South Korea has expanded its food safety and monitoring guidelines to tighten control over food and beverage products that are directly purchased by consumers from foreign countries, with implications for items bought via e-commerce.
India’s first certified clean label brand True Elements has incorporated a traceability component for all its products down to the ingredient level to provide an added measure of assurance to consumers looking for cleaner, healthier products.
We are speak to experts from major brands to assess the five top trends that look set to shape the Asia Pacific food and beverage industry in 2022, including top post-COVID-19 developments, pricing and taste importance in the plant-based sector, the rise...
From new hemp regulations in India, to Singapore’s sugary beverage control policy, and plant-based labelling in multiple countries, we bring you five must-know policies and regulations that look set to have a significant impact on the Asia Pacific food...
New Zealand’s Foodstuffs is fighting back against what it has deemed ‘factual inaccuracies’ in the national Commerce Commission’s recent finding that there is supermarket duopoly in the country, and has also promised to make several positive reforms.
Ingredients and flavours specialist IFF has stressed the importance of localising flavour profiles - even for the same food item - depending on the geographical market of focus within APAC.
Indonesia is looking to introduce new trade controls on imported processed foods including a revised application process subject to government approval as well as stricter mandatory shelf-life requirements.
Branding experts spearheading successful Nestle and Yeo’s marketing campaigns amidst the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the importance for food and beverage brands to fulfil consumers’ emotional needs via digital strategies in order to ensure continued...
New technology alone is not enough to improve APAC’s food supply chain, and sustainable solutions will only be found if both micro and small businesses, as well as ‘marginalised communities’ across the region, are brought into the fold.
The Chinese government has stepped up its anti-waste agenda with firms across the supply chain being required to prevent food waste and conserve food through its so-called ‘Food Conservation Action Plan’.
China recently launched its new online overseas food manufacturer registration platform, which is mandatory for all firms looking to export into the country from January, as official seek to improve monitoring and surveillance to ensure food safety.
Taiwan is seeking to approve new regulations that will enforce tougher nutritional labelling regulations for all packaged foods in the country once implemented, in a bid to prevent ‘hidden’ or ‘implied’ messages from manufacturers regarding calorific...
An expert panel convened at the Asia Pacific Economic Council (APEC) has highlighted the need to help all firms, both large and small, to embrace digitalisation to ensure survival, and also called upon nations to ‘unwind’ on trade restrictions as soon...
Japan has urged all local food and beverage brands to ensure that processes are in place to transition to new origin of raw material rules, in order to keep operations running smoothly and avoid ‘disturbances’.
Top-ranking ministers from the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) have underlined that food supply chains and open trade in the region are crucial to boosting economic revival post-pandemic – but huge challenges persist around tariffs, protectionist...
Nestle Malaysia has expressed some concern over rising food commodity costs and the impact this could have on prices for consumers, despite seeing good year-on-year improvement in its recently financial results and launching a plethora of new product...
Food and beverage brands are increasingly turning to Chinese video platform Bilibili to develop videos better catered to the country’s Gen Z audience, with many securing millions of views.
International food and beverage brands looking to gain a foothold in the ASEAN market via local distributors need to step up their game when pitching pricing and localisation strategies, as a new survey has revealed waning interest in new product launches.
China dairy giant Yili has revealed that it is ramping up its focus on cheese and plant-based products in addition to its conventional dairy items in response to growing consumer demand.
Employing the use of Codex standards is crucial to achieving consensus for food safety standards harmonisation within the South East Asian region, according to a food safety expert from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UNFAO).
South Korea has unveiled new rules for using recycled material to make food packaging in an attempt to ‘prevent harm to the public’, while simultaneously pushing towards its 2030 plastic waste reduction goals.
The New Zealand government is under increased pressure to fix the country’s ‘broken’ supermarket system from both the food industry and consumer associations, both of which are demanding that the current duopoly be abolished and the market opened up in...
China has issued new, stricter packaging regulations covering food and cosmetics products to prevent what has been dubbed the ‘excessive packaging’ phenomenon, citing a need to prevent unnecessary extra costs to consumers and impacts on the environment.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has highlighted that nutrition has emerged as one of the most pressing post-COVID-19 challenges to overcome for member nations to hit the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
South Korea has announced new, tighter standards for food firms looking to label their products as being reduced or lower in sodium or sugar, starting with the nation’s most-consumed food product, ramen.
Taiwan has updated local food labelling laws to mandate the inclusion of specific information on the ‘minimum sales units’ of prepackaged foods, as well as added provisions to allow for the use of electronic labelling.
Fruit product heavyweight Dole has revealed that it is focusing heavily on the use of new technologies and collaborations to overcome sugar reduction challenges for its packaged products portfolio, in hopes of reaching its 2025 zero processed sugar sustainability...
Indian plant-based dairy firms have taken to the courts to prevent their products from being delisted over the use of dairy terms, and are warning the battle will be long despite achieving an initial legal reprieve.
The New Zealand food and grocery industry has called for more restrictions to be placed on supermarkets’ private label products given the highly concentrated grocery retail market in the country, citing a potential ‘conflict of interest’ which could result...
Food and beverage brands with plans to expand or export into South East Asia should not be deterred by the region's current COVID-19 woes, as the rewards to be reaped for persistence will be worth the wait, according to experts.
The Chinese government has published formal food safety and consumption guidelines for products nearing their expiry dates, after a recently-implemented anti-food waste law increased sales.
The Thai food industry has seen growth in both the manufacturing and export sectors so far in 2021 after overcoming last year’s pandemic slump – but the authorities are urging domestic food firms not to drop their guard yet.
The increase of online ‘junk food’ marketing to children since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic poses a long term-health risk and has become a major public health concern, claim experts.
China is experiencing a boom in kiwifruit demand on the back of its premium and healthy connotations, despite already being the world’s top consumer of the fruit.
The Australian food system is touted to be one of the safest in the world, but continued reports on major safety issues such as allergens and microbial contaminations are raising questions over whether more needs to be done to protect consumers.
China dairy giant Yili is looking to focus on the diversification of its product portfolio to ensure sustained growth after seeing a 42.48% jump in H1 2021 net profits, with the firm seemingly enjoying a boost due to COVID-19 health trends.
The South Korean government has named domestic food and beverage manufacturing giants CJ Cheiljedang, Hite Jinro and Nongshim as the 2020 national top performers in terms of food production, whilst celebrating an overall increase in output amid COVID-19...
Malaysian bakery company Fresco Grano has observed a rise in demand for gluten-free products among consumers who want to cut down on carbs, as well as those with special dietary needs such as gluten intolerance.
The plant-based industry in India is set for a further blow after it was confirmed the Food Safety and Standards Authority India’s (FSSAI) recent order for online platforms to delist all plant-based products using dairy terms will apply to products being...
A food tech firm making advances in Asia is aiming to redefine the flavour industry by focusing on taste as a never-before-used parameter, which has enormous potential to help food and beverage manufacturers boost product development and productivity...
The use of palm oil in the Asian food industry has become so vast and commonplace due to its versatile applications in just about every finished food sector that it will be near-impossible to find another edible oil offering all of palm oil’s functionalities,...
Australian online supermarket Geezy Go has big ambitions to reinvent local e-commerce in the country by committing to deliveries within 20 minutes or less, whilst also offering consumers the same product range as conventional supermarkets at more competitive...
Consumers across the food and beverage landscape will simply walk away from brands that merely pay lip service to sustainability concerns, argues Fonterra’s APAC CEO, who believes that many are already ‘voting with their wallets’.
Nestle has revealed that its newly-upgraded R&D centre in Singapore will place heavy focus on areas such as food upcycling and plant-based innovation, while also announcing the launch of a new ASEAN-specific R&D Accelerator.
From genomics to big data, and handheld devices to artificial intelligence, the food industry is awash with new innovations to improve food safety, as the sector seeks to assuage heightened consumer concerns in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chinese dairy giant Yili has predicted that local consumer demand for value-added and sustainable dairy is likely to increase over the next decade, with the backing of technological innovation to solve local industry challenges.
Novel food product development is rapidly outpacing regulation and consumer understanding, with experts calling for better communication and policy advances to ensure innovation leads to commercialisation.
Australian consumers are not shifting to more healthy diets, even when it is cheaper to do so, with a lack of time and ‘unhealthy food promotions’ the two main obstacles.
The new leadership team at the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) has revealed plans to increase industry engagement as well as diversify the country’s major export markets beyond China and India.