Start-up Spotlight: PepsiCo accelerator, ginseng innovation and more

PepsiCo’s Greenhouse Accelerator (GHAC) APAC is driving agri-food innovation, with start-ups in the region piloting solutions alongside PepsiCo and key partners The GHAC APAC 2025 edition recently announced this year’s winning start-up, Beijing AIForce Technology at a ceremony in Shanghai, China. The firm pulled ahead from among 10 finallists across Australia, China, Indonesia, Singapore, and South Korea to win the coveted US$100,000 prize. Beijing AIForce’s winning innovation was autonomous, low-carbon e-tractors, an emerging solution for sustainable farming that showed encouraging results in initial tests including the combination of automation, affordability, and sustainability in an all-in-one solution. China’s Herbal Player has captured traditional ginseng benefits in modern formats such as sodas, aiming to tap on Gen Z interest for convenient functionality “The government is placing a lot of importance on this campaign, and so far 106 ingredients have been categorised as part of this functional ingredients list, including Canadian ginseng,” Herbal Player General Manager Celia Xie told us at the recent Fi Asia 2025 show in Bangkok, Thailand. From cost-effectiveness to flavour favourites, these are the top 5 food trends seen at Fi Asia 2025, influencing new product development in the region We bring you five of the most significant trends that have made either a comeback or a brand new showing at this year’s event. A new award-winning functional beverage made from upcycled coffee cherries could open new doors for active cholesterol reduction and heart health. This new beverage dubbed Coffogenic has been launched in Thailand, which is the third-largest coffee producer in South East Asia - but as with just about all coffee production worldwide, around 50% of a coffee harvest is considered to be agriculture waste. New Zealand-based Ārepa has launched sparkling beverages designed to tackle fatigue and support mental performance The firm sees opportunities to support brain health amid the crowded functional food space focused on gut health and energy. “A lot of functional foods are focusing on gut health or energy whereas our focus remains solely on brain health and function. That’s our purpose, to make brains work better through nutrition,” said Ārepa co-founder Angus Brown.

Start-up Spotlight: PepsiCo accelerator, ginseng innovation and more

PepsiCo accelerator, ginseng innovation and more feature in this edition of Start-up Spotlight

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