3 must-watch emerging food & drink categories for growth in 2026

Food as Medicine: The future of healthier innovation?

The basic concept of ‘food as medicine’ is by no means a new concept, having roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and other ancient forms of medicinal systems for thousands of years – but this has undoubtedly seen a resurgence in recent years.

Unsurprisingly, China is leading the charge here from a policy and governance aspect, wit the central government announcing a renewed interest in this sector via the Food As Medicine (FAM) or 药食同源 national campaign.

This has led to many large and small food companies scrambling to come up with novel innovations that fall under the FAM category, most of which have a health and/or functional focus.

“The government is placing a lot of importance on this campaign, with over 100 ingredients having been categorised as part of the FAM ingredients list, including Canadian ginseng,” ginseng specialist firm Herbal Player GM Celia Xie told us.

“One of the core concepts of FAM is the simplification of healthcare and integrating these functional ingredients into daily diets, so industry needs to focus on removing the complications that come with traditional healthcare to achieve this.”

TCM treatments generally require ginseng and many other medicinal herbs to undergo long processing or boiling for consumption as a tea, tonic or brew – the vast majority of which end up being very bitter and a major turn-off especially for younger consumers.

For Herbal Player, the solution has been to use nanotechnology to extract the beneficial ginsenosides to use in modern product formats like sparkling sodas and effervescent tablets which are far more efficient in enabling younger consumers to consume these in their daily diets.

The reach of the FAM concept has extended far beyond China as well – in Thailand, food giant CP Foods has also integrated Food As Medicine as a dedicated part of its growth strategy.

“APAC’s rapidly-ageing population shows us that solely relying on healthcare to maintain public health is not going to be a sufficient solution moving forward, so CP Foods wants to focus on preventative healthcare via eating well,” CP Foods Head of R&D Nalinee Robinson said.

“Food plays a crucial role in preventative healthcare, which is why we have laid out a comprehensive strategy via our Food as Medicine platform to use everyday diets to empower better health in consumers.”

CP Foods’ strategy is based on four key phases: Safe and free-from foods such as its antibiotic-free Benja Chicken; Guilt-free foods with lower fat, sodium or sugar such as ready-to-cook skinless chicken chunks; Nutritious Indulgence; and finally Enhanced Nutrition.

“Taste is king in APAC, so we are taking our time to plan and execute – consumers will not compromise on taste no matter what, even for lower prices or better health benefits, so this is definitely a long-term project,” she said.

Other firms are focused firmly on Food as Medicine as the basis for existence such as Singapore-based KosmodeHealth.

The firm upcycles food byproducts, once considered waste, into attractive new ones – such as its newest low-GI noodles ProTEGO which are made using peanut protein and sweet potato fibre which would usually be discarded as well as its zero glycaemic response noodles W0W made from spent barley grains.

The Food as Medicine concept is firmly embedded in KosmodeHealth because most of its products are able to cater to diabetic consumers – and the firm is strategically targeting Asian staple foods such as noodles and rice in order to make maximum impact.

“Most Asian staples are high in starch, which is linked to the prevalence of diabetes in this region – it is also notable that most low-GI foods available to this group are Western foods like bread, granola bars or drinks,” KosmodeHealth CEO Florence Leong said.

“So there is a gap to be addressed here, to cater to everyday Asians’ eating habits and tackle the carbohydrate-heavy staple foods.”

With interest and demand on the rise in various APAC markets, the growth of the Food as Medicine concept is undoubtedly set to see a boom in the coming year, influencing product innovation and driving trends for some time to come.

Value-added innovation: Functionality, cost and more

Where once value-addition in foods would have been solely focused on the addition of health or nutritional benefits to products, in today’s market, value-addition has evolved to cover a range of ‘values’ including methods that can maintain product taste without hiking up prices.

One of the most prominent categories that has been growing in the past year is ‘replacements’ – from coffee replacers to cocoa replacers, this growth is being driven by commodity price hikes in manufacturers’ efforts to keep production costs low but still maintain acceptable taste and texture for their products.

Cocoa replacers in particular are seeing rapid growth on the back of unstable cocoa prices, with cocoa suppliers and chocolate manufacturers alike actively seeking out potential alternatives to deal with this instability.

This includes big names such as Barry Callenaut, the world’s biggest manufacturer of chocolate and cocoa, who announced a partnership to create cocoa-free chocolate as well as active interest in cell-cultivated cocoa production in 2025.

This de-risking strategy involves working with start-up Planet A Foods to use alternative crops such as sunflower seeds to deliver a ‘chocolate-like experience’ which has been named ChoViva.

“Barry Callebaut is embracing technology to open further avenues for growth while enhancing resiliency to today’s cocoa market volatility,” said Barry Callebaut head of global strategy Christian Hansen.

Other giants such as Cargill and Kerry have also launched their own cocoa-free ingredient ranges, marking a new era for cocoa replacers.

Similarly, bean-free coffee firm Prefer is seeing healthy growth in demand for its coffee alternative fermented from food byproducts like rice and soy, having secured multiple partnerships across the APAC region including with condiment giant Ajinomoto in Thailand.

“Our bean-free soluble coffee powder is up to two times more affordable than current arabica coffee market prices, and Asia is where we see the most potential in the near term,” founder Jake Berber said.

“This applies to both the coffee and cocoa replacement markets as consumption of these two commodities here is already massive and still growing quickly especially at the mass market level.”

The firm also has a range of cocoa-free cocoa powder in its portfolio.

That said, make no mistake that functionality is still very much at the core of the value-added category – Japan’s Sankyo Foods has tapped this demand to develop a GABA-enriched brown rice targeting holistic wellness, covering benefits from sleep to mental health, to gut, beauty and anti-ageing.

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is known to support relaxation and sleep, and has found high value as a functional ingredient in Asia as a health supplement and in other formats.

“Every serving of the rice contains 100mg of GABA, and we have focused on the convenience element as well by ensuring the rice is ready-to-heat (RTH) so it can be consumed after microwave heating,” Distribution Manager Bessho Yuki said.

“There are four different types of GABA rice in this range that have various benefits – from a Daishimochi barley blend to support digestive health, to a black rice blend high in antioxidants for anti-ageing.”

In fact, the appeal of functionality has grown so significantly that it now even covers previously inconceivable categories such as alcohol.

Take Thai craft beer brand Say Play for example: The brewery’s best-selling beer is its SayPlay Cold IPA low-carb beer, which also has the distinction of being the best-selling craft beer in Thailand for the past two years and is the flagship product from its functional beer platform.

“SayPlay is ultra low-carb with just 2.5g of carbohydrates per serving compared to the regular 12g to 15g in normal beers – we did not highlight low-carb as a key feature of this beer due to local Thai alcohol marketing regulations, but it made its way to the top of the craft beer list anyway,” SayPlay parent company Full Moon Breweries Founding Partner and Head Brewer Sukij Thipatima said.

“This is very important as it showcases the viability of functional beers as a category with appeal for new drinkers, wither those that are more health-conscious or just new to craft beer in general.”

He acknowledged the obvious and significant challenges for craft beer in a market where major local beer brands such as Chang and Singha have significant dominance, made doubly so if the plan is to increase focus on a niche category such as functional beer, but draws optimism from the popularity of SayPlay and the rise in health consciousness among younger beer drinkers.

“Gen Z consumer are the biggest appreciators of these functional beers – they want these better-for-you products and will proactively read the labels to find the best products that meet their needs even if we don’t highlight the functional characteristics,” he said.

GLP-1 influence on food: Is it hitting APAC anytime soon?

GLP-1 receptor agonists like Ozempic and Mounjaro are medications mimicking the hormone GLP-1, which were first made as diabetic drugs but are becoming more commonly used as weight-loss medications.

These drugs are having profound impacts on food and beverage consumption, particularly in the United States, due to their appetite-suppression and digestion-slowing functions, which lead to lower calorie consumption, smaller portion purchases, fewer snack purchases and so on.

One of the major growth drivers in this market is the fact that almost three-quarters of Americans are overweight or obese, and 88% are metabolically unhealthy, according to data from the University of California, Davis Institute for Innovation in Food and Health (IIFH) – making it no surprise that at least 12% (41 million) Americans are currently taking these drugs.

And the fact is that not all food categories are being affected uniformly: According to Purdue University research, the most significant declines (between -6.7% to -11.1%) occurred in ‘ultra-processed, calorie-dense items’.

These included: Chips, savoury snacks, sweet bakery goods, sides, and cookies, with reductions ranging from.

“Interestingly, the study did not identify an increase in spending on traditionally considered healthier products, such as fresh produce or whole grains, among all adopters,” said Purdue University Research Assistant Professor Lourival Monaco.

“This indicates that spending reductions stem from buying fewer items rather than switching to alternatives.”

Some of the world’s biggest food brands have actively responded to the GLP-1 trend with the launch of ‘GLP-1 companion products’ or relevant nutrition platforms, such as Nestle and Danone.

In the US, Nestle launched its www.glp-1nutrition.com nutrition platform as a hub to support those on a weight management journey, as well as GLP-1 companion range Vital Pursuit comprising products that are ‘high in protein, a good source of fibre, contain essential nutrients, and are portion-aligned to a weight loss medication user’s appetite’.

“Vital Pursuit provides accessible, great-tasting food options that support the needs of consumers in this emerging category," said Steve Presley, Chief Executive Officer, Nestlé North America.

“As the use of medications to support weight loss continues to rise, we see an opportunity to serve those consumers.”

Similarly, Danone launched the Oikos range of products comprising protein shakes, beverages, yoghurts and more

GLP-1 medication influence is also showing growth in Europe, and KPMG data projects that the global GLP-1 market will grow by some 30% from now till 2030 – but it remains unclear whether the APAC region will make any significant contribution to this growth.

Supporting the potential for this is the unfortunate fact that there are markets here with very high obesity rates – this number stands at around 28.2% in Brunei, 19.7% in Malaysia and 11.6% in Singapore, with studies also projecting rapid rises in China and India if no proactive preventive measures are taken.

As it stands, GLP-1 drugs are present in APAC as strictly prescription-only injections, only available at licensed clinics and pharmacies, but GLP-1 companion foods are not common – food firms pushing smaller portion sizes or high-protein product innovations do not tend to associate these products with GLP-1, but rather as healthier products or functional products.

More importantly, the costs of GLP-1 drugs make it extremely prohibitive to be widely used in price-sensitive markets – In Singapore for example, monthly costs can range from S$300 (US$233.66) to S$1,200 (US$934.63) or even more per month depending on the drug, dosage and institution.

This is not a small expense even for one of Asia’s most affluent markets where the median gross monthly take-home income stands between S$4,000 to S$5,000 (US$3,114 to US$3,893), making it out of reach for the majority of consumers that do not have it covered by insurance.

It is even further out of reach for most other markets in the region where consumers make far less on average.

That said, current APAC consumer trends continue to tend towards healthier, more mindful consumption which ties in closely with innovation strategies guiding GLP-1 companion products such as high-protein, high-fibre, reduced sugar, smaller portion sizes, or added vitamins and minerals.

All of these bode well for the potential of GLP-1 companion products looking to enter the market as healthier product options – even though the time may not yet be quite right to market these as such.