China's Next Five-Year Plan is Full Bio-Sovereignty
China’s next Five-Year Plan is shaping up less like an agricultural roadmap and more like a national tech manifesto and foodtech is suddenly in the mix. Beijing’s leadership has tied biomanufacturing to its industrial self-reliance strategy, signalling proteins, enzymes, and precision-fermented ingredients now belong alongside semiconductors and EV batteries in the country’s quest for technological sovereignty.
6 hours ago1 min read
Leaft Foods Goes To The Dogs!
Kiwi, Leaft Foods has taken its green-tech know-how beyond the human plate and straight into the pet bowl.
The Rolleston-based startup, best known for pioneering Rubisco extraction for human nutrition, has now applied its leaf-protein technology to create Alfalfa Protein Concentrate (APC), a nutrient-dense ingredient designed specifically for pet food.
2 days ago1 min read
Gut, Gains & Glow - 2026’s Holy Trinity of Food Predictions
Forget kale chips and charcoal lattes, 2026 is about gut health, protein, and stress relief-the holy trinity of food predictions.
2 days ago1 min read
Holy Carp! The Sushi Fish That Finally Got It Right
..innovators Heliograf and Vert Design Studio have created the world’s first plastic-free, home-compostable soy sauce dropper, made entirely from renewable plant pulp. It breaks down in weeks, not centuries, leaving no microplastics behind. Holy Carp !! It's the new soy sauce fish.
3 days ago1 min read
Australasia’s Quiet Wellness Boom – Garlic, Coffee and Kiwi Lead the Way
Across Australia and New Zealand, the next wave of food innovation isn’t coming from flashy lab-grown meats or AI-driven drinks, it’s bubbling up from humble roots: garlic bulbs, chicory beans, and kiwifruit - a wellness boom.
3 days ago1 min read
The Arepa Neuroberry Breakthrough
Arepa New Zealand has taken a world-first step from blackcurrant to brain performance. In partnership with Plant & Food Research and Callaghan Innovation, (now under the BioEconomy Science Institute umbrella), scientists have identified sarmentosin, a naturally occurring MAO-B inhibitor found in New Zealand blackcurrants. The compound helps protect dopamine, the neurotransmitter linked to mood, motivation, and mental clarity, marking a scientific and commercial breakthroug
4 days ago1 min read
Aussie Nourish Ingredients European Expansion
Australian deep-tech player Nourish Ingredients has quietly shifted gears from startup to global operator, establishing a new commercial hub in Leiden, the Netherlands, the same energy-neutral “BioPartner 5” campus housing Europe’s biggest biotech disruptors. Best known for its Tastilux and Creamilux fats, precision-fermented lipids that mimic the sensory and aromatic profiles of animal fats, Nourish is now positioning itself at the centre of the EU food-innovation ecosyste
4 days ago1 min read
Wide Open Agriculture’s Lupin Milk Goes Barista
Lupin milk just got serious. Australian innovator, Wide Open Agriculture (WOA) has developed a lupin milk formulation using its proprietary lupin protein isolate and lodged a Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application to protect it. Think clean flavour, creamy mouthfeel and barista-grade foam without the chalky, “beany” aftertaste that’s dogged earlier attempts.
4 days ago1 min read
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