AltProteins 25 in Sydney Coming With More Than a Program of Disruption

In a move signaling both conviction and disruption. Food Frontier returns to Sydney with AltProteins 25 on Tuesday, 14 October 2025 at the Sofitel Wentworth marking its shift from Melbourne and acknowledging Sydney’s growing prominence in the alternative proteins sector.

Operating under the theme “From Ideas to Impact,” this fourth edition is sharply focused on accelerating meaningful change across plant-based, cellular agriculture, and precision fermentation innovation.

Embracing a provocative, new event format, AltProteins 25 will deliver a full day of high-impact sessions in a circular theatre layout, breakout workshops, interactive Q&As, and an elevated tasting hall featuring over 40 products for attendees to sample and evaluate.

Front and centre is former BBC anchor and disruption expert Nik Gowing, who returns to steer conversations around leading amidst chaos and complexity in the food system’s most unpredictable moments.

Cecilia Chang of Mission Barns, James Petrie from Nourish Ingredients, Amy Carter‑James of Raaise, and Sonalie Figueiras, food futurist and founder of Green Queen, are among the marquee speakers tackling narrative shifts in innovation, consumer culture, and investor engagement.

Food policy takes centre stage in panels examining Australia’s landmark reports—such as Land of Plenty: Transforming Australia into a Food Superpower and the National Food Security Preparedness Green Paper. These sessions will interrogate why alternative proteins have been sidelined—and how they can be integrated into future governance frameworks.

Source: Food Frontier - Showing some of the speakers.

Meanwhile, a spotlight on R&D will feature Australian academics translating discoveries into commercial opportunity via strategic public–private partnerships—addressing the real-world hurdles of scale, regulation, and market readiness.

A breakout session provocatively titled “Software Has Eaten the World…But Will It Eat Food?” promises to challenge assumptions about technology’s next frontier in food, agriculture, and value-chain transformation.

Another session, “Food Manufacturing 2050,” led by CSIRO and the Australian Food Innovation Network, invites participants to co-design an innovation agenda for resilient, low-emissions, globally competitive food systems.

The tasting hall, a PFN favourite (last year we tasted cultivated animal meat), offers hands-on exploration of category-leading and emerging products across plant‑based dairy, cell‑cultured ingredients, and novel formulations.

Addressing the thorny issue of capital access, the “Show Me the Money” session dives into why sustainable food ventures still struggle to raise funds despite surging consumer demand, offering alternative capital models that innovators can actually leverage.

The biomanufacturing panel, featuring Sam Perkins of Cellular Agriculture Australia, reframes agriculture as a biotech-powered engine. unlocking pathways for traditional sectors to gain new value through innovation, while bolstering regional sovereignty.

Overall, AltProteins 25 is poised to serve as much more than a marquee gathering, it’s shaping up to be an urgent strategy session for ecosystem builders - policymakers, investors, scientists, and brand leaders ready to turn ideas into tangible impact.

For tickets CLICK HERE

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