Flavour with Integrity: How Sustainable Pepper and Ethical Flavour Are Redefining QSR Success
By Simon Hague, General Manager, Food Service Chains, Kerry Southeast Asia
On a humid afternoon in Jakarta, 24-year-old Anisa and her friends stop by their favourite quick service restaurant. They could choose from dozens of similar options, yet they keep returning to this one. It’s not just the crispy fried chicken or the familiar tang of the dipping sauce; it’s the story behind the flavour. The brand talks about where its spices come from, how it supports the farmers who grow them, and how it’s cutting its environmental footprint.
For Anisa’s generation, flavour is inseparable from values. Food can be indulgent and convenient, but it must also be responsible. This mindset is rapidly reshaping expectations across Asia Pacific and redefining how QSR operators think about flavour, sourcing, and storytelling.
Across ASEAN markets, nearly 90% of consumers say they want to live more sustainably, and over 80% are more likely to buy sustainable food and beverages. In the broader Asia Pacific region, 68% are even willing to pay more for sustainable products, especially Millennials and Gen Z in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
For QSR operators, this shift is fundamental. The new generation of diners sees food as a statement of identity and integrity. They want to know that their meal choices contribute to something positive, whether that means supporting smallholder farmers, protecting biodiversity, or reducing waste.
Pepper: A Small Spice with a Big Story
Pepper is one of the world’s most widely used spices and a backbone of QSR menus, from crispy coatings and marinades to sauces and snack seasonings. Yet, behind every sprinkle lies a complex global network of farmers, traders, and food producers, many of whom are on the frontlines of climate change.
Nature encompasses all areas of environmental impact including climate, water, biodiversity and more. Kerry conducted a nature assessment across its entire value chain, evaluating the environmental impact of all sourced raw materials. On a per-kilo basis, citrus and spices emerged as having a disproportionately high impact within Kerry’s sourcing portfolio. For spices like pepper, land use, global warming, and soil acidification carry significant impact. Citrus faces similar natural impact, with the addition of water consumption.
As climate change drives prolonged heatwaves and droughts, crop yields are declining. Meanwhile, the environmental impact of cultivating these crops is intensifying the challenges faced by farmers. The degradation of natural systems, essential for climate regulation, food production, and community resilience, is compounding these risks.
In Cambodia, the famed Kampot pepper, protected by a geographical indication for its distinctive aroma and taste, has faced severe challenges. The 2024 heatwave and prolonged drought reduced yields by up to 70%, leaving many smallholders without income. Some are now turning to adaptive practices like shade-growing, mulching, and organic cultivation, supported by cooperatives that promote fairer prices and more resilient systems.
Indonesia tells a similar story. In Lampung province, where much of the country’s black pepper is grown, unpredictable rainfall and soil degradation have pushed farmers into financial uncertainty. Without strong infrastructure or reliable markets, they often sell at unsustainably low prices. New sustainability initiatives, however, are introducing agroforestry models that allow pepper to grow alongside trees for shade, soil regeneration, and improved biodiversity. Certification schemes and water-efficient irrigation systems are helping farmers market their pepper as traceable, ethical, and climate-resilient.
These shifts illustrate a broader truth: sustainability in flavour is not abstract. It’s grounded in the lives of farmers, the resilience of ecosystems, and the integrity of supply chains that connect them to global consumers.
Commented Juan Aguiriano, Group Head of Sustainability at Kerry: “By focusing only on climate, we ignore other nature related impacts, risks and opportunities. There is a strong correlation with existing focus areas under climate, highlighting the need for an integrated approach in Kerry’s Nature assessment strategy that can solve multiple impacts with well-designed and cost-effective interventions. Our findings reinforce the potential opportunity for Kerry to support our customers in addressing nature risks through a suite of solutions across technology, innovation, and interventions.”
Building Sustainable Flavour from the Ground Up
For Kerry, sustainability is a mandate, says Michel Aubanel, Vice President, RD&A Innovation at Kerry, focused on empowering, educating, engaging and celebrating communities and cultures, transforming local ideas and circumstance into sustainability improvement projects. “Guided by the purpose of “Inspiring Food, Nourishing Life,” Kerry has made sustainable sourcing a cornerstone of its flavour and taste solutions, ensuring that the ingredients shaping tomorrow’s menus are as responsible as they are delicious,” Aubanel adds.
At the heart of this commitment lies Kerry’s pepper initiative in Vietnam, one of the world’s leading pepper-producing nations. Concentrated across Binh Phuoc, Dak Nong, and Dak Lak provinces, the programme is supporting over 200 smallholder farmers in transitioning from conventional cultivation to regenerative agricultural systems by 2028.
These farmers are learning and applying regenerative practices such as:
• Cover cropping and mulching to protect soil and retain moisture
• Composting and organic fertilisation to build soil health naturally
• Agroforestry systems that integrate trees and shrubs for shade, wind protection, and biodiversity
• Water stewardship and efficient irrigation to reduce stress in drought-prone regions
• Integrated pest management that reduces chemical use and supports ecosystem balance
The results are transformative. Says James Loftus, Senior Global Category Manager (Procurement) at Kerry: “Healthier soils mean stronger plants, greater biodiversity, and improved resilience against climate extremes. Farmers are seeing more consistent yields, reduced dependence on expensive external inputs, and better long-term viability.
But Kerry’s model goes beyond agronomy to empowering people, providing technical training, financial support, and community-based education programs, including sustainability learning for over 150 local children to raise environmental awareness in future generations.
Recognised and Certified Sustainability
Kerry’s sustainable pepper programme is also independently recognised and certified. The initiative aligns with internationally accepted sustainability standards and is verified under recognised certification schemes that ensure traceability, ethical sourcing, and environmental integrity.
These certifications affirm that the pepper produced through Kerry’s network meets rigorous social and environmental criteria, from responsible land use and fair labour conditions to transparency in supply chains. They also help QSR customers access verified, sustainability-certified ingredients that support their own ESG and traceability commitments.
When a brand’s flavour profile depends on an ingredient like pepper, the ability to point to a transparent, certified supply chain becomes both a risk mitigation strategy and a source of competitive differentiation.
Shared Prosperity: Supporting Farmers and Communities
Sustainability cannot thrive without equity. Many smallholder pepper farmers face volatile markets, where price swings can make or break a season’s livelihood. To help counter this, the programme promotes intercropping, encouraging farmers to grow pepper alongside other high-value crops such as coffee or durian. This diversification stabilises income, supports food security, and strengthens community resilience.
Additionally, by offering a premium for sustainably grown pepper, Kerry ensures that farmers are fairly compensated for responsible practices that deliver environmental and social benefits. This approach creates a virtuous cycle: improved livelihoods lead to greater adoption of regenerative methods, which in turn sustain long-term supply security for the entire value chain.
The Role of Citrus and Spice: Flavour with Purpose
Kerry’s commitment to sustainable flavour extends beyond pepper. Through its latest Citrus and Spice campaign, the company is celebrating the diversity of ethically sourced, regionally inspired ingredients that define Asia Pacific’s culinary identity.
Flavour innovation here is both sensory and social. Take the “Black Peppercorn Kaffir Lime” seasoning, a bold combination that pairs the warm, spicy depth of pepper with the bright, aromatic lift of kaffir lime.
Kerry’s 2025 Taste Charts identify both black pepper and kaffir lime as key ingredients shaping consumer preferences across markets such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. This flavour blend captures the essence of Southeast Asian cuisine while aligning with modern consumer trends toward bold, contrasting tastes.
More importantly, it tells a story of authentic flavour grounded in responsible sourcing. The campaign links the excitement of taste creation with the integrity of its origins, showing how sustainable practices and human stories can elevate even the simplest menu items.
Why It Matters for QSR Operators
In the QSR sector, where scale and consistency are paramount, sustainable sourcing might once have seemed complex or costly. But now governments across Asia Pacific are tightening traceability and environmental regulations, investors are evaluating companies through ESG performance, and consumers, especially Gen Z, are wielding their purchasing power to reward brands that align with their values.
For QSR operators, embracing ethical sourcing of key ingredients like pepper does more than secure a steady supply, it builds trust, reputation, and long-term resilience. By partnering with sustainable suppliers, operators can tell a powerful story: that every flavour served contributes to a fairer, more responsible food system.
Moreover, sustainability resonates deeply with the emotional side of food. Diners like Anisa are drawn to stories of connection, between farm and kitchen, tradition and innovation, people and planet.
From Kampot’s adaptive farmers to Vietnam’s regenerative systems and Indonesia’s emerging agroforestry networks, pepper’s journey across Asia is a story of how collaboration, science, and empathy can redefine what “good flavour” means in the 21st century. For the QSR industry, this offers both inspiration and a roadmap because in a world where consumers expect their meals to taste good and do good, every meal becomes an opportunity to choose integrity, resilience, and authentic stories that connect us all.
