Weekly Trade Information-166

"Medicinal Food Homology" in This "Spice Blend" Is the Key Ingredient Behind the Popularity of Thai Milk Tea

According to data from China Beverage News, star anise, tamarind, vanilla, cardamom, and clove—these strongly aromatic spices—are the main flavor components of Thai tea. Among them, star anise, with its "licorice-like sweetness" and "slightly spicy, rich aroma," neutralizes the richness of thick milk, making it the key ingredient that sets Thai milk tea apart.

Star anise (Illicium verum Hook.f.) is an evergreen tree belonging to the Schisandraceae family, native to China and primarily grown in southern regions. Its dried fruit, commonly known as "star anise," is not only an indispensable traditional spice in Chinese cuisine due to its unique flavor but also widely used in the modern food and beverage industry.

As a dietary ingredient, star anise helps regulate immunity and alleviate physical fatigue. HERBALIClOUS Star Anise has launched dietary supplements made from star anise extract to help boost immunity.

(Source: FTA)

White Tomatoes: A Promising Ingredient in the Oral Beauty Market

Within the tomato family, white tomatoes are emerging as a new potential ingredient in the oral beauty market due to their unique compositional advantages. The most notable feature of white tomatoes is their near absence of lycopene, instead being rich in colorless carotenoids (phytoene and phytofluene). This difference stems from a genetic mutation that disrupts carotenoid synthesis—while the red color of ordinary tomatoes comes from lycopene, white tomatoes contain only about 5% of the lycopene found in red tomatoes.

Although ordinary tomatoes also contain carotenoids, they are predominantly lycopene, which has weaker antioxidant effects compared to the colorless carotenoids (phytoene and phytofluene) in white tomatoes. In terms of efficacy, the unique colorless carotenoids in white tomatoes give them distinct advantages in beauty applications such as antioxidant protection, sun protection, and whitening. With its differentiated advantage of "non-photosensitive antioxidant" properties, white tomato concentrate powder has the potential to carve out a new niche in a market dominated by collagen and hyaluronic acid.

In the future, as the transparency and efficacy validation of ingredients improve further, white tomatoes are expected to become a "star ingredient" in the oral beauty field. For the industry, this provides stable support for brand R&D; for consumers, it offers new choices in the oral beauty market, collectively driving the industry toward "more precise and more natural" development.

(Source: FIEU Food Ingredient Alliance)

Keeta Launches in Brazil, Set to Battle Didi in Food Delivery by End of October

Starting October 30, Keeta, a brand under Meituan, will officially begin operations in Brazil, with the initial pilot cities being Santos and São Vicente, coastal cities in the state of São Paulo.

In these two cities, over 700 restaurant brands have already registered on Keeta, including major chains such as Sodiê, The Coffee, Seven Kings, and Mania de Churrasco. According to Keeta, 82% of delivery orders in Santos come from small and medium-sized restaurants, while in São Paulo, the figure is 69%. Keeta is expected to commence operations in São Paulo city by the end of 2025.

In 2024, Brazil's population exceeded 214 million, with GDP growth reaching 3.4%—the highest in three years—amounting to 11.7 trillion Brazilian reais (approximately $2.02 trillion). The compound annual growth rate of Brazil's food delivery market has reached 17.6%.

In May of this year, Meituan signed an investment agreement at the "China-Brazil Business Seminar," planning to invest $1 billion over five years to bring Keeta to Brazil. This amount represents 20% of Meituan's net profit in 2024. Financial reports show that Meituan's revenue in 2024 was 337.59 billion yuan, with a net profit of 35.81 billion yuan.

Keeta's move was triggered by Didi's plan to invest 1 billion reais (approximately 1.279 billion yuan) to relaunch its food delivery business in Brazil under the "99Food" brand. The service is already available in Goiânia, a city in central Brazil, and São Paulo, the country's largest city. It is reported that Didi Brazil has accumulated 700,000 active delivery riders, covering over 3,300 towns.

(Source: Yibang Power)

Investing Heavily: Turning Coffee into Chocolate, Why Is Suntory So "Enthusiastic"?

To minimize the loss of coffee flavor and allow consumers to enjoy "complete" coffee, this company came up with the idea of turning coffee into "chocolate." This creativity led four investment institutions, including Suntory Holdings, to invest 150 million yen (approximately 7.05 million yuan) in this startup, which is less than a year old.

The founder, Akinori Itoyama, previously participated in product development and R&D strategy planning for Suntory's coffee brand BOSS and other beverages. Inspired by his work, he aimed to promote a new experiential value: enjoying coffee in its entirety.

To achieve this, MOKABLE created a bite-sized coffee "chocolate"—crushing coffee beans and mixing them with sustainable plant-based oils such as cocoa butter, palm oil, and shea butter, then compressing the mixture into chocolate bar form to create an "edible" coffee.

(Source: Fooddaily)

Wenzhou Port Expands Opening of Yueqing Bay Terminal, Passes National Inspection

On October 15, the expanded opening of the Yueqing Bay Terminal of Wenzhou Port successfully passed the national inspection, marking the terminal's official entry into a new phase of comprehensive opening to the world. This move will significantly promote Wenzhou's deeper integration into the global shipping network and inject new momentum into the high-quality development of the regional economy.

During the inspection, the national team conducted on-site visits to the Yueqing Bay Terminal of Wenzhou Port, thoroughly examined the construction of inspection sites, operational facilities, and related supporting infrastructure, and listened to work reports. After a centralized review, the terminal's conditions were deemed compliant with national standards, and it passed the inspection.

As the core terminal and main development area of Wenzhou Port, the Yueqing Bay Terminal is an important comprehensive deep-water terminal and core logistics hub serving southwestern Zhejiang, eastern Jiangxi, and northern Fujian. The terminal boasts a well-developed collection and distribution system, with key transportation routes such as the Yueqing Bay Cross-Sea Bridge, the Yong-Tai-Wen Expressway (sections from Nantang to Huanghua and the Second Phase of the North Ring Expressway), the Oujiang North Estuary Bridge, and National Highway 228 (Yueqing section) successively opening. The terminal's railway branch connects to the Jinhua-Wenzhou Railway and has already opened seven major stations, including Yongkang, Yiwu, Jinhua, Jinyun in Lishui, Nanchang, and Shangrao. This upgrade from "a single line" to "a network" has increasingly enhanced the functionality of the sea-rail intermodal transport.

(Source: Shipping Information Network)