Healthier Choices: Guilt-free candy, healthy snacking, silver generation innovation and more feature in our round-up

Guilt-free gummies: Funday highlights gut-friendly formulation and single-serve packaging as major success factors​

Australian guilt-free confectionary firm Funday has highlighted its unique gut-friendly ingredient formulation as well as its one-bag-one-serve packaging as major success factors after entering 3,000 retail outlets in the region.

When we last spoke to Funday early last year, the firm had just hit the 1,000 retail outlets mark and told us of plans to make it to 3,000 outlets by the end of 2022 – a target which it has now achieved.

“Funday natural sweets are now in Chemist Warehouse and Woolworths outlets worldwide, as well as some 450 Ampol gas stations, WH Smith stores as of last December, and more retailers to come as of this month (January 2023),”​ Funday Founder Daniel Kitay told FoodNavigator-Asia​.

‘Huge growth potential’: India’s ProV Foods seeks to combine affordability and health benefits to gain snack market share​

Indian dried fruits and snack brand ProV foods says affordability is key for better-for-you brands to take a bigger slice of the country’s rapidly developing snack market.

India’s snacks industry is worth close to $8 billion, yet the healthy snacks segment makes up less than 10% of the overall market.

Headquartered in Mumbai, ProV Foods is one of the fastest-growing healthy snacks brands in the country, with more than 100 products across six sub brands that cater to varied consumer demands and purchasing power.

Nutrition, taste, texture: Singapore’s Nurasa seeks to drive innovation of ‘silver diet’ and alternative proteins​

Singapore firm Nurasa is seeking to drive innovation in alternative proteins and nutritional options available to the seniors on the back of an ageing population in Singapore.

Together with A*STAR’s Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI) and Agrifood Innovation Centre (AFIC), Nurasa has launched the Food Tech Start-Up Challenge.

The inaugural challenge is currently inviting pitches from start-ups across the globe in two areas, namely 1) the optimisation of alternative proteins, functional foods and 2) the creation of novel product formats in the alternative protein or functional foods space.

Keep it simple: Why minimal processing is key to winning over Asian plant-based consumers​

Minimal processing and healthier formulation is key to achieving plant-based success in Asia, where health drivers trump sustainability concerns, according to a Thai brand that is blazing a trail in the category.

Despite its accelerated growth in the Asia Pacific region over the past few years, the plant-based sector still faces the challenge of consumer misconceptions regarding its ingredients, processing methods and nutritional content.

Many plant-based meat producers today have opted to focus on delivering a minimally processed, low-salt, high-nutritional value messaging when it comes to marketing their products.

Year of the plant-based egg: Singapore’s OnlyEg taps food safety and nutrition drivers to expand reach​

Singapore plant-based egg firm OnlyEg believes that 2023 will be the year for the plant-based egg sector to shine in APAC given the technological advances that have been made, as well as the food safety and nutritional benefits.

The plant-based sector in the Asia Pacific region has grown by leaps and bounds over the past few years, with a lot of this primarily driven by meat alternatives as well as dairy alternatives.

Amidst this growth, the plant-based egg sector still remains relatively small by comparison, and Singapore’s OnlyEg believes that 2023 could be the year that this changes.

“Plant-based meat has had a lot of focus in recent years, especially with many celebrities jumping on board to embrace these products – but the time has now come for the egg equivalent to shine,”​ OnlyEg brand owner Float Foods’ Founder Vinita Choolani told FoodNavigator-Asia​.