In Indonesia, over 98% of households have food budgets sufficient to purchase a healthy diet, yet most allocate a substantial share of their spending to discretionary foods such as fried snacks and sugary drinks. The challenge is therefore not one of financial access to healthy food, but of how existing food budgets are allocated. This paper documents a proof-of-concept pilot in Jakarta that tested whether Indonesia's ubiquitous deep-fried street snacks, gorengan, could be transformed into healthier air-fried alternatives, examining both consumer acceptance and business model viability.
Indonesia has made impressive strides in improving nutrition since 2013, with reduction in stunting, undernourishment, and wasting, reflecting strong commitment from the government, development partners, and civil society. Yet progress remains uneven. Anaemia among pregnant women has declined far more slowly, leaving Indonesia nearly 17 percentage points short of the global target.
Data from the recent Micronutrient Gap Analysis (MGA) conducted by GAIN reveal that while wealthier households achieve adequate micronutrient intake, the poorest quintile still falls below recommended levels for nearly all essential nutrients. This means millions of Indonesians—especially women and children—are still not receiving the nutrients they need to thrive.
Pakistan produces a wide variety of fruits, yet a significant share is lost due to limited processing capacity, weak value chains, and low value addition. At the same time, many consumers especially children and low-income households lack access to affordable, nutritious snack options. To respond to this challenge, the Nutritious Fruit Bars Initiative was launched in 2024 through a partnership between GAIN, Arla Foods Ingredients (AFI), Pakistan Business Council (PBC), local SMEs, and public-sector stakeholders. The project aimed to convert surplus fruits into nutritious, protein-enriched fruit bars, strengthen local food processors, and demonstrate a sustainable business case that improves nutrition while creating economic opportunities across the value chain.
The Himalayan Foods is a private venture founded by young agriculture graduates from the heart of the Himalayan mountain region. They are driven by a vision to showcase the natural richness of Northern Pakistan through premium, nutritious food products. Rooted in Skardu’s unique agricultural landscape, the company combines traditional knowledge with modern food processing practices to create high-quality, healthy products for an increasingly nutrition-conscious consumer market. Committed to meeting the growing demand for nutritious snacks, The Himalayan Foods produces a range of value-added products including nut-based snack bars under the Himalayan Nut Bar line and organic granola blends marketed as Himalayan Delight. These products are developed using natural and organic ingredients, emphasizing health, wellness, and minimal processing while maintaining international food safety and quality standards. Through its integrated approach linking farmers, sustainable production, and nutrition-focused innovation; The Himalayan Foods represents a new generation of Pakistani SMEs demonstrating how local enterprises can drive economic growth, environmental stewardship, and improved nutrition outcomes simultaneously.
Many adults spend most of their waking hours in the workplace, making it an important—yet underappreciated—leverage point for change. In the context of food systems, workplaces can contribute to significantly improved nutrition through employer-provided nutrition programmes (also known as ‘workforce nutrition programmes’ (WFN)). However, the process of gaining support for these initiatives and the potential for institutionalising them within policy remain underexamined. This case study aims to address this by examining the development of WFN in Bangladesh, including at the factory level and through the government-led National Workforce Nutrition Alliance (NWNA). It also considers opportunities for integrating nutrition considerations into occupational safety and health (OSH) policies, regulations, and practices in Bangladesh.
Agriculture remains a strong driver of livelihoods and economic growth in Asia and the Pacific. However, the region’s food systems are increasingly vulnerable to floods, droughts, heat stress, glacier melt, land degradation, and biodiversity loss. The Asia and the Pacific face a converging crisis of climate change, eroding natural capital, and rising food & water insecurity.
By the end of 2025, The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) of Indonesia recorded extreme rainfall, with intensities reaching 300–500 mm per month, occurring in 3 provinces in Sumatra. Indonesia is facing a combination of relatively complex atmospheric dynamics, including the active Asian Monsoon, the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO), atmospheric waves, the formation of tropical cyclone seeds and tropical cyclones, as well as the influence of a weak La Niña and a negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). These conditions increased rainfall intensity, particularly from mid-December 2025 to early January 2026.
