TRENOS.ai

Asian brands are driving a clear function + indulgence trend, using ice cream and coffee as stealth vehicles for biotech, novel proteins, and superfoods. From algae and bean-free coffee to precision-fermented bioactives, these food collabs give ingredient suppliers a consumer-facing story and retailers a new hook. Singapore’s regulatory ecosystem, Japan’s legacy food giants, and Malaysia’s café culture are positioning Asia as the test kitchen of functional indulgence.

Talent is leaving faster than policy can respond. Without a scientific and technical base, the Kiwi food sector risks being hollowed out, reducing exports to raw commodity flows and ceding the value-added future to others.