Getting the taste right in sodium-reduced food products remains the biggest barrier to overcome in reformulation efforts, according to industry experts.
Plant-based beverages must be able to still provide a creamy mouthfeel in order to successfully convert consumers over to healthier, low-sugar options for the long-term in Indonesia, especially when these are priced at a higher tier than traditional dairy...
Rising awareness amongst Thai consumers regarding the potential unhealthy connotations associated with long expiry dates is a key factor driving up the demand for clean label food ingredients in the country, according to leading industry experts.
Increasingly challenging consumer demands for products that can satisfy both taste and convenience needs are accelerating format and flavour innovation within the ready-to-cook (RTC) foods sector, according to Tyson’s APAC VP.
The Philippines government has announced a ban on all prepackaged processed foods containing high trans-fats levels as part of its objective to completely eliminate their presence by 2023.
The ability to accurately convert consumer demands and preferences into real, technical product concepts remains a key challenge for the plant-based sector in the APAC region, according to industry experts at Roquette.
Chinese dairy giant Yili has highlighted the vital, science-backed role that dairy is playing in improving consumer nutrition and public health in the country, by combining both Eastern and Western technologies.
The Quaker Oats, Frito-Lay and Pringles maker has launched a series of videos showcasing how it is working with farmers in Thailand, Greece, India and Brazil to help them adapt to climate change.
Indonesian food and beverage firms have been urged to accelerate their new product innovation and digital adaptation to keep up with consumer demands, especially with multiple post-COVID-19 challenges still dampening the local economy.
Consumers in the Asia Pacific region will continue to be strongly driven by products with clean label and positive nutrition claims moving into the new year, with food and beverage brands also set to boost innovation to meet these demands.
Malaysian plant-based protein firm the Ultimeat Group plans to tailor its formulation and packaging to every market it intends to enter from 2023 to 2024.
South Korea has announced new plans to utilise rice flour as a substitute for wheat flour where possible to combat rising inflation and supply chain challenges.
India’s edible oils and food giant B. L. Agro Industries is gearing up for a rapid increase in production as it seeks to cement its position in the domestic market.
Japanese food giant Ajinomoto has highlighted alternative proteins and frozen foods as two of the firm’s key growth strategies, in its first public report issued since its new leadership took over office earlier this year.
Disease outbreaks, such as swine flu affecting pork quality and the COVID-19 pandemic hitting supply chains, have raised the profile of plant-based products among lower-income consumers in Thailand, according to a brand CEO.
Major Australian supermarkets have been urged to refocus their pricing, product and e-commerce strategies to fulfil consumer demands for affordable products and convenient shopping, as inflation rockets.
Olam says it is on a mission to improve low consumer awareness of ‘natural and sustainable’ alternative nut butters in Asia in a bid to open up new product development opportunities for the entire category.
Tyson’s plant-based innovations are complementary and not competitors to its existing traditional meat products, claims its Vice President Commercial for APAC in the first part of our exclusive interview.
The Indonesian producer of handmade cheese brand Mazaraat Artisanal Cheese plans to quadruple its daily output by building a second factory and subsequently entering more Asia Pacific markets from 2023 to 2024.
Firms across the Asia Pacific spreads industry have highlighted free-from ingredient labels and flavour localisation as key growth drivers, regardless of the category of spreads they are in, from nut butter to fruit jams to cheese spreads.
The Asian plant-based protein start-up scene is geared to grow 25% by 2025 as more Asians look into flexitarian diets and firms region-wide strive to develop products better suited to their palate.
Food and beverage brands making oat-based products could stand to capitalise from the results of a new Australian study showing significant potential for oats to be included into more diets, including gluten-free.
Plant-based meat in a dry, ambient format could provide the alternative protein industry with cleaner and more convenient options that can simultaneously also offer longer shelf-life and stability.
Indian consumers are increasingly leaning toward dark chocolate due to higher awareness of its benefits, according to the founder of the country’s D2C hot chocolate beverage firm Tiggle, Anuva Kakkar.
Flavour localisation is a crucial strategy for healthy snacking brands to win over Asian consumers’ ‘sophisticated tastebuds’, according to Vietnam’s Lecka, which is rapidly expanding across the region.
Thai silk pupae firm Kokoonic is marketing its new high-protein, low-sodium savoury snack range Eri Rocket as the ‘Snack of the Generation’, believing it can draw in health-focused and sustainability-seeking consumers.
Vietnamese rice product specialist Duy Anh Foods is using fruits and vegetables as crucial ingredients in its novel product innovation drive, having developed unusual combination products including watermelon vermicelli and dragonfruit rice paper thus...
Singapore food giant OTS Holdings aims to export its plant-based brand ANEW to markets where plant-based awareness, penetration and adoption rates are already high to overcome the Asian consumer reluctance to “let go” of conventional meat.
Attaining global leadership in the tempeh or traditional fermented bean cake market requires innovative formulations and securing buy-in beyond health-conscious vegan consumers, according to the founder of Singapore’s Angie’s Tempeh.
From sustainability advances to embracing alternative production methods, major players Thai Union and CP Foods, plus alt-protein pioneers Shiok Meats and OmniFoods have shared their exclusive insights on how the industry can meet Asia’s seemingly insatiable...
Nestle Malaysia believes that the rest of 2022 will be a tumultuous time for the food and beverage giant with supply chain and commodity costs continuing to rise, even after having pulled off a stellar performance by leading the ASEAN zone growth for...
Australian dumpling specialist firm Dumpling 100 has launched a multicoloured, MSG-free children’s range, through which it aims to capture kids’ attention at mealtimes, as well as appealing to parents via its ingredients list.
Snacking giant PepsiCo has highlighted food security, healthier choices and packaging as major sustainability and business objectives in the Middle East and Asia.
Rice noodle brand Foodle Noodle has launched its first clean label instant cup noodles range in Thailand, offering local flavours with all-organic ingredients as a healthier, more convenient option to appeal to younger consumers leading a fast-paced lifestyle.
Indonesia’s mushroom protein firm Meatless Kingdom is set to embark on a business strategy revamp, including international distribution and a focus on flavour enhancement.
The flavour innovation process for brands in the APAC region is being increasingly driven by culture and localisation, with many of the region’s bigger food firms already grasping the importance of this trend.
Food and beverage multinational CP Foods has big plans for its new plant-based Meat Zero line and other alternative protein innovations, citing strong category growth and rising consumer health consciousness as its main motivations for leaping into the...
Specialist peanut butter brand BNutty has its eye on the Singapore market this year, and is banking on its flavours a ndtextures to accelerate its growth in the region.
Price and distribution are the two most prominent challenges the alternative sector will have to overcome if it wants to meet the global protein demand.
Corn and dried produce specialist V Foods has launched a new range of plant-based products with an emphasis on not being meat alternatives, looking instead to focus on the appeal of whole foods to draw in sceptical consumers.
Food and beverage MNC Charoen Pokphand Foods (CP Foods) has highlighted food safety, convenience and alternative proteins as major industry trends set drive consumer purchasing decisions in the next decade.
The South Korean government has imposed tougher criteria on ready-to-eat (RTE) and ready-to-cook (RTC) instant products that want to make healthier nutritional claims on pack, in an expansion of rules first placed on instant noodles earlier this year.
Thai firm Sesamilk is planning a major portfolio expansion for its dairy alternative products, whilst also calling for the government to provide more taxation and financial support for SMEs to accelerate growth.
Chinese consumers who order takeaway food five to 10 times monthly could ingest 145 to a staggering 5,520 pieces of microplastics due to atmospheric sediment or particles flaking from the inner container surfaces.
Olam’s new direct-to-consumer (D2C) nuts brand Re- says it is tapping into three major trends – traceability, sustainability and health – as it eyes expansion from its Singapore launchpad into wider Asia, the US and UK.
Food firms active in the travel retail market will need to increase focus on providing consumers with guilt-free options produced via a hyperlocal supply chain to increase their chances of survival and growth in a rapidly evolving post-COVID-19 era.
