As people are trying to snack without having to compromise on their health, some food and beverage (F&B) companies are coming up with new alternatives to conventional snacks, which are normally laden with salt and sugar.

Singapore-based F&B company Fave Pte Ltd has been promoting the idea of healthy snacking through organic products like flavoured honey sticks and dried fruit and nuts.

“We are targeting the health-conscious people in Singapore. More customers are switching to healthy snacks, but they are not buying organic food products yet,” Winston Tan, one of the Fave’s two managers, told eBizAsiaLink.com.

Added Nicholas Lee, the other Fave manager: “So by introducing our products which are free of preservatives and artificial ingredients, we are actually exposing them to the benefits of consuming organic food, which is gaining popularity now in Western countries.”

“In five years’ time, organic products will be very common in Singapore and with the larger volume brought in, the cost of these products will go down,” he predicted.

While organic F&B products are gaining greater popularity in Singapore and Asia as a whole, both Fave managers said that consumers need to know more about the benefits of eating organic food to fully appreciate its importance.

“We have a niche market comprising primarily young adults, who are more aware of the benefits of eating organic food. To reach out to more of this group of consumers, we conduct lunch-time workshops and talks on healthy eating,” said Lee.

“We conduct these seminars not to sell our products, but to promote the idea of healthy eating, which has been well-received by the attendees,” he added.

The seminars are normally conducted in an informal fashion, so as to put attendees at ease and enable them to relax while lunching.

“We do not expect them to switch to eating healthy overnight. The last thing we want is for them to see us as health consultants who preach at them without understanding why they make unhealthy eating choices,” said Lee.