News on Food Trends from Asia

Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp. announced a tender offer Wednesday to boost its stake in Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan Ltd. in a deal worth up to 30.83 billion yen (US$267.72 million;¤185,38 million).Mitsubishi, which already owns 31 percent of ...

In a strong demonstration of faith in Chinese product quality, KFC is replacing Nestle with Mengniu products. The global fast food behemoth yesterday signed a dairy product supply agreement with Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy Industry (Group) Co Ltd, Ch...

China fresh potato production in MY07/08 is forecast at 75.6 million tons, up 5 percent from the previous year as a result of growing consumer demand. Average fresh potato prices have risen 15 percent annually over the previous three years. Processed ...

McDonald's Corp.'s Indian unit plans to invest at least INR3 billion (USD 75 million) over the next three-to-five years to triple the number of its fast-food restaurants in the country (currently 125), a senior company executive said Monday. "We...

Wendy's International, Inc. and Berjaya Corporation Berhad today announced that they have signed a development agreement to build Wendy's restaurants in Malaysia. Berjaya, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Nadi Klasik Sdn Bhd, has been granted the ...

Happy Meals, Big Mac’s most famous sub-brand specially tailored for children and a company trademark since 1979, has been witnessing a year-on-year decline in sales in India. “Kids’ visits to our stores have been declining year-on-year and have been ov...

Centro Internationale de la Patata–East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific (CIP-ESEAP) regional leader Fernando Ezeta, who visited potato farms in Benguet in the Philippines, said developed countries demand for organic potatoes which is an avenue to o...

The United States Potato Board (USPB) is tapping into the food and bakery business in Thailand by promoting the use of dehydrated potatoes. The USPB, a non-profit organisation that represents potato growers, is working with the Thai food industry to...

Indian giant Reliance Industries has frozen plans to bring a Western-style "retail revolution"to the nation's biggest state amid bitter opposition from small traders, an official said Wednesday. Reliance has suspended retail operations and ...

When Pepsico’s Frito-Lay decided to boycott Pantaloon’s Food Bazaar due to differences in terms of trade, it was the latter’s private label which got a boost in shares. Today Tasty Treat, the ready-to-eat private label of Food Bazaar, is leading with ...

After five years of field trials, root crop experts at Benguet State University (BSU) in the Phillipines  said Benguet farmers could now plant four new potato varieties which possess the desired dry matter content required by fast-food chains to make ...

Burger King has reported modest profit from June to August, reversing losses incurred in the same period last year, BK Titans part owner Wilson Young said.

For nearly two decades in China, the KFC logo has enticed the hungry with the promise of juicy, crispy chicken. Now, Yum Brands Inc. - which owns KFC and Pizza Hut as well as Taco Bell in the U.S. - has some competition for the cravings of Chinese dine...

A Japanese government website crashed Wednesday as people raced to take up an offer of a half-price McDonald's hamburger in exchange for pledging to fight global warming. The Japanese unit of the US burger giant Tuesday offered a Big Mac for 150 yen (1...

McDonald's Holdings Co. (Japan) said Tuesday same-store sales at its hamburger outlets in Japan hit a monthly record in August.Sales in August rose 11.3 pct from a year before to 46,394 million yen, eclipsing the previous record of 43,047 million yen s...

Cambodia's Royal Group Co. Ltd. published a statement here on Saturday announcing that it will form a joint venture with Malaysian firms to bring the fast-food giant the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) into the kingdom. This marks the first entry of a maj...

China is now accusing the United States of shipping contaminated products there. It's the latest round in the battle over unsafe products. China's safety chief says tests found "poisonous and dangerous substances"in almost 22 tons of frozen...

As drought continues to wreak havoc on China's farmland, agriculture experts are considering moving away from the traditional staple food - rice - and encouraging farmers to plant potatoes instead. "The potato is more drought-resistant than rice ...