The rate of growth for Ausnutria’s Goat milk brand Kabrita slowed significantly in China throughout 2020, with the firm citing reduced promotion and marketing activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nestlé has announced news of a 100% cocoa fruit chocolate bar made under its Les Recettes de L’Atelier brand, available for now in France and the Netherlands with other European markets to follow.
About 65% of Japanese snacks and 76% of South Korean snacks have hard textures, according to a study assessing new snack food ideas from existing products.
Ingredient suppliers are innovating in the delivery of mouthfeel and texture in plant-based products such as milk, snacks and meat, as interest in flexitarian, vegetarian and vegan diets continue to grow across APAC.
Plant-based foods formulated with more wheat gluten was found to exhibit softer and less chewy texture compared to commercial tofu, mock meat and animal meat products.
Despite rapidly growing consumer demand, the quality of plant-based milk products very often underwhelms. The solution? More consistent testing at R&D stage.
Nestle Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is striving to create more innovative products for the region, following the launch of Quality Street dates, while also pledging to double down on its sustainability efforts.
Italian frozen fruit snack company Frutteto will start manufacturing part of its products in Japan, its largest market, and is on-track to launch in China this year.
China plant-based meat start-up Hey Maet is working to switch its production strategy to ‘next gen’ high moisture extrusion, which could help reduce the number of ingredients in its products.
Malaysian bak kwa company Oloiya (Chinese:我来也) is banking on flavour innovation to capture the younger market, as it bids to disrupt the century-old industry.
Researchers are proposing to fortify food categories such as bread, biscuits, noodles, fat spreads, sauces and palm oil with plant sterols, as a measure to reduce risk factors associated with heart diseases among the Indonesian population.
Almost half (49.7%) of Chinese consumers surveyed say they were willing to sample cell-based meats, but almost as many (47.2%) said they would not wish to eat it regularly.
