle Coffee Brands David Rennie told the floor during a recent company conference.
" This is a CHF44bn (US$48.3bn) business for us, and we have three billionaire coffee brands in our portfolio namely Nescafe, Nespresso and Starbucks so we have a deep competitive advantage across the value chain.
" Moving forward we believe growth will be driven by more premiumisation, more occasions and more consumers and we intend to innovate in accordance with this.
Meiji: Protein intake trumps exercise to build muscle gains
Trend: Protein
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.”
Reaching China’s Gen Z: Functional, musical and healthier candy innovations
Trend: Gen Z trends
China’s Gen Z has been the driving force behind candy innovation to blend wellness, tech, and emotion into a new wave of functional, expressive confections
According to data from market research firm Frost & Sullivan, the market for functional candies has been growing at a 17.3% CAGR in China.
Many functional candies have rapidly appeared on the market, which in turn has seen traditional sweet innovation slowing down somewhat in the country.
“It has been getting more and more difficult for conventional candy and chocolate firms in China because there is a strong government focus on sugar reduction, which has hit the industry hard,” conventional candy firm Golden Monkey Food R&D Director Zhaoyang Chu said.
“More and more young consumers are paying attention to this as they are exposed to much more information via the internet than we were back in the day, and this has resulted in major challenges for us in terms of consumption.”
Increasing preference for snacks over meals in Asia spells diversification opportunities
Trend: Snacking
Consumers in Asia are increasingly favouring snack consumption over meals in the past year, which spells opportunities for food companies to innovate and diversify, according to industry experts.
According to data analytics firm Euromonitor International, busier routines re-emerging post-pandemic have sparked demand for “more convenient nutrition solutions” such as snacking, be it for a satiating meal replacement or a treat during social gatherings.
“Healthy snacks have become a source of nutrition complementation, meal replacement, and satiation. Salty snacks and biscuits have been key beneficiaries given their lower price points and filling ingredients, such as fibre, protein and vegetables,” Carl Quash III, head of snacks at Euromonitor International said.
Reinventing classics: Hyperlocal ingredients and strong aromas crucial for food innovation in China
Trend: Hyperlocalisation
Food and beverage innovation in China should incorporate hyperlocal elements, strong aromas or radical reinventions of well-known classics to resonate with China’s ‘sensitive’ taste buds, according to experts.
It is a well-known fact that consumers in China have some of the most exacting taste buds in the world driven by the wide range of cuisines available in the market, and the unusually rapid rate of innovation in the country.
This means that food and beverage first need to go the extra mile to cut through the noise.
“China is a unique market compared to the rest of the world, and this is firstly because we have such a large population leading to increased demands compared to other regions; but more importantly because consumer taste buds here are truly more sensitive,” Kerry China Marketing Director Helen Tang said.
“We are not just saying this but actually have practical examples – we have sugar alternative solutions that have worked perfectly in the US and EU with consumers finding it a good replacement, but when we brought this same product to China, we realised consumers here found it more bitter initially compared to other markets and had to customise accordingly."
