The Japanese government is planning to commit approximately US$20mn into projects to expand the use of rice flour across more food product innovations in its latest initiative to improve local self-sufficiency and food security.
Chinese consumers’ increasing demands for functional and fortified foods and beverages to support a lifestyle based on ‘punk nutrition’ has opened up massive innovation opportunities for brands across various product categories.
Singapore-based Gryphon Tea Company has updated its cold-brewed tea range with “no added sugar” formulations, which the firm says has helped it keep up with the better-for-you trend and reach out to a bigger pool of health-conscious consumers.
India-based The Brooklyn Creamery is making headway in the Middle East by catering to the buying behaviours and eating habits of consumers in the region, including healthier options and innovative flavours.
Cargill-owned Aalst Chocolate is putting “substantial investment” into insights-driven R&D, customised products, and strengthening of its bean-to-bar supply chain to push growth in Asia and beyond.
The supplementation of the amino acid glycine before bedtime has shown to improve sleep quality, alertness and reduce fatigue in healthy populations, according to findings of a recent review conducted by researchers from Singapore.
There is currently significant debate taking place over the timing for athletes to consume caffeine and reap the most benefits, a leading sports science researcher has pointed out.
Auckland-based nut butter producer Forty Thieves is investing in social media content creation and influencer marketing to target online consumers, whom it says have increasingly shorter attention spans.
Food firms need to be increasingly savvy when it comes to meeting growing consumer demands for fortified and reformulated products, in order to remain cost competitive in the current economic environment.
China-based clean label brand Haofood is putting extra efforts into innovation while maintaining focus on taste and affordability to boost consumer adoption of plant-based diets.
China dairy giant Junlebao believes that the concentration of a specific variant of DHA molecules – the sn-2 DHA – plays a crucial role in the absorption and efficacy of infant formulas, and has called for industry collaboration to increase understanding...
Consumption of food-derived oligopeptides has been linked with an increased rate of triglyceride breakdown, enhanced the uptake of non-esterified fatty acids, and the promotion of fat oxidation, both during periods of inactivity and exercise among cyclists.
A study in Korea posits that a higher dosage and long-term use of omega-3 could positively affect cardiovascular disease management, and potentially save on healthcare costs.
Only 23% of pregnant women are meeting daily choline intake recommendations of 440mg/day, says an Australian study, despite its crucial role in cognitive development prenatal infants.
Nutritional supplementation taken at the stage of pre-conception by a mother has major potential to improve the long-term health of children, according to results from cross-country research.
A high-fibre diet combined with synbiotic supplementation is effective in tackling obesity and reducing risk of metabolic syndrome, say Hong Kong researchers.
Japanese firm CHOYA has added two new products to its Sarari line-up, both of which contain lower alcohol content and are “priced affordably”, to appeal to a younger demographic.
While dairy is the basis of protein nutrition, the use of plant-based and precision fermented protein is bound to increase in products such as infant formula, healthy ageing, and sports nutrition, says dairy multinational firm Friesland Campina.
Heliocare has launched a new supplement that claims to target multiple pathways of melanogenesis, which the brand believes is crucial in addressing skin hyperpigmentation effectively.
The Netherlands-based food tech company Meatable says it has managed to reduce costs and raise production efficiency of its cultivated meat products, which are on course to be launched in Singapore by next year.
The unique health and nutritional needs of women throughout their life span, which remain a significant gap to fill, could be addressed with science-backed ingredients and targeted supplementation.
Vitamin D status could predict COVID-19 mortality rate and the severity of symptoms in the acute infection stage, suggests a new observational study in China.
The dual flavour trends of experimentation and hyperlocalisation are finding increasing favour amongst consumers in the ASEAN region, requiring food and beverage firms across categories to ramp up innovation.
Taking 200mg of lactoferrin daily for 12 weeks has been shown to support immune function in healthy adults, a new study funded by Japanese firm Morinaga found.
The plant-based industry in Asia Pacific will need to further boost product diversification and hybrid innovation strategies it is to continue to grow amid a slowdown in the West.
India-based Beyond Snack recently expanded its repertoire of banana chips in the hope of attracting Millennials and Gen Zs, whom the firm believes are particularly receptive to flavour innovations.
Singapore-headquartered TurtleTree is targeting sports nutrition success with its lactoferrin ingredient, with commercialisation in the US and Singapore expected this year and next year respectively.
Hypertensive and diabetic patients could benefit from diets prepared using low-sodium salt, with blood pressure significantly reduced following an eight-week intervention, findings from a China study showed.
There is a lack of vitamin A, C, calcium, and iron dietary intake among adolescents and adults in South Korea due to poor dietary habits, warns the country’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS).
Precision probiotics firm Biome Australia says that giving practitioners a foundational understanding of microbiome modulation, before reinforcing efficacy via clinical trials, will be key to its ongoing growth objectives in the market.
There is “no significant difference” between the efficacy of daily and intermittent vitamin D supplementation under equivalent dosage and duration conditions, say Chinese researchers.
Malaysian newcomer postbiotic firm My Myracle has commercialised a series of postbiotics using solely bacteria from plants instead of other common sources, such as faeces of healthy individuals or animals. It says that using plant-derived bacteria is...
New Zealand researchers are optimistic that the flavouring, preserving, and texturing benefits provided by the native kanuka plant will lead to its effective commercialisation as a food ingredient.
Supplementation with Korean Red Ginseng could reduce the production of the stress hormone cortisol, according to the findings of an eight-week RCT conducted among 90 men who reported being under stress.
Healthplex Expo 2023 / Natural & Nutraceutical Products China 2023
Adding certain probiotics to protein have shown to increase protease activity and in turn facilitate a higher rate of amino acid absorption, which could be a new point of market differentiation for the crowded protein supplement market, says South Korea’s...
A new RCT reports that a supplement combining vitamin C with glutathione (GSK) improved markers of metabolic, cardiac, and oxidative health in middle-aged triathlon athletes, following sub-maximal exercise.
Experts have highlighted the need to balance functionality and taste to move healthy beverages into the mainstream in APAC, with some consensus that personalised nutrition, gut health, and mental wellness are set to become emerging growth areas.
The founder of a pioneering China plant-based firm will reveal how the challenges can be overcome to create clean label and additive-free products at our Growth Asia Summit 2023.
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) have been found to have beneficial effects on inflammatory markers, metabolic dysregulation, and depressive symptoms.
A 12-week RCT conducted in Japan has showed that the supplementation of a yam-derived bioactive could improve muscle quality and reduce glycated haemoglobin among middle-aged adults.
Thai research team is embarking on a long-term journey to commercialise a herbal tea that has been shown to boost breast milk production in a clinical trial.
The sports performance-enhancing properties of tempeh should be further explored for application in functional foods such as sports drinks, say researchers.
Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) alone, and not combined with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), reduced the risk of cardiovascular diseases in diabetic patients, according to a new Chinese study.
The supplementation of collagen peptide has shown to reduce exercise-induced muscle soreness and fatigue in middle-aged men, making it a potential sports nutrition candidate, said researchers from Japan.
Sapporo Breweries and IBM Japan have jointly established an artificial intelligence (AI) system that significantly reduces the time and cost of new product development, and which is poised to play a key role in the alcohol firm’s future innovations.
The role of governments is crucial to introduce affordable proper nutrition to mass consumers via the fortification of staple foods, particularly in countries with large populations such as India and China.
The lactic acid bacterium OLL2716 strain has been shown to be effective not only in relieving stomach discomfort, but also in reducing mental stress caused by these symptoms, say Meiji researchers.
