FMCG Innovations and Trends by Sophia Nadur

My mother has Type 2 Diabetes. Like 20 million Brits, I am at risk to get it too if I don't lose weight and/or change what I eat and drink. But changing behaviour is really hard.  We all want that healthier food and drink to look good and taste good too. However, what we're seeing on store shelves are lots of drinks  being reformulated to take all/some sugar out and put instead lots of aspartame, sucralose and weird ingredients in that actually none of us want or need in our diet. We also see lots of healthier drinks are quite expensive and, even though health should have no price attached to it, we still have very tight wallets so we do want healthier food drink to be available at an accessible price. So the real " sweet spot " - the "holy grail" - is a drink that is  nutritionally sound, naturally functional and available at an affordable price. Like Tg green tea .  A drink that was inspired by ancient Chinese...

Like much of the developed world, t he UK has an obesity problem . 60% of the population is overweight or obese from eating too much and exercising too little. Reducing portion sizes a proven intervention that changes health behaviour and helps to reduce obesity There have been numerous studies since the early 1990s that show reducing  portion sizes  of the food & drink we consume would help reverse the obesity epidemic. BBC health editor,  James Gallagher , reported in 2015 [ link ] the findings of research based on 6,711 people that took part in a wide range of clinical trials. Professor  Gareth Hollands  (among others) found that eliminating " large portions could cut up to 279 calories a day out of people's diets " [ link ].... equivalent to an extra kg of fat to contend with every month. Research in the British Medical Journal states that  reducing portion sizes  becomes easier when there is availability of smaller pack sizes  ...

The promotion of gluten-free diets among people without celiac disease should NOT be encouraged , a long-term prospective cohort study reports. ( Link ) The British Medical Journal reported in May 2017 findings from health research conducted on 100,000 people over a 15+ year period. Professor Benjamin Lebwohl et al.'s study had as its objective " to examine the association of long term intake of gluten with the development of incident coronary heart disease ". The research findings concluded in part with this statement: " .....the avoidance of gluten may result in reduced consumption of beneficial whole grains, which may affect cardiovascular risk. The promotion of gluten-free diets among people without celiac disease should not be encouraged." Wheat and other whole grain food have been a staple in the human diet for thousands of years. However, gluten, a storage protein in wheat, rye, and barley, triggers inflammation and intestinal damage in people ...

Tg Green Tea co-founder, Sophia Nadur, in Singapore discussing how to harness the goodness of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda wellness ingredients in creating beverages that folks want. Read her interview with Gary Scattergood, Editor-in-Chief at William Reed Business Media Ltd, Food Asia, in NutraIngredients Asia. http://www.nutraingredients-asia.com/Manufacturers/Functional-beverages-in-Asia-Start-ups-need-to-redress-the-health-balance For more info, please connect with me via LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophianadur/

"I am Fan Yusu" : A #wechat story about a migrant worker's life would have not ruffled feathers in Britain in late 1700s during the Industrial Revolution but I think it will spur positive change in an increasingly reflective China. http://www.whatsonweibo.com/fan-yusu-beijing-migrant-workers-writing-takes-wechat-storm/ http://www.drinktg.com/about-us

I am pleased to be presenting at the Food Vision Asia conference in Singapore 26th April 2017, on the topic of "East meets West meets East. Tapping plant wellness for new beverage segments" which will also showcase Tg green teas  - considered a leading beverage platform for translating ancient TCM wellness traditions into mass-market drinks. East meets West meets East. Tapping plant wellness for new beverage segments People instinctively know the value of consuming plant-based food and drink; they feel it’s good for their health and for the planet, its animals, climate and the environment.  In recent years, however, increased availability of highly processed products, largely marketed by Western companies, has broken the connection with indigenous plant-based diets for Asia’s millennial consumers.  At the same time, on the other side of the world the West is experiencing a fundamental consumer shift towards vegetarian, vegan and other plant-based formulations. S...

Where will you be 19-21 April? If you are a global innovator and/or brand owner targeting Chinese & other Asian consumers, you must attend the Food & Beverage Innovation Forum 2017 (FBIF): Global Innovation, Powering the Future (FBIF2017食品饮料创新论坛：全球力量，领变未来) in Shanghai. Keeping the food & drink market growing in 2017 and beyond will require new & deeper partnerships In Asia, China and India have created a huge new consumption market with the buying power of the two leading "E7 emerging economies" set to exceed that of any G7 economy by the next decade. Yet, both food & drink markets are dissimilar in logistical and demographic terms to a typical G7 market which, coupled with faster adoption of technology particularly in China, demand a very different approach to growth in most food & drink categories. The ways global behemoths like Coca-Cola and Nestle penetrated developing markets in the past simply do not work anymore. Collaboration with loc...