Probiotics, functional dairy and natural colours – combined with Asia’s rapidly changing lifestyle and health needs – are among the top factors driving industry growth in the region.
The challenges in the battle to provide adequate infant nutrition across APAC are as diverse as the region itself, with severe micronutrient deficiencies, stunting and, on the other hand, soaring obesity levels being witnessed.
No errors, no mood swings, no sick leave, and she can process three sets of microbiological tests in 14 minutes. Meet Ms Ugene, Singapore’s first two-armed robot microbiologist helping Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), food and nutrition firms ensure...
Distributor Jebsen & Jessen has been splashing the cash in Asia, having recently opened in its first ingredients site in the region – a $17m joint venture malt processing factory in Thailand alongside supplier Muntons – as well as spending a further...
GEA has partnered with Fonterra to install the ‘second of its kind’ world’s largest spray dryer at Fonterra milk powder plant in Lichfield, New Zealand.
Milled whole cricket powder is probably the best known bug-derived food ingredient aside from red food color carmine. But what other delights might edible insects yield for food formulators? Elaine Watson caught up with bug enthusiast Dr George Cavender...
Personalised diets may provide diabetics with a more natural way of controlling the post-meal spikes in blood sugar glucose that are linked to obesity, hypertension and cardiovascular disease, a study suggests.
The progress of personalised nutrition is being hampered by the food industry’s ‘lack of trust and transparency,’ in product composition and effects on health.
“This potato format could well be the biggest thing to happen to the potato industry since the frozen French fry,” I’m being told, and it’s hard to disagree, no matter how bold the statement.
B vitamins play a significant role in cognitive performance and neurological functioning but deficiencies are common in too many populations, a Vitafoods Europe congress has been told.
Potatoes: like dairy not the first global staple you think of when it comes to Asia, but that doesn’t mean to say that there isn’t a growing market for spud-based ingredients.
At the crossroads of east and west, Turkey offers huge promise but given the current political and economic situation, there are also challenges. FoodNavigator spoke to both Turkish and global companies at Food Ingredients in Istanbul this month to get...
Sales of tea in the US continue to climb steadily, thanks in part to a big push from interest in specialty tea – especially by millennials, according to the Tea Association of America.
Jane Barnett, Mintel's head of insight, looks at some of the most pressing current consumer trends in Asia-Pacific while bidding a not-so-fond farewell to the nutritional villains of the last year.
Ayurvedic principles and ingredients are increasingly accepted in North America among product formulators. But a tension exists: Are these best used in concentrated forms and in isolation or in their traditional matrices?
Social media has transformed the way food manufacturers can engage in emotional marketing and foster brand love among consumers – but tread carefully because it also magnifies errors if you get it wrong, warns one digital marketer.
Part two in our series looking at the Australian prawn sector
Food should taste and smell good but what else should and can it do when ‘visually stimulated’ consumers like millennials engage in eating occasions? Touch, sight and sound are increasingly in the mix and driving multi-sensory NPD as FoodNavigator discovered...
Ingredients major DSM has ramped up its regional development work with the opening of an innovation centre in Singapore this year. Central to its operation is an understanding that Asian physiology is different, says Haeri Roh-Schmidt, the company's...
With three out of 10 food industry jobs becoming vacant each year in Thailand, companies face a significant challenge in finding staff, and then retaining them in an employees' market.
Pan-Asia food distributors must keep their finger on the pulse of industry trends. DPO's country head takes a look at the segments that will be big business over the coming year.
India's flavour market has changed substantially in a very quick time. Changing demographics really have been making a difference in this segment as tastes become more international and discerning.
Although not a newcomer to Southeast Asia, American cheese and diary ingredient manufacturer DairiConcepts is determined to break new ground. Its strategy is to bring innovation to Thailand while beating off competitors with less experience in the region.
Southeast Asia is now America's second biggest market after Mexico, and is the centre of a growth trend that is set to continue. Dali Ghazalay, the US industry's regional representative, talks about the reasons for this rise and the challenges...
Grassland, a Wisconsin butter products company, is seeing fast expansion in a Southeast Asian market that is now demanding a wide range of ingredients. "It is a very positive market for US dairy," says sales manager Greg Rodriguez.
Matcha tea, known for its vibrant green hue, is hitting its stride in the U.S. where household penetration is currently low but sales are climbing double-digit year-over-year – representing significant consumer interest and growth potential, according...
Two firms that generated a lot of buzz at the IFT show this year were Parabel and Hinoman, which are both selling brand new nutrient-packed ingredients from tiny aquatic plants. But do they have what it takes to give more established players in the plant-based...
Blackmores, the leading supplement brand in Australia, has taken the unusual step of sending a company representative on a two week-long trip to verify the sustainability practices of Aker BioMarine, the world’s largest harvester of krill used to supply...
Start-ups have faced tough times along with the rest of the European food industry in recent years as a tight economy and ever tighter regulations have bitten deep.
The rise of social media has led to a shift in the way consumers view food brands – and the way that food brands interact with their customers, according to experts speaking on the side lines of Food Vision in Cannes.
Nutrigenomics – the idea of optimising nutrition via individualised and/or pooled genetic data – is one that has long promised to revolutionise how we eat – not to mention keeping us healthy and out of hospitals. Are converging technologies about to deliver...
Digestive issues after drinking milk are often attributed to milk protein allergy (which can be severe) or intolerance to lactose (milk sugars). But what if both of these have been ruled out and you are still experiencing mild digestive discomfort?
Clinical data is building around the role of probiotics to aid athletic performance – from recovery to muscle development to immune defense. We spoke to a leading researcher at Probiota in Amsterdam this month…
Yakult at Probiota 2015: “We want to be clear that before we invest we need to have some dialogue with EFSA...”
Yakult and leading academics expressed frustration at what they see as unfair and opaque scientific requirements around probiotic health claims in the European Union – but how much is industry to blame and could social media be a data-sharing saviour?
The holidays are fast upon us, so let’s put ‘business’ to one side and get into the festive mood. To keep in the spirit of things, we’ve got a ‘gift’ for you – enjoy. Happy Holidays!
If the cover of TIME magazine earlier this month (headline: Eat Butter) is anything to go by, it would seem that the conversation about fat, and saturated fat in particular, is changing, at least in the media. But are policymakers sitting up and taking...
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has been called on to renew its principles on zero deforestation, land development and rights by Cargill Refined Oils Europe.
Mondelēz is challenging palm oil suppliers to step up their game so it can move towards using physical supplies of purely sustainable palm oil for all its products.
Botanical adulteration, like doping in sports, is a problem that can be controlled but never totally resolved, but what is being done about it? Here the world’s biggest botanical players debate their attacks on the problem.
