All PFN ARTICLES

Back in the 1870s, a Chinese immigrant named Chew Chong was foraging black fungi in Taranaki and shipping them by the tonne to China. (Depiction shown below) The fungus? Hakeke. Known to the rest of the world as Woodear mushroom. Today, more than a century later, New Zealand’s long-forgotten export hero is suddenly back in fashion, everywhere but in the Land of the Long White Cloud.

Where’s the rice in Japan ? That’s the question millions are asking as rice vanishes from supermarket shelves, prices spike to record highs, and consumers confront a staple food shortage few saw coming. Japan’s sticky situation is more than a supply chain hiccup, it’s a glaring reminder of why future food visioning is no longer optional.

New Zealand powerhouse brand, Zespri has just clocked over NZ$5 billion in global kiwifruit sales for the 2024/25 season, sending 220.9 million trays into markets from Seoul to Seattle. Growers are banking record returns, shareholders are celebrating, and the marketing team can finally tick off that 10-year sales target set back in 2015.

Germany’s Veganz has signed a deal with Illinois-based Jindilli Beverages, the people behind milkadamia, to bring its proprietary Mililk system to North America and the Australia–New Zealand (ANZ) region. That’s right, concentrated plant milk is getting its moment, and the duopoly of almond and oat might be about to get shaken, not stirred.

First the lettuce shortage. Now this. UK supermarkets are being hammered by cyberattacks as Co-op, M&S, Nisa, Costcutter are all caught with their digital pants down. Shelves are bare, payments frozen, customer data leaked. Execs are now muttering “blockchain” and “resilience” like last-minute prayers.

In a gut-churning replay of the Chilean cherry catastrophe that saw tonnes of fresh fruit left to rot thanks to Maersk’s China-bound logistics fumble, this week it’s bananas under the boot—900,000 boxes of them, to be exact, rotting in Panama’s sweltering Bocas del Toro heat. Why? A local workers’ strike over social security reforms has brought the region’s biggest export lifeline to a screeching halt.

In a curious twist of weather changes meets cuisine, HelloFresh has teamed up with Oxford’s Dr Joseph Poore and trend forecaster Dr Morgaine Gaye to dish up a glimpse into your 2050 dinner plate and it’s not what your nana would recognise. Think soy sprouting in Scotland, edible fashion accessories, and AI-powered recipes designed to save your gut and the planet.

Fonterra, New Zealand’s dairy colossus and global cream-of-the-crop exporter, has just made its most serious move yet into the future of milk, without the cow. Its startup investment Vivici, a precision fermentation outfit co-founded with Dutch dsm-firmenich, has launched into the US market, bringing with it a cow-free version of whey protein looking, functioning, and tasting just like the original - except it’s brewed.

You’d be forgiven for thinking palm oil is in everything, because, well, it pretty much is. From your lip balm to your snack bars, this slick and versatile oil is the invisible engine of modern convenience. But there’s blood in the oil. Every year, tens of thousands of hectares of Indonesian forest are bulldozed for palm plantations. The cost? Around 50 orangutans killed every week, either starved out, pushed out, or hunted as pests.

Did you know Finland’s beef chillers are looking a little… barren? It’s not just a short-term supply glitch. The country’s beef shortage is now expected to drag all the way to 2027, and locals are already switching up their plates.

Meet WunderEggs by Crafty Counter. The name might be playful, but the impact is deadly serious. At a time when egg shortages have sent prices spiraling and shoppers scrambling, these plant-based doppelgängers have strutted into the spotlight like they were born for it. No feathers. No cholesterol. Just creamy, yolky satisfaction built from almonds, cashews, and coconut milk. Not a chicken in sight.

What do you get when a bunch of surf-town mycophiles decide to take on the billion-dollar brain game? You get MYND, a bold, homegrown foray into the turbo-charged world of nootropics, straight out of Raglan, New Zealand.