Food & Beverage

Luckin Coffee CEO Jenny Qian Zhiya, right, exchanges a high-five with barista Andrea Lattuada during the company's IPO at the Nasdaq in New York in May 2019.
Companies

Luckin Coffee fires top executives over fraud scandal

Sackings come after investor flight from coffee chain

13 May 2020
Cho Hee-sook in her Michelin-starred restaurant, Hansikgonggan, in Seoul. (Courtesy of Hansikgonggan)
Life

Meet Cho Hee-sook, the godmother of Korean cuisine

Michelin-starred chef started as home economics teacher before winning renown

8 May 2020
People photograph a dog by the Westlake after the government eased a nationwide lockdown during the coronavirus outbreak in Hanoi, Vietnam April 28, 2020.
Startups

Vietnamese e-commerce company Leflair files for bankruptcy

Liquidator to be appointed; co-founders recently joined fashion retailer Maison

7 May 2020
A pop-up shop operated by Itoham Foods group sells lunchboxes in Tokyo featuring plant-based meat. (Photo by Ken Furusawa)
Business trends

Japan's plant-based meat industry beefs up its menu

Nippon Ham and Itoham Foods see growth in synthetics as consumers focus on health

7 May 2020
The demand for milk from schools has decreased drastically as they remained closed but cows still have to be milked in the spring which is calving season. (Photo by Uichiro Kasai) 
Agriculture

Japan's egg and milk glut does not extend to largest food bank

As corona crisis leaves farmers with too much, one-parent families go hungry

6 May 2020
The number of items offered by the Tabete food-sharing service roughly doubled between February and March as more people stay home amid the spread of the coronavirus.
Coronavirus

Food-sharing services come to rescue eateries in Japan

Restaurants and farms bring food directly to consumers before it goes to waste

5 May 2020
The coronavirus pandemic sent demand skyrocketing at grocery stores such as Alibaba's Hema Xiansheng chain.
Business trends

Alibaba and Amazon borrow furloughed service workers

Cross-industry arrangements ease unemployment pain as pandemic skews labor markets

4 May 2020
A culinary icon in the Philippines, Jollibee was hoping to open 600 stores this year, over half of them overseas. But the the coronavirus pandemic has put those plans on hold. (Photo by Cliff Venzon)
Business Spotlight

Jollibee's quest for global dominance derailed by virus

US acquisitions continue to weigh down Philippine fast-food empire

1 May 2020
Vijay Mallya pictured outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London in February. The liquor baron left India in 2016, just before local banks approached India's Supreme Court to stop him from leaving the country.
Food & Beverage

India's beer fugitive a step closer to facing charges at home

Vijay Mallya's case under scrutiny as other rich accused of wrongdoing fight extradition

30 April 2020
A restaurant in Tokyo advertises its new takeout option for wine. (Photo by Shihoko Nakaoka)
Coronavirus

License to swill: Japan takeout rule a boon for struggling bars

Over 11,000 apply in two weeks as restaurant sales plunge

30 April 2020
Kweichow Moutai, a distiller of "baiju," a sorghum-based liquor, has bucked the sharp downturn in China's alcoholic drinks industry, partly due to its image as the "state liquor."
Companies

China's 'state liquor' Moutai defies downturn with spirited growth

Sales and profit rise despite coronavirus, but governance risks remain

29 April 2020
A Luckin Coffee store in Shanghai: The accounting scandal affects not just the Starbucks rival, but also other Chinese companies listed abroad and those seeking to go public, as it dampens the allure of China's high-growth startup bonanza. (Photo by Naoki Matsuda)
Companies

Chinese regulators raid Luckin offices and seize documents

Watchdogs cooperate with US over fabricated-sales scandal

28 April 2020
First Cabin put an upscale touch on capsule hotels. (Photo from company's Facebook account)
Companies

Flight-themed capsule hotel in Japan seeks bankruptcy protection

Lodging and restaurant operators risk exhausting cash in six months, report says

25 April 2020
Demand for alcohol disinfectants is surging in Japan on concerns over the increasing number of new coronavirus infections. (Photo by Mamoru Yago)
Coronavirus

Japan's cosmetics makers and distillers rush to make sanitizers

Shiseido and Suntory hike output as government quashes coronavirus profiteering

23 April 2020
Suntory Holdings is using data to turn expensive, high-maintenance vending machines into strategic assets. (Photo by Makoto Okada)
23 April 2020
Roast duck is prepared at Quanjude restaurant in Beijing. The venerable Peking duck chain booked a net loss of up to $14 million in the January-March quarter.
Economy

From Peking duck to autos, coronavirus crushes China's profits

40% of companies suffer losses on domestic demand plummet, Nikkei survey finds

23 April 2020
Starbucks' China shops will also tempt customers toward "good for the planet" lifestyles with oatmilk from Oatly.
Caixin

Starbucks brings vegetarian fake meat to China

Bogus beef comes from US's Beyond Meat, faux pork from Hong Kong's OmniPork

22 April 2020
A staff works in a Luckin Coffee outlet in Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang province on April 3.
Caixin

In Depth: Investors sip bitter taste of Luckin Coffee scandal

The story of China's homegrown Starbucks-beater proved too good to be true

21 April 2020
Most of the mutton consumes in Japan is imported meat.
Commodities

Japan's sheep meat import prices remain high despite coronavirus

Chinese demand grows, while Australian supply drops amid droughts and fires

19 April 2020
Kiuchi's brewery in Ishioka, Ibaraki Prefecture, is turning itself into a gin distillery.
Food & Beverage

Alcohol alchemy: Unsold beer reborn as craft gin

Japanese brewery spirits away pandemic-hit pubs' liquid waste problem

19 April 2020
Food delivery website Demae-can has started to recruit staff from restaurants affected by the pandemic. (Photo courtesy of Demae-can)
Coronavirus

Japan's delivery services scramble for staff amid pandemic

Demae-can sees 20% jump in orders, while Yoshinoya adjusts takeaway options

15 April 2020
A curfew in Thailand is driving consumers to hoard rice for fear of a prolonged stay-at-home order. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
International relations

Coronavirus exposes ASEAN divisions on rice security

Officials fail to reach immediate agreement at emergency summit

15 April 2020
China's Landbridge Group signed a 99-year lease for the strategically important Darwin Port in Australia's Northern Territory in 2015, sparking concerns about Chinese influence over national interests.
International relations

Australia tightens foreign investment rules after market tumble

Move seen as aiming at Chinese bargain hunters as coronavirus rattles stocks

14 April 2020
A waiter serves diners at a Haidilao's artificial intelligence hotpot restaurant in Beijing, China. (Photo taken Nov. 2018)
Business trends

China food chains eat humble pie after anger at price rises

Haidilao and Xibei faced higher costs after coronavirus, but sparked backlash

13 April 2020
Nissin Foods' share price recently hit an all-time high, helped by stronger sales in the U.S. The company is nearing its 1 trillion yen valuation target, set by CEO Koki Ando four years ago.
Companies

Nissin Cup Noodles demand soars as COVID-19 keeps people home

Japanese food maker pushes '3-for-$1' deals to increase sales in US

13 April 2020