All PFN ARTICLES

According to a fresh forecast from InsightAce Analytic, the global alternative protein sector is set to explode from US$63 billion in 2025 to over US$325 billion by 2034. Yes, you read that right. That’s a fivefold growth curve in under a decade. If you were waiting for proof this protein change is real, this is it, fully plated, seasoned, and served.

Japan Expo 2025 has thrown open the freezer door on the future of food and it’s nothing like grandma’s bentō box. From 3D-printed wagyu beef to rainbow-hued rice made from leftovers, Japanese consumers are getting a taste of tomorrow today.

Magic Valley hosted the country’s first-ever official tasting of cultivated meat at New South Wales Parliament, dishing up lab-grown lamb meatballs and pork dumplings to a crowd not known for their risk-taking palates: politicians.

The location? Cell AgriTech Malaysia’s first cultivated meat production facility. The message? This is how the protein transition actually happens. Not through TED Talks and Silicon Valley sermons, but by embedding next-gen protein into the rhythms of daily life. Meat and mobility, side by side.

So here we are. The future just swam onto your dinner plate and all without fishing nets, mercury warnings, or eco-guilt. Wildtype, the San Francisco cultivated salmon start-up with a with serious a sushi-grade ambition, has just scored a historic FDA thumbs-up to sell cultivated salmon across the United States. Yes, that’s right, salmon grown in a lab, not the ocean. No sea lice, no overfishing, no drama.

The UK just hit launch on one of the boldest moves in plant-based yet - Meat-Free Made Easy. With over 40 brands on board, from Beyond Meat to Compass Group, the campaign aims to shift everyday eating habits through simple swaps, practical messaging, and collective muscle. Now, Australia and New Zealand might be next.

New Zealand’s next-gen meat future just scored a power-up and this time, it’s women calling the shots. Auckland-based biotech startup Opo Bio, founded by Forbes 30 Under 30 2024 honouree Olivia Ogilvie and University of Auckland scientist Laura Domigan, has secured funding from Epic Angels, Asia Pacific’s largest female-only angel investor collective.

The Forbes Asia 30 Under-30s list just dropped, and guess what? The future of food, fibre, and function has a Southern Hemisphere accent. New Zealand and Australia aren’t just keeping up, they’re quietly producing some of the most exciting young founders on the planet. Not influencers. Not crypto bros. Actual scientists. Actual biotech founders. Actual climate-smart inventors.

If you think India’s future food scene is all about lab coats and Silicon Valley suits, think again.The next big biryani, the next luscious kebab, the next cheesy naan might be made with zero cows, zero chickens, and zero guilt and it’s all happening in kitchens and labs you’ve probably never heard of. This isn’t just about trendy food swaps or eco-virtue signalling. It’s about survival.

And here’s a wild thought - EARTH is an anagram of HEART. Coincidence? Maybe. But let’s run with it. Because something is changing, not fast enough for the forests or the fish, but enough to whisper perhaps, just perhaps, we’re learning to eat with our hearts again. This isn’t just wordplay — it's a shift in planetary intimacy.

In a development, part science fiction, part Sunday dinner, Japanese scientists have just unveiled the world’s largest lab-grown chicken nugget with veins. Yes, you read that right. The nugget, grown in a lab using a simulated circulatory system of hollow fibres, marks a huge leap forward in the cultivated meat race. But before you fire up the air fryer, no it’s not edible yet.

Mumbai based, Biokraft Foods has just launched what could be the tipping point for Asia’s cellular seafood sector, revealing bio-manufactured (cultivated) rainbow trout fillets created without the fish. Developed in partnership with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research – Central Institute of Coldwater Fisheries Research (ICAR-CICFR), these next-gen fillets aren’t just lab-grown, they’re also 3D-printed.