All PFN ARTICLES

Australian based, Fable’s hybrid meat gamble as shiitake beef lands in the belly of the beast. In a bold move that’s raising eyebrows across the future food landscape, Fable Food Co has crossed the plant-animal line with its new shiitake-infused beef range, now launched through Central Market in Texas, the beef capital of the United States.

Australia's New South Wales Government just dropped its playbook for the next wave of regional manufacturing and it’s all about plant protein. With a glossy new prospectus aimed at luring investors and food manufacturers out of Sydney and into the bush, this is more than a feel-good sustainability pitch; it’s a calculated move to turn 4,500 existing food and beverage businesses into a network powering the global plant-protein boom.

The Alt.Protein 25 Conference has just wrapped up in Sydney, Australia. Definite trends have emerged showing a clear move from planet-saving branding rhetoric to pragmatic innovation, where health, taste, and trust now drive the next phase of the NextGen Food future.

Alt.Protein 25 conference trend emergence as Australia’s bioeconomy has entered its NextGen Protein moment. This new white paper by Cellular Agriculture Australia and ANU reframes food biotechnology as not just an economic lever, but a national security imperative. It argues that food sovereignty, via precision fermentation, plant molecular farming and cell cultivation, must be treated as strategic defence infrastructure.

Next-gen proteins are shifting from hype to habit. Mintel’s 2026 outlook says consumers are moving beyond “maxxing” single macros to diverse, functional diets - think fungi, microalgae, mung bean and hemp - folded into everyday eating alongside fibre-as-armour and microbiome-friendly formats. In short, protein and fibre go mainstream, variety becomes the new virtue, and APAC’s naturally fibre-rich cuisines start teaching the West a few tricks.

The global nanocellulose market is swelling fast, tipped to hit between US $1.5 billion and US $3.4 billion by 2032, depending on who’s counting. Now, New Zealand’s AgriSea wants a slice of that action. Its new NanoSea plant in Paeroa has just completed first trials, marking what’s believed to be the world’s first commercial-scale seaweed nanocellulose biorefinery.

Move over blueberries, there’s a new dark horse in the antioxidant race. Poland’s Greenvit has unleashed ARONVIT, a clinically backed aronia super berry extract making its US debut at Supply Side West in Las Vegas 27th -30th October. Dubbed “Polish black gold,” this potent superberry extract brings science, heritage, and serious antioxidant power to America’s nutraceutical scene.

Wai Mānuka is redefining what a functional soda looks and tastes like. This sleek 250 ml can carries more than fizz; it’s a celebration of the famed mānuka honey, Maori design, and cultural pride, blending New Zealand's signature sweetness with a sophisticated sparkling edge.

After a quarter century of gruesome experimentation, New Zealand’s last genetically engineered - GE animal trials have come to an end. The Soil & Health Association and GE Free NZ say the closure of AgResearch’s Ruakura facility marks the end of an era defined by animal suffering, failed science, and ethical neglect. Their meta-report reveals that from 2000 to 2024, hundreds of cows, goats, and sheep were subjected to GE and gene-editing trials that produced no commercial ben

New Zealand has dropped $42 million into a brand-new Biodiscovery Platform, with the goal of turning native biodiversity into export-ready pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and functional foods. Announced by Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti, the seven-year investment will fund the newly formed Bioeconomy Science Institute, which aims to translate cutting-edge R&D into products that actually make it to market.

Australia’s food future just got a shot of adrenaline. Startupbootcamp Australia has unveiled its latest Cluster Connect accelerator cohort and the line-up reads like a bio-food dream list. Mushrooms, cultivated meat, seaweed biotech, native plant supplements, all under the eye of the federal Department of Industry, Science and Resources. It’s no longer just drones and packaging with the focus shifting squarely into biomanufacturing for food.

Fermentation is finally giving vegan cheese its groove. Forget coconut oil blocks and starchy slices: UK and Canadian researchers have shown that mixing pea protein with sunflower and coconut oil can deliver real melt, stretch and firmness, the holy grail of vegan cheese texture. At the same time, European startups are running with microbial cultures to close the “taste gap”.