Thai Union Leverages By-products for High-Protein Snack Innovation in Asia
Thai Union is expanding its snack portfolio with the MONORI brand, utilising seafood by-products to meet rising demand for high-protein, convenient food in Asia. This strategy could mitigate raw material costs and open new market segments for ingredient suppliers.
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Singapore, Singapore — 20 July 2026
Asian food manufacturers are increasingly focusing on high-protein, convenient product innovation, driven by shifting consumer preferences and the economic imperative to maximise material utility. Betagro's launch of chicken-based noodles, designed to double protein intake per meal, underscores this trend. This product directly targets consumers seeking enhanced nutritional value in staple foods, indicating a significant market opportunity for protein-fortified alternatives across Asia.
Thai Union, a dominant force in the seafood industry, is expanding its snack division with its MONORI brand. This initiative leverages seafood by-products, aligning with sustainability goals while addressing the growing demand for protein-rich, ready-to-eat options. By transforming underutilised resources into value-added products, Thai Union is establishing a model that could inform circular economy practices within the supplement and food manufacturing sectors, potentially unlocking new revenue streams and reducing waste disposal overheads for other operators.
In the plant-based sector, Oatside is revitalising soy milk's market position for younger Asian demographics. Their focus on high-protein, clean-label formulations with an emphasis on taste and health demonstrates critical success factors for plant-based innovation. Shawn Ong, Brand Manager for Oatside, noted that traditional soy milk has lagged behind oat and nut milks in innovation, particularly concerning flavour and cafe integration. This highlights a need for supplement ingredient suppliers to offer enhanced functional flavours and texture solutions for plant-based applications. Furthermore, Aux Labs, an animal-free dairy start-up, is pioneering a 'reverse' innovation approach. Instead of developing ingredients first, they design ingredients to fit existing manufacturing infrastructure, prioritising scalability and cost-efficiency from inception. This methodology could significantly compress reformulation windows and lower capital expenditure for introducing novel ingredients.
What this means for Singapore
Singaporean manufacturers must recognise the escalating consumer demand for protein innovation and sustainability. Brand owners should evaluate their supply chains for underutilised by-products, mirroring Thai Union's strategy to create high-value products, which could yield a 5-10% improvement in resource efficiency. Regulatory teams should prepare for potential shifts towards greater oversight of 'clean label' and 'sustainable source' claims, necessitating robust documentation. For ingredient suppliers, the emphasis on taste and functionality in plant-based options, as demonstrated by Oatside, indicates a lucrative market for advanced flavour systems and functional proteins. Furthermore, the 'reverse' innovation model from Aux Labs suggests that future ingredient procurement strategies should favour components designed for existing production lines to reduce CapEx and accelerate market entry.
What to watch next
- Monitor announcements from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) on new guidelines for plant-based and novel food protein claims through late 2026, which may influence product labelling.
- Observe the market penetration of Thai Union's MONORI brand and similar sustainable snack innovations through 2027 to gauge consumer acceptance and category growth in Southeast Asia.
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