Powerhouses like Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia take centre state in Southeast Asia: but Laos is also booming - with a great deal of its success coming from beer.
Korean alcoholic beverages such as soju, traditionally clear liquor usually distilled from rice, wheat or barley, appear to be gaining in popularity in South East Asian markets.
Thailand’s Malee Group PCL, known for its range of fruit juices and canned fruit, has acquired Vietnam beverage firm Long Quan Safe Food Joint Stock Company (LQSF) for 330m baht (about US$10.5m) to drive South East Asian production and export sales.
ThaiBev recently completed its acquisition of Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage Corp. (Sabeco) with “action to consummate the transfer of sale shares” having taken place.
Suntory Beverage & Food and PepsiCo have agreed to create a soft drink joint venture in Thailand, helping Suntory expand its beverage business in the country.
Miraka, New Zealand’s first Maori-owned milk company, has signed an MOU with Malaysian company Storiiu, a food distribution business, to supply their flagship consumer food, Whai Ora.
Prompted by a market that is showing signs of substantial growth, one of the world’s leading food packaging companies will invest US$25.6m to build a plant to manufacture packaging closures in Thailand.
Bosch has relocated its R&D activities to a new facility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, having outgrown its previous location in various buildings across the city.
A senior Indonesian official has proclaimed his country’s food and beverage industry as the strongest competition in the burgeoning Asean Economic Community.
Nestlé’s Philippines operation is investing PHP2bn (US$43m) in a new plant south of Manila to manufacture a key ingredient for its popular Milo fortified chocolate drink.
Coca-Cola Beverages Vietnam has been fined for various violations, including the manufacture of food supplements without the required safety certificates, following an inspection carried out by the health ministry last month.
Gourmet coffee wholesaler DTS8 Coffee Company has plans to expand into the world’s fastest growing coffee-shop market by acquiring existing coffee chains.
