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Asia-Pacific flavor trends: Takasago on “digital natives” reshaping F&B innovation

Asia Pacific (APAC) has emerged as a flavor innovation hub for F&B manufacturers, as they work to navigate consumers’ fast-evolving taste expectations. Social media-driven curiosity for global cuisines is co-existing with local flavor demands, with companies advancing technical innovations around taste modulation, plant-based, and sustainable food systems, particularly to appeal to younger generations.
Runners in New York drinking sports beverages.
Function over restriction: How protein and fiber are reshaping healthy beverage innovation
Consumers are redefining “healthy” beverages from a focus on restriction to one of nutritional optimization. While sugar reduction remains a baseline expectation, the category is shifting toward delivering functional, targeted benefits — from gut health and energy to mental well-being, alongside clean label, natural formulations, and enhanced protein.
Woman buying fruit and vegetables.
HowGood: Using data to navigate health and sustainability trade-offs in F&B
The US government’s push to remove petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the food supply signals a broader shift in how health is being regulated and communicated to consumers. Under the “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., policymakers are placing renewed scrutiny on ingredients long used across the food and beverage industry.
AmanoEnzymeTP
Plant-based Dairy Goes Mainstream
Amano Enzyme examines the consumer behaviors and market trends redefining the plant-based dairy category—projected to reach $28 billion by 2030. Explore how non-GM and organic-compliant enzyme solutions are helping manufacturers overcome formulation challenges to enhance taste, texture and performance in plant-based dairy—driving innovation and sustainable, long-term growth.This Technical Paper is brought to you by Amano Enzyme.
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Operating Through Uncertainty: Building Scalable Advantage in the Age of Ultra-Processed Foods
In this session, Innova Market Insights will share exclusive insights into consumer behavior, perceptions, and preferences around UPFs, as well as market insights and innovation opportunities within processed foods.      Frame & Flight will explore how leading manufacturers are responding by modernizing how product data flows across formulation, specifications, labeling, and compliance. Using connected digital workflows, teams can evaluate reformulation scenarios earlier, manage supplier change with confidence, and stay launch-ready — even as definitions, guidance, and expectations continue to evolve.      The result: less rework, faster decisions, and the ability to turn regulatory and nutritional uncertainty into a competitive advantage.    
Win-win video thumbnail: Stack of cookies topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce on a plate, with a smiling man’s portrait in a blue circular graphic background
Win-Win: Fermentation unlocks cocoa-free, climate-friendly chocolate NPD
Mark Golder, CEO of Win-Win, explains how his team recreates chocolate’s signature taste, shine, and snap — without cocoa — amid supply pressures driven by climate change. Using patented fermentation and sustainable cereals and legumes, the UK-based firm delivers a convincing alternative for bakery and confectionery products. Golder points to rising demand for cocoa-free options and stresses the need to scale production and educate consumers to build a more resilient, sustainable future for chocolate.

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Deep-tech firms apply quantum computing and AI to transform alt-protein texture
three scientists working on a computing device
Saudi-based AI computational intelligence company True Nexus has partnered with quantum computing firm Pasqal to solve a major challenge in the alternative protein and food industry — accurately modeling and predicting protein functionality. The collaboration aims to address challenges in gelatin, texture, and overall protein behavior in complex food products.
Kerry expands Irish biotech hub to meet lactose-free dairy boom
A scientist looks through a microscope at dairy products in a lab.
Kerry has unveiled its expanded biotechnology manufacturing hub in Carrigaline, County Cork, Ireland, which the company says will significantly increase its capacity to produce lactase enzymes at an industrial scale.According to the company, the move is a direct response to accelerating global demand for lactose-free and sugar-reduced dairy products — a category being driven by consumers who want digestive comfort and lower sugar intake without giving up taste or quality.
Aperol moves into RTD category as Campari targets younger consumers
Aperol Spritz On The Go.
Campari Group is entering the on-the-go segment with the launch of Aperol Spritz To Go, marking the brand’s first move into ready-to-drink (RTD) formats in its more than a century history.
PepsiCo’s strategic price cuts and healthier snacks drive Q1 2026 revenue growth
Outside the PepsiCo office.
Consumer price cuts and new, healthier snacks have helped PepsiCo boost its sales and drive an 8.5% revenue increase to US$19.44 billion in Q1 2026, compared with the same period last year. Organic revenue also grew by 2.6%, as the first-quarter performance provides an indicator for how CPGs can effectively navigate challenging economic headwinds and consumer price sensitivity. “We are pleased with our first-quarter results, which featured an acceleration in both net revenue and organic revenue growth — with a notable improvement in convenient foods organic volume,” says PepsiCo chairman and CEO, Ramon Laguarta.
Cargill upgrades hydrocolloids site to cut emissions and improve efficiency
hand holding box with xanthan gum label
Rising energy costs, tightening environmental expectations, and ongoing supply chain pressures are forcing ingredient manufacturers to rethink how core products are made. Rather than large-scale transformation, many are turning to targeted process upgrades that deliver measurable gains in both efficiency and sustainability. A recent investment by Cargill at its Baupte facility in France illustrates this approach in practice.
US states create new ultra-processed food definitions amid federal delay
woman reading nutrition label while buying dairy product in supermarket

Nutrition Insight

As the US federal ultra-processed food (UPF) definition looms without a national consensus, states are developing their own definitions focused on nutritional value, processing techniques, and select additives. A new viewpoint by the New York University (NYU), Food is Medicine Institute, and the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy has analyzed different state UPF definitions. They found that at least 17 states have proposed or passed laws defining UPFs, which mainly focus on school foods. Most also target specific food or color additives but capture only a minority of UPFs, thus having a limited public health benefit.
Highlighted features
Strait Of Hormuz.
Regulatory News
“Global agri-food catastrophe”: FAO sounds alarm on Strait...
UN FAO chief economist, Maximo Torero, has warned that a prolonged Strait of Hormuz crisis could result in a “global agri-food catastrophe.” The US-Iran war in the Middle East, which began in late February 2026, remains unresolved, with Torero urging anticipatory policy actions to mitigate a price and supply crunch for key agri-food inputs. Although a delicate ceasefire has been agreed, major elements of the conflict — including naval blockades, sanctions, and military posturing — are still active, so the situation remains volatile rather than fully de-escalated.
african woman reading food label in supermarket
Food Ingredients News
Djazagro 2026: What’s driving innovation in North Africa’s...
North Africa’s F&B industry is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by rising consumer demand for affordable products that blend taste with a healthier, more natural profile. This shift is propelling innovation in sugar reduction, natural colors and flavors, shelf life extension, and local adaptation.
Close-up of gloved scientist hands holding a wheat ear in a laboratory with AI holograms and digital data overlays.
Tech & Innovation
AI as infrastructure: How Cargill is rewiring food...
Cargill has picked up a 2026 BIG Artificial Intelligence Excellence Award, presented by the Business Intelligence Group. The award recognizes the food corporation’s integration of AI across its value chain, from on-farm decision tools to supply chain optimization and customer co-creation. The award points to a structural shift in food and agriculture. Industry leaders like Cargill are no longer testing AI at the margins, but integrating it into their core workflows, from product development through to commercialization, in a sector defined by complexity, regulation, and tight margins.

Ingredient focus

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Natural colors surge in F&B industryApr2026

Innova Market Insights data shows that consumers are actively reducing artificial ingredients in favor of natural alternatives. The use of natural colors in F&B launches is rising, with +9% growth...

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Product innovation

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Plant-based F&B launches see steady growth Apr 2026

Innova Market Insights data indicates a 3% CAGR in plant-based F&B launches between 2021 and 2025. Dairy and Meat Substitutes remain the key categories, while Fruit & Vegetables showed the fastest growth (36% CAGR) during the same period. Emerging ingredients in plant-based launches include sucralose, oat flake, and vegetable fats.

Trend analysis

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Healthy beverage trends: A growing market for functional drinksApr 2026

Innova Market Insights has identified “Beverages with Purpose” as one of the top F&B trends for 2026. Consumers worldwide are increasingly prioritizing health-conscious beverages, driven by growing industry support and innovation. This shift is accelerating the demand for functional drinks, with protein and biotic benefits leading the charge as key trends in healthy beverage development.

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Win-win video thumbnail: Stack of cookies topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce on a plate, with a smiling man’s portrait in a blue circular graphic background
Video10:45
Win-Win: Fermentation unlocks cocoa-free, climate-friendly chocolate NPD

Mark Golder, CEO of Win-Win, explains how his team recreates chocolate’s signature taste, shine, and snap — without cocoa — amid supply pressures driven by climate change. Using patented fermentation and sustainable cereals and legumes, the UK-based firm delivers a convincing alternative for...

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Video11:07
Melt&Marble: Enhancing flavor in alternative meats and dairy with precision-fermented fat
Dr. Puja Kumari, Scottish Association of Marine Science
Video09:21
Scottish Association for Marine Science: Unlocking red seaweed for food flavor, color & hybrid proteins 
Hugo Leclercq, Kerry, Sodium Reduction, Snack Industry, Salt Reduction, Snack Flavor, Taste Optimization, Fermentation, Natural Flavors, Umami, Kokumi, Food Innovation, Chips, Bitterness Reduction
Video16:13
Kerry: Sodium reduction expert reveals key strategies for better snack flavor
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