ASEAN Focus: Carlsberg in Malaysia, CP Foods in Thailand, Sadia in Singapore and more feature in our round-up

‘Win-win’ pick: Carlsberg Malaysia commits to premiumisation to defend profit margins​

Brewery giant Carlsberg Malaysia has identified premiumisation as a crucial strategy for the firm to continue achieving profitable growth, even as the firm battles continued inflationary pressures, rising costs and consumer sentiment about price hikes

Carlsberg Malaysia recently announced its H1FY2022 financial results, reporting a healthy 74.3% growth year-on-year in net profits to RM180.5mn (US$40.3mn) and 29.4% growth in revenue to RM1.2bn (US$269mn); alongside even more exemplary Q2FY2022 results of 139.5% year-on-year growth in profit to RM88.9mn (US$19.9mn) and 64.4% revenue growth to RM574.2mn (US$128.3mn).

Stepping up safety: CP Foods reveals three new business sustainability strategies​

Food and beverage major CP Foods has identified the strengthening of its water management, food safety standards and healthy product innovation as key strategies to help the company with its business sustainability ambitions.

CP Foods is one of the largest food and beverage conglomerates in the world, and in recent years it has greatly stepped up its sustainability efforts in terms of improving environmental and social impact as well as to future-proofing its business.

One of the key strategies the firm has identified in order to do this, as highlighted in its recent annual sustainability report, is to place added focus on healthier product innovation.

Icy misconceptions: Sadia on why frozen chicken should be answer to Singapore’s supply instability woes​

Frozen poultry giant Sadia says that frozen chicken can be the answer to solving Singapore’s supply instability concerns in the wake of shortages from previous top supplier Malaysia, as freshness, nutrition and flavour can all be well-maintained if handled correctly.

Sadia is a brand under Brazilian meat processing heavyweight BRF, which leads the frozen meats market in multiple markets including Singapore, Malaysia, Brazil, the Middle East and many more, in addition to being the largest chicken exporter in the world.

Despite its widespread reach, the brand has faced a significant challenge in Singapore over a deep-rooted misconception amongst consumers here – that frozen chicken is inferior to fresh chicken in terms of freshness, nutrition and taste which relegates it to be a second choice at times.

From zero to US$30m: Thai Union’s high hopes for plant-based OMG Meat over next three years​

Thai Union has outlined ambitious goals for its in-house plant-based meat and seafood range OMG Meat over the next three years, including for its alternative protein sector to be bringing in US$30mn of revenue by 2025.

OMG Meat is Thai Union’s first alternative protein range which covers both meat (e.g. pork buns, chicken nuggets) and seafood (e.g. fish nuggets, crab shumai), and was launched just last year but the firm has already set some ambitious targets for it.

Food fingerprinting future: ProfilePrint targets global food standards provider role after industry heavyweight support​

Singapore-based food technology firm ProfilePrint believes it has the capability to establish global standards for the food industry using its digital food fingerprint technology, on the back of partnerships with five of the food and beverage industry's largest names.

When we spoke with ProfilePrint back in 2018, the firm had only just started out on its journey and was then focused solely on tea and providing digital fingerprints for these, utilising molecular signatures to provide consumers and businesses with the ability to know and understand the characteristics of these products without needing to physically touch, taste or smell them.