Food Pacific Manufacturing Journal

Our special report is on soup, one of the food industry’s gifts to time-squeezed consumers. Even my cook-from-scratch mother’s pantry always had packets of dried soup and concentrated soup in cans (my early recollections include being spoon-fed diluted chicken noodle soup and picking out letters from alphabet soup). Packaged soups have undergone a transformation since those days in much the same way that consumers - mothers amongst them - have changed. The world has become smaller by virtue of technology and lifestyles more frenetic, and consumers have more sophisticated palates and require more choices even as they prefer more convenience. Like my mother, I keep packaged soups in my pantry - but the range of options is far from the traditional tomato soup, chicken noodle and stock cubes - because I’m one of those busy, demanding consumers.
There’s no denying that snacking is a major pastime in Asia - I know, because as I’ve confessed in that past, I am a snack junkie. And I’m not alone - far from it. Industry reports have shown that on people snack 14 occasions per week. Market intelligence publisher Packaged Facts has even said a fifth of all meal occasions are snacks, accounting for up to 25% of all calories consumed. This is why in ingredients, we look at ways to address less fat- and sugar-ridden, higher fibre options that help to reduce the guilt (and caloric content) of crunchy munchies and other snacks.