Food & Beverage Trailblazers

Sesame’s nutritional and sustainable properties could make it Asia’s best option for traditional milk replacement, despite it being a relative newcomer in region’s plant-based dairy alternative space, claims a Thai firm seeking to pioneer the sector.

Alternative meat firm More Meat has cited rising local food ingredient prices and the prevention of food waste as major drivers behind the creation of its ready-to-cook (RTC) range, a format that is still at the early stages of growth within Thailand’s plant-based sector.

A three-pronged marketing approach spanning health, safety and taste is crucial to drive sales in China’s burgeoning plant-based space, both to attract new customers and then retain them for sustained sales growth, according to pioneer of the category.

India’s first ice popsicle brand Skippi is aiming to achieve Nestle-level market penetration in the country within the next 12 months, with plans afoot for a large-scale production plant as well as building up its national distribution network.

Asia has the potential to lead the way in the food and beverage sector’s packaging sustainability endeavours, but retailer red tape and legacy mindsets need to quickly be overcome to achieve maximum impact.

In this episode of our Food and Beverage Trailblazers podcast we speak to Heidi Peuten, Co-Founder of Ulu Hye, about her pioneering journey to create the world’s first dairy-free mylk bases, and life juggling entrepreneurship with a very young family.

In this episode of our Food and Beverage Trailblazers podcast we speak to Coco Tse, Vice President of Strategy and Operations at HEROTEIN, about the rise of the ‘New Protein’ movement in China, the need for localised products, and format innovation.

In this episode of our Food and Beverage Trailblazers podcast we speak to Nicci Clark, CEO and Co-founder of Re:Nourish, about how the rise in demand for foods with functional health benefits are driving the fresh soup category, as well as the link she sees between her previous experience as a nurse and her current role as a food entrepreneur.

In this episode of our Food and Beverage Trailblazers podcast we speak to Ahmad Syafik Jaafar, Co-founder of Malaysia’s NANKA, about the niche hybrid plant-meat product category and the potential of using these as a ‘transitional’ product for consumers wanting to go fully plant-based.

In this episode of our Food and Beverage Trailblazers podcast we speak to Michael Fox, CEO of Australia’s Fable Foods, about how his entrepreneurial journey from fashion to food, as well as whether mushroom-based meat products should still be considered ‘plant-based’.

In this episode of our Food and Beverage Trailblazers podcast we speak to Lisa King, Founder of New Zealand’s AF Drinks, about how the firm is leading the domestic non-alcoholic cocktail category as well as her challenges in making the switch from MNC’s such as PepsiCo and Heinz.

In this episode of our Food and Beverage Trailblazers podcast we speak to Alex Min, Founder and CEO of Korea’s RE:Harvest about introducing food upcycling to Asia, a market where byproducts are often seen more as ‘food waste’.

In this episode of our Food and Beverage Trailblazers podcast we speak to Athena Zhu, Co-Founder and COO of Marvelous Foods about her experience as a food industry leader in China, as well as plans to premiumise the local plant-based dairy category.

In this episode of our Food and Beverage Trailblazers podcast we speak to Christoph Langwallner, CEO of WhatIF Foods about his vision to change the world ‘one meal at a time’ using regenerative crops instead of today’s commercial ones, and the need to redesign food manufacturing to make this work.

In this episode of our Food and Beverage Trailblazers podcast we speak to Zac Chua, CEO of Singapore popcorn firm The Kettle Gourmet about starting a business right out of school with no prior experience, and working with ‘controversial’ artificial flavours as a base for innovation.

In this episode of our Food and Beverage Trailblazers podcast we speak to Nalin Sood, CEO of Indian tea specialist firm Teamonk about defying traditional procurement norms and his experience moving from beverage MNC PepsiCo to a start-up.

In this episode of our Food and Beverage Trailblazers podcast, we speak to the co-founder and director of Singapore biotechnology and healthy noodle firm KosmodeHealth about her journey from pharma to food, and why pragmatism is just as important as sustainability.

In this episode of our Food and Beverage Trailblazers podcast, we speak to the CEO of Singapore-based sugar innovation firm Nutrition Innovation Matthew Godfrey about the challenges he faced when moving from an MNC to a start-up, and why he believes sugar itself is the solution to solving overconsumption.

In this episode of our Food and Beverage Trailblazers podcast, we speak to the CEO of Malaysian insect-based food firm Ento Kevin Wu about his massive career shift from law to food entrepreneurship as well as how he is tackling consumer fears over insect consumption.

In this episode of our Food and Beverage Trailblazers podcast, we speak to the CEO of Indian traditional and plant-based dairy firm Epigamia Rohan Mirchandani about his aspirations to contemporise the Indian dairy industry, and the challenges in getting the conventional and plant-based sectors to ‘peacefully coexist’.

In this episode of our Food and Beverage Trailblazers podcast, we speak to the CEO and Co-Founder of Singapore-based microalgae food firm Sophie’s BioNutrients Eugene Wang about his aspirations to create food for space travel, and why he believes ‘hybrid’ plant-based and meat products are the way forward for Asia.

In this episode of our Food and Beverage Trailblazers podcast, we speak to the CEO and co-founder of Australia-US fermentation technology firm Change Foods about his journey from aerospace engineering to food tech, and the parallels and differences between the two industries.

In this episode of our Food and Beverage Trailblazers podcast, we speak to Dr David Kitchen, CEO of better-for-you energy drink Kanguru about his experience juggling both a full-time medical career as an ophthalmologist alongside his beverage entrepreneurial venture.

In this episode of our Food and Beverage Trailblazers podcast, we speak to Blair Crichton, Co-Founder of plant-based start-up Karana about choosing Asia and Asian-style foods to focus on for its jackfruit-based pork development, and his experience making the jump from finance to food entrepreneurship.

In this episode of our Food and Beverage Trailblazers podcast, we speak to LVL Life co-founders Avinash Aswani and Rohit Nanwani, entrepreneurs and first cousins who have moved from under the wings of a longtime family business to build a superfoods brand based on e-commerce.