All PFN ARTICLES

IKEA’s global decision to halve weekday restaurant prices is less about moving meatballs and more about social responsibility. Ingka Group, the retail giant behind the IKEA brand will slash meal prices Monday to Friday and let children eat free in dozens of markets, framing the move as “support for everyday life” rather than an inventory clear-out.

There’s a quiet little revolution brewing in your supplement drawer and it’s not ashwagandha, rhodiola, or yet another adaptogen with a complicated name and questionable Instagram science. Nope. This one’s been around since Cleopatra and has been flavouring bouillabaisse and biryanis for centuries. Say hello (again) to saffron, the golden-hued stamen of Crocus sativus, now armed with clinical receipts.

Vegetarian curry isn’t the first thing you expect from a company famous for two-stroke motorbikes and the indestructible Jimny, yet that’s exactly where Suzuki has pointed its latest innovation. What began as a canteen experiment, feeding homesick Indian engineers a taste “just like Mum makes”, has accelerated into a national retail launch - four-pack of shelf stable vegetarian curries selling online for 918 yen (about US $5.70) a pop.

Developed by São Paulo’s food-tech boffins at UNICAMP and ITAL, with help from Germany’s Fraunhofer IVV Institute, the new ‘vegan meat’ is based on sunflower flour, the stuff left behind after extracting oil from sunflower seeds. Think of it as culinary upcycling with some pretty smart tweaks.

Enter Beleaf. The Californian plant-based outfit just dropped a game changer: allergen-free Plant-Based Shrimp and it doesn’t just mimic the real thing, it does it without a trace of crustacean, contamination risk, or cleanup hassle.

Kiwi start-up. Little Pips Soda Syrups, a boutique beverage company founded by Pip Malpas, has celebrated a major milestone with its inaugural large-scale production run at the New Zealand Food Innovation Network (NZFIN).

Epic Kiwi Cheese, a bold plant-based upstart crafted smack bang in the middle of dairy country. Made in Hamilton, New Zealand, this new range isn’t just daring to exist, it’s thriving, and it’s heading to the Waikato Food Show on July 5–6 with a mission to win hearts, melt toasties, and reclaim the Cheese Hall, one dairy-free wedge at a time.

Australia’s cult chilli oil brand UmamiPapi has officially hit shelves in Malaysia’s retail giant AEON, and for Ethan, it’s not just a business move, it’s a spicy homecoming. The founder and CEO, who grew up on Chinese-Malaysian flavours, called the moment “surreal” as he wandered through AEON and spotted his own creation among the aisles.

A world-first circular bioprocessing system developed by Powered by Plants (PbP) and backed by the New Zealand Food Innovation Network (NZFIN) is upcycling the ugly underbelly of our horticulture sector, think discarded onions, surplus carrots, bruised blueberries, into high-value powders, extracts, and concentrates for the food, nutraceutical, and supplement industries.

Mark your calendars, future foodies. On 14 October, the Sofitel Wentworth in Sydney will become the unofficial HQ for bold moves, big questions, and even bigger protein ambitions as AltProteins 25 swings into town.

In a country that once worshipped the bacon butty, the New Zealand alt-meat awards has delivered the once unthinkable - a plant-based bacon has taken the crown. That’s right - Let Them Eat Vegan’s ‘Not Bacon’ has been named Supreme Winner at this year’s Vegan Sausage and Deli Meats Awards, leaving sausages, patties, and even pastrami in its crispy, umami-drenched dust.

A now-viral LinkedIn thread by former Alibaba ANZ boss Pier Smulders summed up the mood - ‘grubby, transactional, and embarrassingly one-sided’. While PM Christopher Luxon was busy snapping selfies and talking up “hundreds of millions” in dairy and education deals, innovation leaders back home were asking a simple question - where the hell were our FoodTech companies in the China trade dialogue?