Tetra Pak, in collaboration with the Soy Excellence Center Asia, a U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) initiative, hosted the Soy Food & Beverage Intermediate learning track at Tetra Pak's Product Development Centre (PDC) in Rayong and Customer Innovation Centre (CIC) in Bangkok. The learning track brought together soy industry professionals from across Asia to strengthen their knowledge of soy beverage processing, formulation and consumer-led product development.
Asia Pacific accounts for 75 per cent of the global plant-based beverage volume. In many Western markets, plant-based beverages are commonly positioned as alternatives to dairy. Across many Asian markets, however, soy has long been an established part of the beverage category alongside other plant-based drinks.
As consumer preferences evolve and the range of plant-based products expands, the challenge for soy beverage manufacturers is to bring new value to a familiar category. This can mean exploring and developing new taste and texture profiles, addressing different nutritional needs and creating products for new consumption occasions and formats.
Over three days, the learning track explored opportunities across the soy beverage value chain, from soybean variety and supplier selection to formulation, processing technology, sensory evaluation and consumer understanding. Technical sessions were combined with hands-on learning and an ideation workshop, where participants developed soy beverage concepts tailored to specific consumer groups.
Sherry Chen, Center Lead, Soy Excellence Center Asia, said: "Growing the soy food and beverage category starts with understanding how decisions across the value chain, from soybean selection to processing and formulation, shape product quality and the consumer experience. The Soy Excellence Center Asia gives participants a practical learning environment to strengthen their technical skills and apply that knowledge directly to product development. Our collaboration with Tetra Pak brings this learning to life with hands-on experience, giving learners deeper insights into processing, formulation and consumer needs. By combining technical expertise with real-world application, we are equipping participants with practical insights they can use to innovate, improve products, and drive growth in their markets."
