‘Next gen growth’: Asahi reveals plans to strengthen APAC business
Asahi has plans to boost its whiskey, water and non-alcoholic product portfolios 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 Asahi Group Japan CEO Kenji Hamada announced this year.
Australia supermarket report: More grocery competition needed to break ‘oligopoly’ but barriers may be too high
A government report has found that more grocery competition is required within the Australian grocery sector in order to break the ‘oligopoly’ currently led by Woolworths and Coles, but the barriers to entry may be too high.
An inquiry was directed by the Australian Government in January 2024 to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), and the final report was published in 2025.
One of the main findings of this report was the conclusion that the local supermarket industry is ‘highly concentrated’, with the ACCC putting Woolworths market share at 38% of supermarket grocery sales and Coles at 29% - large numbers compared to closest competitors ALDI at 9% and Metcash (which supplies to independent stores) at 7%.
“In economic terms, this is an oligopolistic market structure in which Coles and Woolworths have limited incentive to compete vigorously with each other on price,” the commission said via formal documentation on the report.
“Grocery prices in Australia have been increasing rapidly over the last five financial years - Most of those increases are attributable to increases in the cost of doing business across the economy, [however] ALDI, Coles and Woolworths have also increased their product and EBIT margins during this time.
“This means that at least some of the grocery price increases have resulted in additional profits for ALDI, Coles and Woolworths.
Suntory reacts as CEO quits amid drug investigation
The shocking resignation of Japanese food and beverage giant Suntory’s CEO sent shockwaves through the industry earlier this year.
Takeshi Niinami, the Chairman and CEO of Suntory Holdings (Suntory), one of Japan’s oldest and most well-known food and beverage brands, resigned amid an ongoing investigation into illegal drug purchases.
According to a formal statement from Suntory, Niinami had informed the company about a police investigation into the drug misconduct last month, and had offered his resignation over ‘personal reasons’, which was accepted on September 1.
“Suntory has recognised this to be an extremely serious matter from a governance perspective,” Suntory president Nobuhiro Torii stated at an emergency news conference held after the resignation was made public.
“A hearing was immediately conducted with Niinami via an outside attorney, during which he explained that the investigation was being conducted about several supplements, which he had allegedly purchased with the understanding that they were legal.”
One India: Lotte looks to expand presence after liquidation scare
South Korean food and beverage giant Lotte Welfood has highlighted plans to target growth in India and high-value product innovation domestically to improve profitability.
Lotte Group held its 2025 IR Day to update investors on its business directions, likely a move to quell concerns that arose at the end of 2024 when Lotte faced a liquidity crisis.
This was the result of poor performance by the Lotte Chemical arm which 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.
Lotte announced various strategies for each of its affiliates, and for its food business Lotte Welfood this included an increased focus on its India business and high-value product innovation, among 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 told the floor.
“This is why we are now enhancing our portfolio, with the emphasis on securing a balanced business portfolio and stable revenue structure through restructuring, strengthening existing businesses, and investing in new growth engines.
Indonesia’s WTO winning streak could threaten EUDR viability
Continuous palm oil wins for Indonesia at the WTO this year cast doubts on how the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) will impact sustainability and trade
Implementation of the EUDR has been a major point of concern for producers of agri-food commodities such as palm oil and cocoa in producer markets from Indonesia to Brazil.
Over the past decade, Indonesia has surfaced multiple complaints to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) disputing the EU’s ‘unfair’ treatment of palm oil, from the enforcement of anti-dumping duties to measures levelled against palm oil as part of the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive II (RED II).
Significantly, every single one of Indonesia’s complaints to the WTO so far when it comes to palm oil have been successful, and industry experts are hopeful that this will serve to disincentivise the EU towards putting up more ‘protectionist’ trade barriers – such as the EUDR.
Nestlé’s CEO scandal: What now?
Ex-Nestle CEO Laurent Freixe was dismissed over conduct violation this year, just over a year after replacing Mark Schneider at the helm of Nestlé.
Freixe lost his job in circumstances that have nothing to do with the food major’s performance on the market.
His dismissal followed an internal investigation into his conduct – specifically, an undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate – which was in breach of Nestlé’s governance rules.
The investigation was overseen by Nestlé’s top brass: chairman Paul Bulcke and lead independent director Pablo Isla, with the support of independent outside counsel.
Unilever India’s demerger with Wall’s ‘maximises potential’ for ice cream growth
Unilever’s India business entity Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) announced a demerger with Kwality Wall’s (India) Ltd (KWIL) ice cream business earlier this year as part of the wider Unilever split from ice cream, citing hopes to maximise the latter’s potential and growth in the country.
HUL announced this on 10 January 2025, stressing that this move was a forward-looking measure to ensure the latter would be able to fulfil its potential in India.
“KWIL is a great business with significant growth potential, and this demerger will enable this potential to be maximised,” then-HUL CFO Ritesh Tiwari told the floor at a company investor’s meeting.
“This is because the delisting will establish KWIL as a separately listed entity that has its own focused management, which will then be able to have greater flexibility to deploy strategies suited to ice cream’s distinctive business model.
“Even after the delisting, this new entity will still be equipped with the portfolio, brand and innovation expertise from the largest global ice cream business.”
5 food industry leadership scandals that shook the past 18 months
From corruption allegations to sexual misconduct, this year saw multiple high-profile food industry scandals that made headlines and reshaped leadership in the APAC food industry.
September 2025 saw several high-profile CEO removals, including those involving two of the world’s largest food and beverage firms.
These scandals received the heaviest media attention but were far from the only incidents linked to top leadership which rocked the food industry in the recent past.
Here are five of the most significant ones to have emerged over the past 18 months, involving Nestle, Mondelez, Wahaha and more.
Zepto food scandal exposes India quick commerce risks
Zepto is one of India’s most popular quick commerce platforms, alongside Swiggy Instamart, Blinkit, Flipkart, and Amazon.
In the face of fierce competition, services like Zepto’s 10-minute delivery promise have set the bar high.
However, earlier in the year Zepto’s Mumbai hub exposed for major hygiene lapses, revealing weak food safety enforcement and cold chain gaps in India’s booming quick commerce sector
This was highlighted after the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspected the facility on 31 May, uncovering fungal growth in foods and products stored on wet filthy floors.
The findings cast a spotlight on the food safety risks that may be overlooked in the pursuit of ultra-fast delivery by quick commerce platforms, which have rapidly transformed India’s retail landscape.
Philippines faces rice price instability amid global unrest
Philippines halted rice price cuts and tariff hikes amid global unrest earlier this year, a move that fuelled uncertainty and rising costs for consumers and food manufacturers throughout the country
Rice is the major food commodity in the Philippines, which is also one of the world’s major importers, and historically rice prices in this market have been anything but stable, even before the pandemic.
Over the past year, due to the effects of El Nino last year causing a dip in local supply, as well as a rice export ban by major supplier India to manage its own rice supply needs in 2023.
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced a major drop in rice import duties from the regular 35% to 15% back then in order to attract more rice imports, but with the potential supply crisis having passed as of 2025, calls were rife to have tariffs increased again.
“Unchecked rice imports are harming local farmers,” Nueva Ecija Representative Rossana Vergara told the Philippines Congress.