Beverages

Middle East majors: Clean label and sugar reduction ‘a must’ to penetrate local beverage market

20-Sep-2023 By Pearly Neo

Beverage products entering the Middle Eastern market need to be clean label and low in sugar in order to gain a strong local foothold, with both regulatory pressure and consumer demand firmly pushing trends in this direction.

Using their loaf: Collaboration is key to breaking niche for upcycled foods in Asia – Brewerkz, Baker & Cook

20-Sep-2023 By Hui Ling Dang

Singapore-based companies Brewerkz and Baker & Cook envision upcycled foods to be a major trend in the next few years, with collaboration between F&B manufacturers playing a crucial role in raising awareness and uptake of such products.

In the right spirit: India launches strict standards for high-value whiskey to cut labelling adulteration

19-Sep-2023 By Pearly Neo

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has formally launched a new set of strict standards to define high-value whiskey products, in a bid to further cut down alcohol adulteration in the country.

On the rum: Nicaraguan brand Flor de Caña touts APAC boom and rides cocktail wave

19-Sep-2023 By Hui Ling Dang

Nicaraguan brand Flor de Caña says that Asia-Pacific markets are key contributors to the rapid growth of the premium rum category, with more consumers taking interest in rum-based cocktails.

Sweet complexities: ANZ ministers want clearer definition of ‘added sugars’ ahead of labelling policy changes

18-Sep-2023 By Pearly Neo

Australian and New Zealand ministers responsible for the region’s food industry have called for clearer definitions for the term ‘added sugars’.

Brand story, healthier alternatives, and sensory characteristics to underline beer innovation – Asahi

13-Sep-2023 By Si Ying Thian

Beer giant Asahi is tweaking the taste and packaging of its long-time product, the Asahi Super Dry, and says that today’s consumers are seeking out an “elevated experience” through a brand story, healthier options, and flavour innovations.

GM foods in South Korea: Government calls for ‘scientific input only’ in new public consultation for three food items

13-Sep-2023 By Pearly Neo

The South Korean government has opened three food safety reports on genetically modified soybean, corn and canola for public comment, with the caveat that all opinions submitted must be ‘based on science and logic’ or risk being ignored.

Spicing up RTD: Kirin launches new ginger ale sour and sugar free teas in Japan

12-Sep-2023 By Pearly Neo

Japanese brewery giant Kirin has announced the launches of two beverages – one alcoholic and one non-alcoholic – as it continues its efforts to tap novel ready-to-drink innovation opportunities.

Who will pay? APAC cocoa industry says EU Deforestation Regulation could create ‘two-tier market’

12-Sep-2023 By Pearly Neo

The cocoa and chocolates industry in Asia Pacific is concerned that the EU Deforestation Regulation could lead a two-tier market for cocoa beans, which could have far-ranging cost and pricing implications.

Stricter labelling plan: Taiwan doubles down on prepackaged food nutritional claims

11-Sep-2023 By Pearly Neo

Taiwanese authorities are doubling down in efforts to restrict nutritional labelling claims on prepackaged foods.

More than the Real Thing: Chinese consumers want emotion and culture, not just drinks - Coca-Cola

11-Sep-2023 By Pearly Neo

Product innovation, technology and data alone are no longer sufficient to make strides in the China beverage sector with consumers increasingly wanting ‘emotion and culture’ alongside their drinks, claims Coca-Cola.

Kellogg leaders plan to grow market share with infrastructure modernization, additional merchandising

08-Sep-2023 By Ryan Daily

Leaders of Kellogg Co.’s soon-to-be divided businesses plan to grow their respective entities by modernizing infrastructure to support additional innovation and returning to near pre-pandemic merchandising levels.

‘Long-awaited’ result: New Zealand food sector welcomes new Grocery Code but devil is in the detail

06-Sep-2023 By Pearly Neo

The New Zealand food trade body has welcomed the government’s new Grocery Code of Conduct, calling it a ‘long-awaited’ result – but stressed that a thorough examination of the details and industry education are now key to ensure it fulfils its purpose.

Not only oats: Singapore’s noomoo wants to become Asia’s ‘first’ all-encompassing plant-based dairy alternative brand

05-Sep-2023 By Hui Ling Dang

Singapore-based plant-based brand noomoo says it wants to be the ‘first’ Asia brand with an ‘all-encompassing’ range of products across plant types and categories, while focusing on B2B and online sales before expanding into physical retail channels.

‘No risk’ of loss: Carlsberg Malaysia plays down impact of Asahi partnership ending

05-Sep-2023 By Pearly Neo

Carlsberg Malaysia believes the end of its exclusive distribution partnership with Asahi is risk-free, and will use the opportunity to double down on its premiumisation strategy.

Bouncing back: Lotte to double down on Indian market and healthier innovation to boost financials

05-Sep-2023 By Pearly Neo

The India market and increased innovation in health and functional trends hold the key to improved financial performances, claims Korean heavyweight Lotte.

‘Too big a gamble’: EastRoc pledges continued use of sugar in energy drinks despite cost hikes and market trends

04-Sep-2023 By Pearly Neo

China energy beverage giant EastRoc will continue to use sugar as a primary ingredient in its best-selling products despite rising costs and a rapidly growing sugar-free trend in major cities.

Thailand prepackaged food labelling: New rules proposed for expiry dates and allergen warnings

04-Sep-2023 By Pearly Neo

Thailand could be set to revamp its rules around expiration dates and allergen warnings after regulator Thai Food and Drug Association (FDA) issued draft proposals for prepackaged foods

‘Unpuzzling’ Asia’s food trends: Twin demands for health and affordability key for success

31-Aug-2023 By Pearly Neo

Food and beverage brands looking to make inroads into Asia need to tread the line between growing health consciousness and increasing consumer concerns over costs.

‘Treasure to be discovered’: English Tea Shop eyes APAC as next major target on the back of rising gifting and premiumisation trends

30-Aug-2023 By Pearly Neo

Premium organic tea brand English Tea Shop has designated the Asia Pacific region as its next major target market after a decade of growth in Europe, citing growing consumer demands for premiumisation and products designed for gifting as strong drivers.

‘Whole different beast’: Retailer education key to cracking US low- to no-alcohol category – NZ’s AF Drinks

29-Aug-2023 By Si Ying Thian

Retailer education and collaboration is vital to cracking the US’s fledgling zero and low-alcohol sector, says New Zealand’s AF Drinks, which believes American consumers are ready to embrace the category.

Staying the course: Carlsberg Malaysia vows to continue premium push despite sales slump

29-Aug-2023 By Pearly Neo

Carlsberg has pledged to continue with its premiumisation drive in Malaysia and Singapore despite seeing its higher end beers suffer a significant slump as consumers tighten their belts.

Global consolidation: Asahi targets US$100mn annual cost savings via new procurement arm

28-Aug-2023 By Pearly Neo

Japan brewery giant Asahi is hoping to save a minimum of US$100mn annually by consolidating its procurement operations

Collagen boost: +PW sets sights on ‘huge’ China market with single serve RTD beverages

23-Aug-2023 By Pearly Neo

Functional beverage specialist firm +PW has set its sights on the ‘huge’ China market for its collagen-enriched RTD drinks, planning to bank on its convenient consumption format and unique flavour formulation to overcome market challenges.

High yield, low cost: NZ researchers eyeing food manufacturer partnerships to commercialise kanuka by-products

23-Aug-2023 By Si Ying Thian

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.

Betting on beer: Asahi believes regulatory changes and global events will spur domestic and international category growth

21-Aug-2023 By Pearly Neo

Japan brewery major Asahi believes that upcoming local regulatory changes and global-scale events will serve as major catalysts to accelerate the growth of the beer category this year.

Taking the ‘easy’ route: Minimal sensory changes crucial to help Asian consumers transition to healthier diets

17-Aug-2023 By Pearly Neo

South Korean firm PlantEat believes that innovation must result in minimal sensory changes and products should remain as familiar as possible in order to boost consumer transitions to healthier diets.

FNA FOOD AND BEVERAGE TRAILBLAZERS PODCAST EP 43

Tea with a twist: Curated Culture eyes APAC ‘sports and wellness’ space with probiotic tea products

16-Aug-2023 By Pearly Neo

Singapore-based Curated Culture has big plans to enter the ‘sports and wellness’ space in the APAC region with its probiotic tea products, which the firm has stressed is ‘not kombucha’.

Energetic expansion: China’s EastRoc Beverages sets sights on South East Asia as new key export market for best-selling energy drinks

15-Aug-2023 By Pearly Neo

Energy drink giant EastRoc Beverages has set its sights on South East Asia as a key export destination after having established itself as one of the largest brands in China, planning to retain its original best-selling recipe for its initial entry.

Beyond sensory properties: China plant-based dairy sector needs to rapidly build up functional attributes to continue domestic growth

14-Aug-2023 By Pearly Neo

The burgeoning plant-based dairy sector in China will need to quickly shift from its first generation focus on emotions and sensory properties to more functional innovation in order to ensure continued growth in the local market.

Volatile variability: Unilever India stresses caution for food business despite positive growth

14-Aug-2023 By Pearly Neo

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has highlighted it will be proceeding cautiously in managing its food business for the rest of the year despite positive results in Q2FY2023, citing continued volatile climate changes and inflationary pressures.

Applicable to all: Australia’s new mandatory alcohol pregnancy warning labels enforceable on imported beverages

09-Aug-2023 By Pearly Neo

Australia has started enforcement of mandatory pregnancy warning on all alcoholic beverages, a requirement that will also apply to imports.

Mitigating supply chain risks: Alternative sourcing and top-level food sector commitment key to boost resilience – Nestle, Rabobank

09-Aug-2023 By Pearly Neo

Food and beverage business leaders in Asia need to issue clear and committed directives for supply chain resilience and secure alternative sourcing regimes to mitigate future disruption risks.

‘Still many untapped markets’: Japanese Shochu distillery sees greater potential for export growth

08-Aug-2023 By Si Ying Thian

Hamada Syuzou recently launched its craft gin that introduces local botanicals to its traditional alcoholic beverage range, and says that high-quality ingredients alongside its product versatility can drive greater global appreciation for Japanese-made...

Clearer carbohydrate claims: ANZ food safety agency initiates upgrade for voluntary alcoholic beverage labelling standards

08-Aug-2023 By Pearly Neo

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is considering updating rules around voluntary nutrition claims for carbohydrates and sugar on alcoholic products, opening this to public comment until September.

Bio boost: Why bio-manufacturing crucial to building lasting eco-friendly food supply in APAC – Tidetron Bioworks

08-Aug-2023 By Pearly Neo

China’s Tidetron Bioworks believes that synthetic bio-manufacturing is growing to be a crucial component of the food and beverage industry based rising demand for sustainable raw materials both in the Asia Pacific region and beyond.

Palm oil replacement ‘not the answer’: Nestle taps satellite tech for sustainability amid EU Deforestation Regulation debate

07-Aug-2023 By Pearly Neo

Nestle has voiced support for the continued use of palm oil in the food and beverage sector amid intense debate surrounding the recently-enacted EU Deforestation Regulation, while also striving to guarantee its supply chain sustainability using advance...

Creating a new category: China’s Jinmailang highlights five key factors guiding practical innovation strategies

02-Aug-2023 By Pearly Neo

Chinese food and beverage heavyweight Jinmailang has highlighted five key factors that it believes should lay the foundation for innovation food firms’ innovations strategies to ensure that new products are practical, realistic and sustainable.

Tetra Pak Exclusive Part II: The importance of empowering consumers via healthier, more sustainable product innovation

02-Aug-2023 By Pearly Neo

Tetra Pak believes that food and beverage brands today need to meet consumers’ increasing emotional needs in terms of feeling ‘empowered’ when making purchasing choices, such as offering them innovative product options that are healthier or more sustainable.

Mylk or milk? APAC plant-based dairy sector sees ‘no confusion’ amongst consumers regarding naming conventions

02-Aug-2023 By Si Ying Thian

The APAC plant-based dairy industry believes that controversy surrounding the use of dairy terms for plant-based product labelling is unlikely to happen in this region despite contention in other markets, citing differences in local consumption drivers...

Easing customs congestion: Thai FDA launches express digital service to accelerate processing of F&B imports

01-Aug-2023 By Pearly Neo

Thailand is the latest Asian market to establish a fully digitalised express customs processing service, which is hoped to greatly accelerate food and beverage import operations at its checkpoints in line with the national Thailand 4.0 strategy.

Growth Asia Summit 2023: Updated Advance Programme published - more info on keynotes from Nestle, Danone, Suntory, Amway, Mondelez and more!

01-Aug-2023 By Gary Scattergood

Today we have released the updated Advance Programme for our Growth Asia Summit 2023, detailing more info on our stellar line-up of industry speakers.

Positive push: Format and flavour innovation drives Nestle Malaysia Q2 back to profitability

31-Jul-2023 By Pearly Neo

Nestle Malaysia says extensive format and flavour innovations in its product development have helped d drive healthy Q2FY2023 business growth, giving the firm renewed confidence in its ability to secure a profitable rest of the year.

Full filter: Nemiroff Vodka plays up premium production capabilities to accelerate export growth

26-Jul-2023 By Pearly Neo

Ukraine’s Nemiroff Vodka is banking on its premium vodka offerings made via a combination of multiple filtration stages and high-quality wheat to expand its progress into major targets in the Asia Pacific region.

One-product wonder: NZ’s sparkling manuka mead brand Lone Bee looks to strengthen South East Asia presence

26-Jul-2023 By Si Ying Thian

New Zealand mead brand Lone Bee is hoping to strengthen its exports to South East Asia by entering a major supermarket, and is on the lookout for regional partners for potential new flavour collaborations.

Japan GM foods: 2022 data highlights ‘continued stability’ of genetically modified crops locally – government study

26-Jul-2023 By Pearly Neo

New Japanese government data has found that local genetically modified (GM) food crops have shown no evidence of posing risk to surrounding biodiversity in the past year, strengthening the argument for these to become a bigger part of the local food supply.

Nutritional labelling aid: South Korea issues guidance document to help F&B manufacturers align with new guidelines

25-Jul-2023 By Pearly Neo

The South Korean government has released a nutritional information guidance document in line with new labelling and reporting regulations to assist food and beverage manufacturers throughout the initial phase of transition.

China a ‘trap’ for F&B brands? Why practicality and sustainability need to be top of mind to thrive – expert panel

25-Jul-2023 By Pearly Neo

Food and beverage firms in China need to ensure that practicality and business sustainability are kept at the top of their agenda in order to avoid the ‘trap’ of easy brand building in the world’s most populous market.

A ‘momentous’ occasion: New Zealand food sector urges swift grocery code of conduct implementation following commissioner appointment

24-Jul-2023 By Pearly Neo

The New Zealand food and grocery industry has urged for the swift establishment of its own local grocery code of conduct to hasten the improvement of competition and fair business conditions, whilst also lauding the appointment of industry veteran Pierre...

Tetra Pak Exclusive Part I: How localisation in packaging can drive purchases in APAC

24-Jul-2023 By Pearly Neo

Global packaging heavyweight Tetra Pak has revealed the importance of considering cultural contexts and integrating localisation strategies into packaging innovation in APAC.