Packaging Happenings: Yili's twist-top RTD tea, Starward's colourful whiskey, Mondelez on portion control and more feature in our round-up

A twist in the tea: Yili seeks to capture new consumer base with twist-top RTD range​

China dairy giant Yili has ventured into the ready-to-drink (RTD) tea segment with an entirely new product concept dubbed the ‘instant brewed tea’ under its INIKIN brand as it looks to capture a new base of local consumers.

Yili’s INIKIN brand was first developed for its bottled volcanic rock-filtered mineral water range back in 2019, and the new tea products continue to use this branding as it uses INIKIN volcanic water as a core ingredient.

“INIKIN products are designed to be clean label, and these instant brewed teas are no different as they contain just two ingredients which are good quality water and good quality tea,”​ Yili Shanghai Branch General Manager Baoguang Wang told the floor at the Food and Beverage Innovation Forum (FBIF) 2024.

“The instant brewed tea concept is reliant on our new twist-cap technology, where we have put tea that was freeze-dried at -40​°​C into the cap and this will be released when the cap is twisted, dropping the tea into the water bottle.​

Reach for the stars: Starward launches colourful packaging range to put ‘modern’ Australian whiskey on the map​

Australian spirits distillery Starward has launched a range of whiskies with brightly-coloured packaging to distinguish its ‘modern’ products from traditional scotch and carve out a place for itself in the liquor market.

Whiskey is considered one of the oldest and more traditional liquors in the market, with variants such as Scotch whiskey and bourbon generally prized as being more valuable with age.

Modern whiskey places less value on age and more on ingredient quality, flavours and provenance. Some successful brands in this sector include Taiwan’s Kavalan and India’s Amrut – and Australian distillery Starward believes that it is time for Australia to be put on the map as well.

“Being a modern Australian whiskey very much means that we are definitely not trying to recreate Scotch whiskey and are focused on the Australian story instead,”​ Starward Commercial Director Scott English told FoodNavigator-Asia​.

“Novelisation is very important to us as we have found that bright packaging and the story carries very strong appeal for younger, more dynamic consumers who tend to be more open-minded about their drinking."​

Snack strategy: Mondelez highlights affordability, portion control and variety as key drivers for AMEA market - WATCH​

Snacking giant Mondelez says affordability, portion control and portfolio variety as important growth drivers for the AMEA snacking industry in an era when consumers have become increasingly fastidious about their spending.

Global economic and geopolitical conditions have resulted in increased demands from consumers all over the world for affordable options, even within the snacking market which maintained stable popularity after seeing rapid growth during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, moving to simply slash prices is not a feasible strategy given rising ingredient costs as well as parallel consumer demands for product taste and health to remain as good if not better than status quo – so many brands have had to look to other strategies to make this happen.

“The demands from consumers in the Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) region are really changing very fast, and particularly their expectations of snacks are almost changing from year to year,”​ Mondelez VP for Strategy and Commercial Excellence AMEA Tomas Centeno told FoodNavigator-Asia​ after presenting the results of the company’s latest State of Snacking report at Growth Asia Summit 2024.

‘Biggest future market’: Bottega boss outlines plans to increase supply and marketing focus in Asia​

The MD of prosecco specialist firm Bottega has highlighted the company’s plans to increase supply and marketing spend to boost its position in the Asian region, predicting that this is likely to become its biggest market in the near future.

Bottega is an Italian brand that is best known for its Bottega Gold prosecco and fancy premium packaging ranging from gold to diamond-encrusted bottles.

Due to its geographical proximity to Europe and the region’s familiarity with prosecco, thus far Bottega has seen Europe as its major target, but according to the firm’s owner and Managing Director Sandro Bottega, the future plans are to place more emphasis on Asia instead.

“Asia has always been important to us as there are many premium consumers here who are interested to spend on alcohol, in markets such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea,”​ he told FoodNavigator-Asia​.

Clear and legible: Thailand announces new pre-packaged food labelling regulations mandating clarity and manufacturer responsibility​

The Thai government has announced the enforcement of new labelling regulations for pre-packaged food products that emphasise increased information clarity for consumers as well as mandating the inclusion of manufacturer information.

The Thai FDA first announced it would be revamping the regulations for pre-packaged food labels​ back in September 2023, with an emphasis on expiry dates and allergen warnings.

This move is in line with multiple other Asian countries such as Vietnam​, China​ and South Korea​ which have all made amendments to their pre-packaged food labelling standards in the past year.

“These regulations will apply to all foods and beverages that are packaged for sale to consumers, with only four potential exemptions,”​ the agency said via formal documentation.