Pulmuone Green Juice to develop new low-sugar functional drinks as demand soars
South Korea’s Pulmuone Green Juice intends to expand its range of low-sugar health functional foods, on the back of strong sales of its sugar management product and growing demand.
The brand is owned by South Korean food giant, Pulmuone, which manufactures a variety of products, including tofu, noodles, dumplings and kimchi.
Pulmuone Green Juice specialises in dual-format products, specifically tablet supplements in the bottle lid and a functional beverage in the bottle body.
This dual-format has been gaining prominence in the dietary supplements space, particularly in the country, over the past year.
Noting the continuous increase in demand for products that “help consumers manage blood sugar easily in their daily lives”, especially among young people, the brand introduced Dangslim X2 in late August last year.
Next-gen nutrition: Precision fermentation eyed as next step in functional food innovation
Various Asia Pacific firms are eyeing precision fermentation technology as the next step in functional food innovation, particularly surrounding the protein lactoferrin which is already well-known to have benefits for human immunity and gut health.
A few years ago, precision fermentation was seen to be the intermediate alternative protein technology, between the existing plant-based products and ten-years-down-the-line cultivated meat products.
But given developments thus far, only a few firms such as Perfect Day have succeeded in moving from the tech stage to the commercialisation stage in terms of everyday processed food products (e.g. ice cream or processed meats) hence many in the sector have turned their focus to developing other more high-value products, such as actual nutrients.
A key nutrient that has come into play as a result of this has been the protein lactoferrin, which is commonly found in animal secretions including milk and is well-documented to have antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties.
“Thousands of studies have been done on lactoferrin which have concluded that it does have immunity and gut health benefits for humans,” former TurtleTree CFO and sustainable food systems leader Alexander Pestalozzi told FoodNavigator-Asia.
Reformulation, health concerns lead innovation in key APAC staples - In-depth analysis
Major APAC staple food categories from rice to vegetable oil are seeing innovation efforts being driven by consumer demands for reformulation, healthier substitutions, and sustainability concerns.
Staple foods such as rice, edible oil, sugar and salt are amongst the most traditional food categories in the food industry, with innovation having been limited over the years until recently when health and wellness became a major priority for consumers.
Within the salt and sugar sectors, innovation has been heavily influenced by health and wellness factors, including a need for wide scale reformulation driven by regulations.
One of these has been India’s proposed Indian Nutrition Rating (INR), which has similarities with Singapore’s Nutri-Grade front-of-pack labelling scheme that was first introduced for sugar-sweetened beverages in December 2020, and is often credited with motivating many beverage manufacturing companies to reformulate their products with less sugar.
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.
Petale lays claim to being the first blooming tea specialist in Singapore across both retail and foodservice, and its claim to fame comes from both its unusual flavours as well as the unique presentation of its products.
“Tea balls are handmade balls with a tea base and flowers hand-sewn onto this base, which start off as a literal ball but will bloom into a bouquet once the tea is brewed,” Petale Tea Founder Rosemary Kwa told FoodNavigator-Asia.
“Most consumers in Singapore are already pretty mature tea drinkers and there are also many tea brands here too, so there is that pressure to create something very interesting and very new [in order to attract consumers here], which is why our emphasis is on the experience aspect of watching the tea ball bloom, as well as letting them make bespoke blends.
Gluten-free in the spotlight under new Singapore pre-packaged food rules
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has introduced new pre-packaged food regulations, with a focus on gluten and improving the clarity of ingredient labelling.
This latest amendment to existing local Food Regulations were the result of two public consultations conducted by SFA in 2020 and 2022 respectively.
One of the most major changes made was the introduction of a new regulation 250B concerning gluten-free and reduced-gluten foods.
“’Gluten’ is a protein fraction from cereals including barley, oat, rye, wheat, hybridised strains of these cereals or products of these cereals, and to which some persons are hypersensitive,” Singapore Minister of Sustainability and the Environment Stanley Loh, under which the purview of SFA falls, stated via a formal statement.
“A package of food must not be labelled with the words ‘gluten‑free’, ‘naturally gluten‑free’ or ‘reduced gluten’ unless the package of food contains only gluten‑free food, naturally gluten‑free food or reduced gluten food, as the case may be."
