Dairy

Refreshing boost: Tea bases and botanicals enjoying rising popularity in various formats amongst APAC consumers

20-Dec-2023 By Pearly Neo

Food and beverage products with tea bases and botanical-infused flavours or aromas are seeing a surge in popularity amongst consumers in APAC, with more and more people seeking out ‘refreshing’ sensations.

Countering counterfeits: Japan establishes first physical facility to find fake food ‘exports’ in Thailand

18-Dec-2023 By Pearly Neo

Japan has set up a physical anti-counterfeit consultation desk in Thailand to fight against a rising number of food and agriculture products claiming to be of Japanese origin.

Cheese-whiz: Japan announces incentives to boost domestically produced goods

13-Dec-2023 By Pearly Neo

The Japanese government has announced financial incentive plans for the dairy industry and brands to boost consumer demand for locally-produced cheese

Tackling food fraud: Urgent need for ‘real-time’ global monitoring – Thai experts

05-Dec-2023 By Shali S.

There is an urgent need for real-time global monitoring of food fraud in order to protect public health and the global economy, say experts in Thailand.

Is dairy sustainability achievable? Mixed reactions to Fonterra’s new Climate Roadmap

05-Dec-2023 By Pearly Neo

Experts from the New Zealand food and beverage industry and academia have expressed mixed reactions to Fonterra’s recently-announced Climate Roadmap, simultaneously urging for farmer-level collaboration to be prioritised over novel tech.

Spread-ing dairy growth: Baladna doubles down on self-sufficiency projects and cheese production

04-Dec-2023 By Pearly Neo

Middle Eastern giant Baladna is refocusing investments into projects targeting food security in more overseas markets as well as its new cheese production operation, marking a strategic shift despite positive financial results for FY2023 to date.

Danone’s Global Methane Hub partnership ‘welcome’ but more firms must act – Changing Markets Foundation

30-Nov-2023 By Teodora Lyubomirova

As COP28 kicks off, we look at Danone’s partnership with the Global Methane Hub and how effective technical solutions to methane mitigations really are.

It’s a date: Agthia plans to strengthen digitalisation and snacking innovation amid strong nine-month performance

16-Nov-2023 By Pearly Neo

Middle Eastern food and beverage heavyweight Agthia has pledged to focus more investment into the digitalisation of its business as well as the creation of new snacking innovations in order to sustain the positive growth and profitability seen in the...

Going local: India’s new local language food safety platform hoped to boost compliance among domestic food firms

15-Nov-2023 By Pearly Neo

The Food Safety and Standards Authority India (FSSAI) has launched a new version of its food safety platform in the local Hindi language in an effort to increase domestic food firm understanding and compliance of local regulations.

Beyond product innovation: Affordability and accessibility take centre stage in meeting Asia’s nutritional needs

14-Nov-2023 By Pearly Neo

Affordability and accessibility are just as important as product innovation if food firms are going to help meets Asia’s nutritional needs, in a region that is still beset by childhood stunting and rising rates of obesity and diabetes.

Food waste reduction: Japan believes it is ‘close’ to achieving awareness and action goals – government data

13-Nov-2023 By Pearly Neo

New Japanese government data has revealed that the country could be close to achieving its goal of having 80% of the population simultaneously aware of, and taking action against, food waste.

‘Create first, compete later’: APAC precision fermentation sector needs to shift focus from tech to commercialisation

13-Nov-2023 By Pearly Neo

Precision fermentation firms in the Asia Pacific region need to move beyond a technology focus to prioritise scaling up and commercialisation or risk facing major ‘bottleneck’ challenges when demand increases.

Powered potatoes: PepsiCo pushes entrepreneurial collaboration as ‘vital’ APAC sustainability strategy

08-Nov-2023 By Pearly Neo

PepsiCo has highlighted collaborations with entrepreneurs as a ‘vital’ part of its strategy to achieve sustainable operations in the APAC region, amid the crowning of its regional Greenhouse Accelerator champion.

E-commerce conversion: Singapore consumers’ purchasing decisions increasingly driven by health and sustainability - RedMart

07-Nov-2023 By Pearly Neo

Grocery e-commerce platform giant RedMart is seeing health and sustainability trends increasingly driving the purchasing decisions of consumers in Singapore, inspiring the firm to focus its own in-house product innovations on these factors.

Hola to Hallyu foods: South Korea sets sights on Latin America as next major export market

06-Nov-2023 By Pearly Neo

The South Korean government has set its sights on partnerships with the ministries of multiple Latin American countries to establish the region as its next major trade partner in terms of food exports.

Cream of the crop: Liquid milk and ice cream categories spur Yili to ‘record high’ financial gains

06-Nov-2023 By Pearly Neo

China dairy giant Yili has secured ‘record high’ financial results in the first nine months of its financial year driven by liquid milk and ice cream category growth.

“All-round nutrition”: Nestle launching new infant formula in Hong Kong for gut, bone, cognitive health

06-Nov-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Nestle is debuting a new infant formula containing a proprietary blend in Hong Kong in November 2023. The blend is said to be an “all-round” nutrition for supporting multiple growth areas, including digestive, bone, and cognitive health.

Big Food likely to miss plastic targets, while ‘large part’ of industry yet to take action

31-Oct-2023 By Flora Southey

Although efforts show progress on plastic pollution is possible, the world is ‘not on course’ to eliminating plastic waste and pollution, stresses the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

Innovation challenge: How can firms meet reformulation and fortification demands while remaining cost competitive?

31-Oct-2023 By Pearly Neo

Food firms need to be increasingly savvy when it comes to meeting growing consumer demands for fortified and reformulated products, in order to remain cost competitive in the current economic environment.

The ‘and’ consumer: Affordable nutrition trend gains further traction in APAC amidst dairy and RTE category growth

31-Oct-2023 By Pearly Neo

Asia Pacific consumers are increasingly demanding a combination of affordability, health and tastiness when making their food and beverage purchasing decisions, driving the rise of what is known as the ‘and’ consumer.

Hybrid innovation and affordability: How food firms can meet Asia’s evolving protein demands

24-Oct-2023 By Pearly Neo

Hybrid innovation with meat and plant-based ingredients, affordability and a focus on the needs of flexitarians is needed to boost the protein sector in APAC over the long-term.

‘Historic’ challenges: Nestle hopes nutrition strategy will boost recovery after APAC inflation and FX strife

24-Oct-2023 By Pearly Neo

Nestle is hopeful that its new nutritional labelling and marketing strategy will play a strong part in its sales recovery, after seeing a drop in sales across many APAC markets due to ‘historic’ inflation and foreign exchange challenges.

User-friendly guidelines: Opportunity for industry to help Indonesian consumers fulfil breakfast needs

19-Oct-2023 By Shali S.

Further research is needed to translate nutrient-based breakfast guidelines into more user-friendly, food-based recommendations that consumers can easily understand and implement in their daily lives, says a study conducted in Indonesia.

‘Glocalisation is over’: Microlocality and domestic production chain increasingly important for APAC consumers

18-Oct-2023 By Pearly Neo

Food and beverage brands that are able to convey microlocal tastes and tap into consumer pride with a strong domestic production chain are best-placed for success in the APAC region, according to Kerry.

Growth Asia Summit 2023

‘It’s not too late’: Singapore Chinese Health Study lead investigator reveals protective impacts of diet on cognition

11-Oct-2023 By Pearly Neo

Data from the large-scale Singapore Chinese Health Study has shown that all consumers can reduce their risk of later cognitive impairment by switching to a healthier diet at any age, as revealed by the study’s principal investigator at the recent Growth...

Growth Asia Summit 2023

Dairy the core base, but greater co-existence with plant-based, precision fermented proteins to come – Friesland Campina

11-Oct-2023 By Tingmin Koe

While dairy is the basis of protein nutrition, the use of plant-based and precision fermented protein is bound to increase in products such as infant formula, healthy ageing, and sports nutrition, says dairy multinational firm Friesland Campina.

FIT-ter KIDS: Fortified products key to addressing APAC micronutrient gaps – Nestle at Growth Asia Summit

04-Oct-2023 By Pearly Neo

New Nestle data has revealed the major micronutrient gaps faced by many toddlers and school-age children in the Asia Pacific region, as well as the important role that fortified foods and beverages can play in addressing these needs.

‘A natural journey’: Freshness and clean label crucial combo to nail flavours in processed foods

03-Oct-2023 By Pearly Neo

The crucial combination of freshness and clean label is emerging as an important flavour strategy that food and beverage brands need to hit in order to cater to APAC consumers’ increasingly exacting demands.

Food label changes: Philippines updates policies governing sodium limits and caloric labelling in pre-packaged food products

02-Oct-2023 By Pearly Neo

The Philippines Food and Drug Authority (FDA) has announced new changes to sodium content limits and how caloric values are to be displayed on the packaging of pre-packaged processed food products in the country.

Organic ownership: India food authority orders upgrades for all state labs to boost exports

27-Sep-2023 By Pearly Neo

The Food Safety and Standards Authority India (FSSAI) is attempting to balance plans for boost organic food exports with ongoing food safety concerns by mandating all state-authorised laboratories to adopt organic testing capabilities.

Fonterra posts record NZ$1.6bn profits on the back of strong protein and cheese margins

26-Sep-2023 By Teodora Lyubomirova

The New Zealand co-op forecasted improved margins across consumer and foodservice channels for FY24 and said there were indications that demand for milk powders will begin to return from early 2024.

Human milk inspired: Danone to launch new infant formula containing novel milk droplet in China – Growth Asia exclusive

26-Sep-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Danone is launching a new infant formula containing milk droplets that closely mimic the structure found in mothers’ milk in China this year, VP and head of Danone Early Life Nutrition revealed at our Growth Asia Summit 2023.

Food manufacturing in Saudi Arabia: National targets and ‘gender inclusivity’ propelling industry to new heights

26-Sep-2023 By Pearly Neo

National government support of food manufacturing localisation targets as well as the gradual rise of female leadership roles in the industry are serving as key factors behind Saudi Arabia’s rapid food industry growth in the Middle Eastern region, claim...

Seizing the senses: Diversification and hybrid innovation key to boosting APAC plant-based sector

25-Sep-2023 By Pearly Neo

The plant-based industry in Asia Pacific will need to further boost product diversification and hybrid innovation strategies it is to continue to grow amid a slowdown in the West.

Sustainable strides: Mengniu overcomes recyclability challenges of dairy packaging

20-Sep-2023 By Hui Ling Dang

China diary giant Mengniu says it has overcome some of the long-standing recyclability challenges in the category with a new all-polyethylene (PE) yoghurt packaging concept.

Lactoferrin for sports: TurtleTree to commercialise precision fermentation ingredient in Singapore, US

19-Sep-2023 By Tingmin Koe

Singapore-headquartered TurtleTree is targeting sports nutrition success with its lactoferrin ingredient, with commercialisation in the US and Singapore expected this year and next year respectively.

Cream of the crust: Viral Chinese snacking sensation San Chun’s key tips on going national

18-Sep-2023 By Pearly Neo

Chinese snacking sensation San Chun has revealed a focus on the ‘strange and unique’ is behind its transition from a local viral hit to a launch in major supermarkets nationwide.

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.

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.

‘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.

Protein boost: Mengniu believes China dairy growth lies in RTD protein innovation

06-Sep-2023 By Pearly Neo

China dairy giant Mengniu believes that the direction for domestic dairy growth lies in the development of localised protein product innovation, especially in the form of ready-to-drink beverage formats.

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.

Sweet and snacky: China cheese industry growth requires flavour localisation and western influence – Bel China

29-Aug-2023 By Pearly Neo

Cheese heavyweight Bel has called for local brands to simultaneously develop local innovations alongside introducing more traditional western concepts in order to drive faster industry growth in China

Clearing the funding hump: Saudi invests in camel dairy firm to bolster industry growth amid economy diversification

24-Aug-2023 By Hui Ling Dang

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund (PIF) has set up a new firm called Sawani Company to catalyse the growth of the local camel dairy sector, as part of its efforts to transform the country’s economy.

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.

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.

AI for early life nutrition: Danone prepares to share ground-breaking insights at Growth Asia Summit 2023

07-Aug-2023 By Gary Scattergood

Industry leader Danone will will shed light on opportunities for artificial intelligence (AI) in early life nutrition with an exclusive keynote talk at our forthcoming Growth Asia Summit 2023.

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.