Food & Beverage Trailblazers

RTC pastes: Culture and convenience combo crucial to entice young Asian consumers

Ready-to-cook (RTC) pastes can tap the rising at-home cooking boom in Asia by including a combo of heritage and convenience in their innovations.

Bespoke blooms: Petale Tea on finding a niche in Singapore’s crowded hot beverage category

Singapore’s Petale Tea believes it has found a unique niche in the market for premium, personalised consumption in the shape of blooming tea balls.

Kava drinks set to shake up NOLO market as next-gen alcohol alternative - The Calmer Co

Australia-based The Calmer Co believes that kava-based drinks are well-positioned as part of the second generation of low-to-no alcohol (NOLO) beverages, providing relaxation functional benefits in addition to being an a

HaruPlate to tap gaming and cultural triggers to get young children eating healthy

Singapore-based children’s food firm HaruPlate is looking to tap on mediums of gameplaying as well as cultural influences to get kids in the APAC region to first eat at all, then eat healthier.

Drink your biotics: Bright colours and visual appeal crucial to deliver healthier beverages to children – Tummy Buddies

Australia’s Tummy Buddies believes that healthier product innovation for children needs to focus on bright colours and visual appeal in order to secure that crucial first purchase.

In focus: Can Asia’s AI-powered productivity drink find a niche in the market?

Singapore-based Flojo believes that it has found a sweet spot in Asia's beverage market with an AI-powered ‘productivity drink’ targeting consumers who regularly use a lot of brain power.

‘Not all protein is made the same’: Mamame touts nutritional benefits of black-eyed beans to boost healthy snacking

Tempeh chips brand Mamame has highlighted the multiple nutritional benefits of black-eyed beans as a key factor behind its success in the APAC healthy snacking sector, fuelling its upcoming growth into the UK and US mark

Fat for fitness: Smaller packs and keto options driving nut butter popularity in Asia

New Zealand nut butter specialist Forty Thieves believes that its flexibility in providing smaller packaging options as well as a dedicated keto range is driving growth across the region.

‘Plugging the gaps’: Market consolidation in cultivated protein sector vital to overcome ‘disillusionment’

Singapore cultivated seafood firm Umami Bioworks believes that strategic mergers are crucial to overcome doubts about the sector and achieve buy-in from major brands which can help the category scale-up.

Flexitarian fix: Why focusing on vegan’s won’t drive APAC’s plan-based growth

Focusing on flexitarians and doubling down on the perceived health benefits of consuming less meat and dairy is the best way for APAC’s sluggish plant-based sector to secure significant growth.

Quality over quantity: Why APAC tea sector needs to focus on functional innovation to drive growth

The APAC tea sector need to focus on functionality and format innovation and not just increasing blend varieties if it is to enjoy sustained growth, according to Sri Lanka and Europe-based tea specialist English Tea Shop

Dry and high: Ambient plant-based innovation the way to go for clean label products to become more mainstream

Dry and high: Ambient plant-based innovation the way to go for clean label products to become more mainstream

Singapore-based plant-based products firm Thoughtful Food believes that the sector needs to look more closely at dry and ambient innovation as a key driver, particularly for brands seeking to solve ultra-processing chall

‘Super cheap’: Affordability trumps protein and sustainability as main driving factor for insect-based foods in APAC

Affordability is emerging as the main driving factor for insect-based foods in the APAC region, possibly even more significant than its often-lauded protein or sustainability factors.

Lessons learned: How can APAC cultivated meat sector avoid past alt protein ‘pitfalls’?

The cultivated meat industry in APAC needs to focus on localisation and realistic pricing strategies to avoid repeating past alternative protein ‘pitfalls’, says pioneer Aleph Farms.

Tea with a twist: Curated Culture eyes APAC ‘sports and wellness’ space with probiotic tea products

Singapore-based Curated Culture has big plans to enter the ‘sports and wellness’ space in the APAC region with its probiotic tea products, which the firm has stressed is ‘not kombucha’.

Euphoric functionality: How better-for-you beverage trends are starting to converge across APAC and US markets

Better-for-you beverage trends and ingredients are starting to see a convergence between markets in the Asia Pacific and United States as comsumer awareness grows, according to energy tea brand YATE.

Overcoming kids' veggie aversion: Taste and health the key combo to drive uptake of healthy snacks and improve diets

Children are the ‘toughest food critics’ meaning that healthy snack firms have to pay equal attention to taste and nutrition if they are going to attract mass appeal and help improve the diets of young people.

Vitality for the elderly: How plant-based and natural can clean-up in the burgeoning active ageing space

Singaporean plant-based firm Vitality Foods is targeting the still-active seniors demographic in APAC with its all-natural, clean label products, believing it has found a gap in the industry that is as-yet underserved an

Vitality for the elderly: How plant-based and natural can clean-up in the burgeoning active ageing space

Singaporean plant-based firm Vitality Foods is targeting the still-active seniors demographic in APAC with its all-natural, clean label products, believing it has found a gap in the industry that is as-yet underserved an