Brand New: Thai Union, Suntory, Nestle India and more big names feature in our round-up

Blue is the new green: New Thailand policies a boost to ‘Blue Finance’ sustainability sector – Thai Union​

Recent changes in Thailand’s sustainability-linked financing rules are set to deliver a boost to the ‘Blue Finance’ sector, which is good news for firms dabbling in this area such as seafood heavyweight Thai Union.

Thai Union is one of Thailand’s major pioneers in Blue Finance and aims to have a whopping 75% of its long-term funding converted to come from this source by 2025 – ambitious, but definitely doable, according to the firm’s Group CFO Ludovic Garnier.

“Blue Finance refers to basically any activity to implement sustainability for life below water,”​ Garnier told FoodNavigator-Asia​.

Still sweet on sugar reduction: Suntory urges beverage firms to be ‘forward-looking’ to thwart tax threats​

Beverage giant Suntory believes that a focus on ‘forward-looking’ sugar reduction will remain crucial for firms to overcome the risk of sugar taxes and achieve significant, long-term growth in the region over the coming few years.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, sugar reduction was already a very hot topic in the APAC beverage industry especially with the introduction of multiple sugar taxes throughout the region from Malaysia to the Philippines. These regulatory moves slowed down somewhat after the pandemic entered the picture, but with things returning to normal the topic of sugar reduction and sugar taxation is back in full swing, driven strongly by rising health concerns.

“The pandemic has brought about a renewed focus in dietary and sugar intake with many countries in APAC imposing various forms of measures to mitigate the risks associated with sugar intake,”​ Suntory Beverage & Food Asia Pacific (SBFAP) Chief Supply Chain Officer Alan Smith told FoodNavigator-Asia​.

Growing up with grains: Nestle India says traditional ingredients in children’s foods key to boosting parent confidence​

Nestle India has highlighted the incorporation of traditional ingredients into children’s foods as a key strategy to boost parent confidence in a product’s nutritional benefits, on the back of its latest ragi-based cereal launch.

Marketed under the popular children-focused CEREGROW brand, the new sub brand is dubbed CEREGROW Grain Selection and has a strong focus on the use of traditional Indian ingredients such as ragi (finger millet) as opposed to wheat and ghee (clarified butter).

Bubs to target China’s general trade channels with infant goat milk formula pending SAMR approval​

Bubs Australia is hoping to expand its presence in China via the general trade route through the introduction of its first China-label goat milk infant formula.

The company has already secured a slot to manufacture the goat infant formula with local Chinese firm Heilongjiang Ubeite Dairy Group (HUG). However, it will still need to wait for the product to be approved by the Chinese regulator State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR) under the new GB standards.

‘Memory care’: Megmilk Snow Brand, Kirin co-develop functional drink for Japan’s ageing market​

Japan dairy company Megmilk Snow Brand has launched a ‘memory care’ Foods with Function Claims (FFC) in Japan that was jointly developed with Kirin.

The 100ml yogurt-flavoured drink contains β-lactolin, a proprietary ingredient from Kirin Brain Research.

This is a whey protein-derived peptide which Kirin claims could support the maintenance of memory, and specifically the ability to recall based on clues or prompts, which is an ability that declines with age.