All PFN ARTICLES

Seaweed has always been there at the edge of the tide - useful, humble, occasionally headline-grabbing, but next month in Nelson it gets its moment in the boardroom. The 2025 Seaweed Summit brings together industry innovators, science leaders, Māori enterprise, and even a Government Minister, signalling that this is no longer just a niche curiosity but a sector on the brink of being noticed.

Alastair Hawken, founder of Hawkens Gingerbread in Grantham, has pioneered the UK’s first commercial grown ginger cultivation using hydroponic polytunnels. Inspired during Nottingham Trent University’s Help to Grow: Management Course, Alastair conceived a soil‑free flood‑and‑drain system to enable ginger production under controlled tropical conditions (25–30 °C and ~85% humidity), countering the UK's unsuitable climate for the crop

In a bold move worthy of a chef’s kiss, Kiwi-based, MG Group is putting its weight and five hectares of glasshouse real estate behind the humble yet heroic tomato. Up in Warkworth, North of Auckland, the co-op’s sprawling SPL site, best known for pumping out capsicums by the crate-load, is about to get a makeover. And not just any makeover, think of it as a long-term love letter to local tomato lovers, with seedlings expected in the soil before the end of the year.

In a move blending science, Brussels bureaucracy, and digestive relief, the European Commission has officially approved a health claim that may give green kiwifruit a new lease on life, not just as a tangy fruit salad staple, but as a certified gut-friendly food.

In a move that can only be described as a collective political faceplant, the food ministers of Australia’s eight states , along with New Ze

In an age when plant-based is being polished and commodified by the big boys, it’s worth pausing to honour the pioneers who paved the aisle-long way. Enter Alice Shopland: quiet rebel, reluctant entrepreneur, and the founder of New Zealand's first vegan cheese company, Angel Food. Her just-released book, Cheese Matters: To Kind Humans, is less manifesto, more memoir, charting her journey from plastic-bag-battling Grey Lynn mum to one of New Zealand’s most dogged food innovato

If plant-based burgers leave you cold and lab-grown steaks feel like science fiction, you’re not alone. Most people don’t want a lecture on sustainability with their dinner, they just want their food to taste good, feel safe, and not blow the grocery budget. Enter a new $3 million New Zealand–Singapore research collaboration aimed squarely at one thing - making hybrid future meat, consumers actually want to eat.

Step into a Seoul supermarket and you’re not just shopping for grapes, you’re navigating a K-pop concert in aisle four. Shrink-wrapped mangoes next to Labubu plush toys, pineapples in luxury box sets, and strawberries that could pass for engagement rings. This isn’t grocery shopping. It’s identity shopping. And according to Karina Keisler of Hort Innovation Australia, that’s exactly the point. Asia's fresh obsession!

Demand for matcha, that vibrant, powdered punch of green tea so loved by wellness influencers, oat milk baristas, and TikTok’s Gen Z elite, is skyrocketing so fast that the world's traditional tea farms are quite literally running dry. The Japanese farms producing tencha, the shaded green tea leaves ground into matcha, simply can’t keep up. And it’s not just a social media surge. It’s a full-blown supply chain crisis.

The global food industry is at a reckoning point, caught between the promise of high-tech solutions and a growing hunger for something far more fundamental: real food. For years, alternative protein innovation has been charging forward. But the more advanced the science gets, the more consumers are left wondering: where did the food go? Now the third wave of food is emerging!

In a move rewriting the rules of haute cuisine, French Chef, Alain Passard’s legendary three-Michelin-star restaurant, Arpège, has dropped nearly all animal products from its menu. Out go the foie gras, lobster, and langoustines. In their place? Tomatoes, cabbages, carrots, and a philosophy that’s anything but humble.

It's been a busy week in the US. While Florida bans the future and Alabama clutches its steak knives, the United States just became ground zero for one of the most delicious science experiments in human history. Cultivated meat companies are done waiting. They’ve broken out of the lab and into the lunch rush.