Although the plant-based category has had a tough time in the region of late, soy milk has long been a supermarket staple in Asia.
The maturity of the sector tends to lead to more affordable prices, especially in South East Asian markets such as Singapore where a 1L carton of soya milk (around S$2/US$1.48) retails for less than a 1L carton of fresh dairy milk (around S$3.60/US$2.67).
This has also emerged as a strong driver for soya milk brands to continue investing into portfolio expansion regularly, and over the past six months this innovation has moved from a previous sugar-reduction focus towards a fortification focus in Singapore.
Local beverage heavyweight Yeo Hiap Seng (Yeo’s) for example has recently launched a soya milk fortified with a vitamin-mineral combination claiming to support the immune system.
“Beverage brands need to innovate to meet changing consumers needs in this era of evolving consumer lifestyles, and [the new] Yeo’s Immuno Soy Milk offers health-conscious consumers a delicious item that can also support their immunity,” Yeo’s CMO Ang Chong Lee told FoodNavigator-Asia.
“This is fortified with a combination of Vitamin B6 and Zinc to support the immune system, [and is considered] one of the biggest innovations to our classic soy milk in 70 years [as well as] representing a significant miletone for on of Yeo’s signature beverages.
“This product has already received Healthier Choice endorsement in both Singapore and Malaysia, and the initial launch will be for the Original and Chocolate flavours – more variants are planned for future launches.”
In addition to Yeo’s Immuno Soy Milk launch, beverage manufacturers F&N have also recently launched a new addition to its NutriSoy soya milk range which claims to have high protein and high calcium benefits due to the addition of kurogoma black sesame.
“NutriSoy Kurogoma is a Japanese-inspired combination of fresh soya milk and black sesame, [making it] high in protein and calcium alongside being reduced sugar,” NutriSoy Singapore said via a formal statement.
“Black sesame seeds are a source of essential nutrients and minerals like iron, magnesium and calcium.”
Similarly, Hong Kong-based VitaSoy also rolled out new soya milk variants enriched with purple sweet potato and red beans at the end of last year, continuing to invest in bringing new products to Singapore despite not having seen much growth in this market.
“Singapore revenue only increased by 1% for us in the past six months due to weaker beverage sales [and] keen price competition, but we have seen losses decrease compared to the previous year [hence] are still keen on the soya milk business in this market,” Vitasoy Chairman Winston Lo said during the firm’s most recent investors’ meeting.
Plant-based dairy alternatives’ price opportunity
Many plant-based dairy alternatives (PBDA) players believe that the sector does not face the same potential risks as plant-based meat in the Asia Pacific region, mostly due to the price factor - and for the soy milk sector, it has the added advantage of already having an established consumer base here.
“Transition from animal to plant-based dairy is relatively easy or even unnecessary for PBDA, especially so for soy milk as consumers in many Asian countries have been drinking this since young,” plant-based milk brand noomoo Chief Action Officer (Marketing and Operations) Nick Chan told us.
“The driver for PBDA is to seek out better-for-you options [as opposed to a full product substitution], and its premiumisation is to a degree that matches the rising income levels of consumers across Asia [unlike that of] plant-based meats.”