Appetite for Protein Emerging in Taiwan
From Michelin-starred restaurants and traditional cuisine to the paper-making industry, Manildra Group’s Australian-grown and made wheat-based products have been used in Taiwan since 1990.
More recently, demand for modified proteins in the nutrition, health and wellbeing industries has positioned Taiwan as a key market for Manildra Group’s modified vital wheat gluten proteins including GemPro HiQ.
“Taiwanese consumers are extremely health and quality-conscious and our modified wheat protein has no impact on flavour, no odour and is very light in colour for drinks and powders,” Manildra Group’s Taiwan Country Manager Sidney Chen told The Cultivator.
Mr Chen said the growing appetite for our 100 per cent Australian-grown and made modified protein range was being driven by an aging population, spikes in vegetarian diets and dairy allergens, and increased investment and interest in personal health, wellbeing and nutrition.
“Taiwanese consumers looking for great-tasting, ready-to-drink, nutritional beverages packed with vitamins and minerals have increased demand for premium health products,” he said.
“We deliver a key ingredient – high-quality, high-protein, modified vital wheat glutens from the world’s best wheat protein quality region in New South Wales – to local Taiwanese industries producing supplementary health drinks and
protein powders.
“Providing an excellent amino acid profile, our GemPro HiQ is exceptionally suitable for nutritional supplementary drinks for sports-related industries, for stress reduction, rapid nutrition and muscle re-building.”
Mr Chen said GemPro HiQ was further used in drinks produced to assist babies teething, and for digestion or absorption aids used from aged care homes to hospitals and at pharmacies.
He said GemPro HiQ contained exceptionally high levels of critical acids including:
- glutamine – an energy source for intestinal and immune cells that helps maintain the body’s intestinal barrier (for optimal recovery post-workout or wound healing) and arginine levels;
- arginine – an amino acid important for regulating blood flow and building block for protein, ensuring it is absorbed into the body; and
- branches-chain amino acids (BCAA) – unable to be produced by your body so must be sourced from food, for building muscle, decreasing muscle fatigue and alleviating muscle soreness.
Manildra Group General Manager Peter Simpson said Australia’s rich natural assets and our GMO-free range of premium products exceeded Taiwanese consumers’ expectations of Australia as a clean and green country.
He said a preference in Taiwan for a diverse range of high-quality Manildra Group products included:
- our very clean and pure grain-neutral spirit is essential in the manufacture of locally-produced alcoholic beverages – preferred for its’ neutral taste and odour;
- our ethyl alcohol is used in the pharmaceutical industry for hand sanitisers;
- our premium, GMO-free 100 per cent Australian canola oil is favoured by Michelin star restaurants, American-style diners and Taiwanese restaurants; our wheat starch is used as a binder delivering the desired texture, colour and transparency for noodles, dim sum, dumpling and steamed buns – and to improve paper quality, board stiffness and adhesion;
- our 100 per cent Australian flour and bakery premixes include the popular Vanilla Sponge Premix for
a super-fluffy and spongy texture characteristic of traditional sponge cake dessert such as Castella Cakes; and - our vital wheat gluten and modified
specialty glutens are used in noodles, breads, breakfast cereals and as a meat substitute and binding agent in vegetarian patties much-loved by many Taiwanese who partake in a vegetarian diet for cultural reasons.
Mr Simpson said Manildra Group had an established reputation in Taiwan through local distributor Starchase.
Starchase Owner Peter Chen told The Cultivator many Taiwanese importers knew Manildra Group as “the sun brand” in reference to our Gem of the West logo.
“Many Taiwanese would be unaware their food contains Manildra Group products, with many food merchants and restaurants using key Manildra Group ingredients to produce traditional products such as rice, noodles, meat dumplings, shrimp dumplings, snacks and cookies,” Mr Chen said.
“The sun brand is well-regarded from word-of-mouth in the Taiwan food industry and we believe Manildra Group will continue to lead this market into the future.”
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