All PFN ARTICLES

The United Kingdom has become one of the first countries to publish a government-backed roadmap identifying the food technologies expected to shape its future food system over the next decade. Developed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS), the report highlights precision fermentation, biomass fermentation, cellular agriculture, controlled environment agriculture, molecular farming, gas fermentation and several other emerging production systems

Australian supermarket giant Coles Group has awarded more than AUD$3.5 million to eight emerging food and agriculture businesses, signalling where one of the region's largest retailers sees future growth opportunities.

A new generation of biotechnology is turning industrial waste gas to protein, opening up a potential pathway for countries such as New Zealand to expand food production without requiring additional farmland, freshwater or livestock.

The first US consumer product made with Solar Foods’ Solein® has landed and it is not a burger, milk, snack bite or futuristic food demo. It is a ready-to-mix protein powder from Ambrosia Collective, launched under its Planta brand in salted caramel coldbrew flavour, with 20g of protein per serving and 0g of sugar.

China’s food strategy should be setting off alarms across New Zealand and Australia. Beijing is not merely trying to feed its population anymore, it is building a vertically integrated protein factory system spanning genetics, fermentation, synthetic biology, AI-led agriculture, ingredient processing and export manufacturing. Yet ANZ still largely behaves like a commodity frontier economy: grow it, ship it, hope the market stays loyal.

“There’s never been a better time for ANZ artisanal food producers to enter the China market.” That’s the assessment from Iain Langridge, MD of In2AsiaExports, who has spent more than a decade helping premium international food and wine brands establish themselves across China’s fast-evolving and ever changing food landscape.

The 2025 FoodTech 500 reads less like a hype parade and more like a post-mortem. Plant-based hasn’t vanished, cultivated meat hasn’t collapsed, but the centre of gravity has shifted. The companies still standing are quieter, more technical, and far less interested in convincing consumers to “change behaviour”. This year’s list rewards those building infrastructure, ingredients, and systems that slot into existing food supply chains.

Dubai, Jan 26–30, 2026 marks the launch of Gulfood 2026, the world’s largest annual food & beverage show, bringing together thousands of global exhibitors across food categories, from traditional products to cutting-edge food tech and plant-centric innovation.

Canadian Maia Farms isn’t trying to win shelf space with a brand. It’s embedding itself inside foods people already eat. Their mushroom and mycelium ingredients are 'scaling up and are showing up' invisibly in thickening sauces, adding fibre to comfort meals, boosting protein in savoury dishes without changing flavour or texture. The consumer doesn’t meet Maia at the fridge. They meet it already on the dinner plate.

For decades, the meat industry framed alternative proteins as fringe, fake, or faddish. Now, as MEAT the book prepares to land as a top-ten Spring 2026 science release, that narrative is quietly collapsing. Written by Bruce Friedrich, Founder of GFI - Good Food Institute, the book doesn’t argue against meat consumption at all, it argues the method of producing meat is obsolete. And crucially, many of the world’s largest meat companies agree.

Japan has done it again. Not with sushi, not with matcha, but with ramen that quietly rewrites what comfort food can be. Towzen, a cult vegan ramen institution born in Kyoto, has landed in Sydney’s CBD, and the queues are doing the talking. On Kent Street, inside a 140-year-old heritage building, diners line up in the heat for bowls of soy-milk ramen that feel both deeply Japanese and unexpectedly modern.

Beleaguered Beyond Meat is no longer just trying to fix dinner with its plant-based meat, it’s coming for your drink can. The company has launched Beyond Immerse, a sparkling functional beverage line full of plant protein, fibre, antioxidants and electrolytes, positioning it as a lighter alternative to heavy protein shakes. Three flavours, two protein tiers (10g and 20g), and a limited-run release via the Beyond Test Kitchen from January 15. On the surface, it looks like inno