A New Zealand-born nutrient extraction platform is modernising the world’s US$60 billion Traditional Chinese Medicine industry by replacing ancient decoction methods with low-temperature, low-pressure precision extraction.

Chile’s Global AG and Global Talsa Fresh have made social commerce the centrepiece of their 2025–26 Chinese cherry launch, using TikTok as a direct-to-consumer outlet for their new AG2 variety in China. The model fuses genetic innovation with influencer-led price modulation, the more buzz, the higher the yield, both online and off, turning cherries into clicks.

UK's Squeaky Bean expands into the ready-meal category with the launch of its first-ever plant-based pies at Tesco UK, merging comfort, convenience, and functional gut-health appeal.

Brazilian scientists are code-cracking fish by establishing a volatile-compound map for plant-based fish analogues, showing which aromas drive acceptance and which repel consumers. The study bridges the taste-experience gap that’s kept seafood analogues niche.

The rise of plant–plant hybrids marks a quiet but decisive shift in alternative proteins. As meat–mushroom blends fade under regulatory and identity fatigue, companies like Canada's, Maia Farms are creating a new middle ground, hybrids that combine two complementary plant systems to overcome flavour fatigue and texture failure. By merging oyster mushroom mycelium with Canadian yellow pea, The Shred demonstrates fungi can be an ingredient architecture, not just an additive.

NZ Food Awards 2025 - The Supreme Award win for Fonterra’s Easy Bakery Cream showcases NZ’s world-class dairy R&D — but also exposes the system’s export bias. A product Kiwis can’t buy wins top honours while non-animal innovators like Otis, Elta Ego, and Giesen redefine the meaning of “creaminess” at home. Add the sale of Anchor to Lactalis, and the scene looks more Paris than Palmerston North.

Raw C Coconut water has crossed the line from health-aisle curiosity to mainstream disruptor. Raw C’s record-breaking week through Woolworths, Australia, outselling 1.25 L soft drinks on units, signals a category inversion where “natural hydration” now trumps “carbonated refreshment.” Retailers are re-allocating shelf space, and soft drink giants must be feeling the tremor.

The Australian state of New South Wales has unveiled a comprehensive prospectus promoting regional investment in plant protein manufacturing across five key zones: Riverina Murray, New England North West, Central West Orana, North Coast, and Hunter Central Coast.

The first major UK retail landing for BioPrinted plant-based “New-Meat” signals a strategic pivot: 3D-structured meat analogues are entering mass retail. Redefine Meat’s launch through ASDA moves the brand from foodservice novelty to freezer-aisle reality, merging tech innovation with mainstream accessibility.

The Sydney, Australia Alt.Protein 25 Conference trends emergence confirmed a generational shift as the industry is quietly re-branding itself around NextGen Food, pragmatic, tech-driven, and consumer-anchored. Cultivated and precision fats are reframed as both flavour and function tools with algae and fermentation innovators chasing cost parity through partnerships; and “trust” replacing “disruption” as the ultimate KPI.

Australia’s shift from agricultural exporter to sovereign bio-manufacturer is accelerating, with the CellAg Australia's Made & Grown white paper positioning food biotechnology as critical infrastructure. Precision fermentation, molecular farming and cell cultivation are reframed as security assets, de-risking climate exposure, import dependence, and supply-chain fragility. The report’s 25 recommendations call for a national “Feeding Australia” bio-strategy, FSANZ reform, and

Dietary Next-Gen Proteins are here where consumers are swapping rigid protein targets for diversity-first eating that blends plant, fungal and algal sources with fibre-rich, heritage-coded formats. MINTEL expects portfolio moves into mung bean, hemp, mycoprotein and microalgae, with APAC know-how seeding Western launches.

Whole Foods Market’s 2026 food trend forecast confirms a consumer reset: less artificial, more ancestral. The focus on tallow, fibre, vinegar, and female producers reflects a convergence of nostalgia, nutrition, and social consciousness shaping grocery innovation.

Geno, a Californian synthetic-biology company, has created a renewably sourced bio-nylon by converting plant-based sugars into caprolactam — the key building block of nylon-6. The firm’s partnership with lululemon has moved this from pilot to product, proving the concept of a drop-in, performance-equivalent fibre derived from biological rather than fossil carbon. A new alliance with Sojitz Corporation (Japan) adds distribution muscle and global scaling capacity, confirming bi

Impossible Foods’ NSF Certified for Sport listing is the strongest institutional validation yet for plant-based meat. It extends the brand’s consumer reach from flexitarian households into the multi-billion-dollar performance-nutrition and sports-catering markets. The move sets a precedent other alternative-protein makers will likely follow, pushing the category toward pharmaceutical-grade quality standards and more robust supply-chain transparency.

Consumers buy a plant-based “veggie burger” because they cook like burgers. Rename them “discs” and you add friction at the shelf. Evidence suggests consumers aren’t confused by familiar culinary words when “vegan/plant-based” is clearly shown, so any forced renaming risks confusion, not clarity.

The arrival of ARONVIT marks Poland’s quiet emergence as a global superfruit powerhouse. Once confined to Eastern European wellness traditions, aronia (chokeberry) is now positioned as the next-gen antioxidant rival to açaí, pomegranate, and blueberry. Greenvit’s clinical validation gives it a scientific edge and just in time for a US market increasingly driven by metabolic health claims and cardiovascular disease risk reduction narratives.

Anuga 2025 has just wrapped up and revealed an industry maturing beyond novelty. Plant-based and alternative proteins remain central, but the spotlight has shifted to integration: hybrid systems, fermented and microbial inputs, as well as nutrient-dense whole foods. Clean-label transparency and climate resilience now drive procurement, while personalised nutrition and functional benefits re-shape NPD briefs. The consumer signal is clear: “make it natural, make it traceable,

The UK’s plant-pulse wave signalled a maturing, stabilising plant-based market. Category leaders like BOSH!, THIS™, and BOL are repositioning around nutrition, convenience, and taste credibility. Supermarkets are embracing frozen and chilled SKUs with strong functional benefits, a move from “alternative meats” toward whole-food, vegetable-first innovation. These signals show an industry re-setting for longevity using simpler ingredients, cleaner labels, and formats that norm

The 2026 horizon for Future Food innovation sits at the intersection of artificial intelligence, sensory experience, and sustainability logic. The Trend Hunter 2026 Report identifies “AI Experienceo”, live, generative food experiences in retail and hospitality, as one of the clearest signals of this fusion. In parallel, “Smart Manufacturing” trends highlight how automation is being retooled to serve flavour efficiency and ingredient intelligence from seed to shelf - literal