Penghu Uncle is tapping Asia’s indulgent snacking trend by upcycling fish skin and bones – parts usually discarded – into flavoured crisps as it eyes the ASEAN market.
The firm was inspired by Singapore’s IRVINS, which is known for its famous salted egg fish skin crisps. It then set out to do something similar and applied it to the traditional Taiwanese fish skin and fish bone crisps.
“Various brands are just looking at one another to see what’s trending. We saw the success of IRVINS and thought we could do the same too,” Penghu Uncle spokesperson Sufei told FoodNavigator at the Kaohsiung Food Show.
She added that fish bone crisps are not new in Taiwan, but the firm is repackaging them in different flavours to suit contemporary tastes.
“Fish bone crisps were one of our earliest products. We didn’t create them because of sustainability trends. We simply felt that fish bones could be turned into a tasty snack.”
Fish bone crisps in Asia
Fish-bone snacks are not widely known in many ASEAN markets, but in Taiwan and Japan they are traditionally made by deep-frying bones from species like milkfish, tilapia, or mackerel, resulting in a crunchy, calcium-rich snack. Penghu Uncle’s version modernises this idea.
Turning trash into gold
While sustainability isn’t its main driver, the firm sees upcycling as a meaningful bonus.
It also allows them to maximise resources that can be transformed into tasty snacks instead of being thrown away.
“Consumers usually only want fish meat, and bones and sometimes the skin are often discarded. Turning fish bones and fish skin into snacks is like transforming something unwanted into something valuable. As the Chinese saying goes, it’s like turning trash into gold,” Sufei said.
She observed that other brands tend to highlight the nutritive aspects of snacks – for example, fish skin is often promoted as a high-collagen food, and fish bones are rich in calcium.
Penghu Uncle, however, does not highlight the health aspects – it prefers a more “realistic” approach of focusing on taste experience.
“For example, collagen absorption rate varies among individuals, so the benefits cannot be guaranteed. That’s why we don’t emphasise the health benefits. Our focus is taste because snacking should be enjoyable,” said Sufei.
Indulgent positioning over health claims
The brand offers wasabi, mala and salted-egg flavours – profiles it believes resonate strongly with ASEAN snack consumers.
It is candid about its positioning as an indulgent snack brand, pointing out that their products are not healthy snacking alternatives.
“We’re not a health-and-wellness brand. Snacks should taste good because they’re meant to be indulgent. If consumers want to eat healthily, they probably shouldn’t be snacking in the first place,” said Sufei.
She clarified that while some additives are added, it is done just right to hit the right notes.
“We do add seasonings and flavouring additives, but we don’t overdo it. For example, no extra salt is added to salted egg flavoured snacks because the salted egg itself is already salty enough,” explained Sufei.
The firm uses higher-quality fish such as basa and cod, which it says improves texture and reduces fishiness.
It believes that these qualities can help differentiate Penghu Uncle from other snack brands in ASEAN, where it is currently targeting.
Penghu Uncle specialises in seafood-based snacks and sauces – ready-to-eat products that offer convenience and indulgence.
“We’re focusing on ready-to-eat products. Fresh seafood is harder to preserve, so we’re moving towards seafood snacks that can keep well, such as dried scallops,” said Sufei.
“Since we already produce canned seafood, we want to make full use of our equipment to expand into different product formats, particularly those that can offer convenience and good taste at the same time.”
