MEAT the book, reframes alternative proteins not as a cultural challenge, but as an industrial upgrade. Author Bruce Friedrich’s (Founder of the Good Food Institute) core argument is disarmingly practical in that, if meat demand is structurally unstoppable, then the only rational response is to redesign how meat is made. The book situates plant-based and cultivated meat inside familiar innovation cycles, early cost barriers, scepticism, rapid iteration, then scale, drawing

Towzen opening in Sydney reflects a broader pattern in Japanese food exports that it's category integrity first, localisation second. Unlike Western fast-casual rollouts, Towzen preserves core broth philosophy, soy-milk base, mushroom-forward umami, overnight stocks, while flexing flavour architecture for multicultural markets. The result is credibility, not cosplay.

A viral social media exposé by UK based, @food_waste_inspector has ignited a new flashpoint in the ongoing tension between food waste and food insecurity in the UK. Videos show a major UK retailer, Marks & Spencer, discarding perfectly edible, in-date products, a stark visual juxtaposition to the millions relying on charitable food aid. While M&S claims a strategic commitment to reducing waste and increasing edible surplus donation by 2025, grassroots scrutiny suggests gaps

Beyond Meat has introduced Beyond Immerse, a sparkling plant-protein beverage positioned as a functional alternative to traditional protein shakes. Featuring 10g or 20g protein, 7g fibre, antioxidants and electrolytes, the product reframes Beyond’s core capability, not as meat replacement, but as plant-nutrient delivery. With protein beverages growing 122% since 2020 and plant-based meat facing category fatigue, this signals a strategic move from centre-plate disruption to ev

Vietnam’s urban agriculture transition is a multi-layered trend where traditional organic cultivation meets controlled-environment agriculture (CEA). In Ho Chi Minh City, established hydroponic cooperatives use technology and modern substrates to grow mustard greens, lettuce, and water spinach, improving resource efficiency and quality while spreading technology to other localities. Peri-urban and community markets connect these clean products with consumers directly, enhanci

Protein Chef’s Double Protein Bread represents a structural rethink of the high-protein bakery segment. Instead of fortifying standard bread with whey, whether from conventional dairy or precision-fermentation, the brand has developed a plant-based protein architecture embedded directly into the dough system. This avoids the thermal instability, protein denaturation, and texture degradation occurring when whey proteins are exposed to baking temperatures. The result is a pro

The latest U.S. Dietary Guidelines represent a quiet but decisive move away from the “replacement era” of food policy. While plant-based proteins remain endorsed, they are no longer positioned as nutritionally equivalent to animal-derived proteins in general dietary guidance. Instead, the framework emphasises nutrient density, amino acid completeness, bioavailability of iron, B12, calcium, and long-chain fatty acids, areas where animal products maintain structural advantages

Believer Meats and Meatable became poster children for the promise of cultivated meat - $330mililion venture cap raised, patents filed, proof-of-concept achieved. Yet both failed to translate scientific promise into market reality because they were locked in the expensive, infrastructure-heavy domain of bioreactors and regulatory uncertainty. The result was inevitable, capital depletion without the commercial offset needed for sustainability. Now Meati, which leveraged fungal

Hybrid protein is rapidly emerging as the most pragmatic response to the global protein dilemma — and New Zealand is now directly inside that transition. Rather than replacing animal agriculture, hybridisation reconfigures it, integrating complementary proteins from algae, yeast, plants, insects, and fermentation into familiar meat formats.

From Gisborne’s first production in 1993 to today’s productive truffières in Canterbury and the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand has proven exceptional biological performance. Agronomically, New Zealand isn’t the problem but whether the country can become a serious player in the global truffle game.

A rare mushroom species found in Papua New Guinea and Yunnan Province is drawing scientific attention for inducing highly consistent “Lilliputian hallucinations” - visions of tiny people reported across cultures with unusual uniformity. Unlike known psychedelics, its effects do not align with established neurochemical pathways, suggesting the presence of a previously unidentified fungal compound or mechanism.

Juicy Marbles has extended its whole-cut credibility into the burger category with Umami Burger, a high-protein, whole-food-forward patty now live in 225 UK locations via Tesco. The product deliberately targets the middle ground between traditional veggie burgers and ultra-realistic meat analogues, using fermented ingredients and seitan to deliver texture without leaning on heavy flavour masking or aggressive processing.

2026 is shaping up as the year FoodTech stops selling promises and starts selling ingredients, formats, and functionality. The companies below are front-running not because they’re loud, but because they’re already embedded, piloted, or positioned to be.

High-resolution clinical research from the World Institute of Kimchi has demonstrated kimchi delivers targeted immune regulation rather than broad immune stimulation. Using single-cell transcriptomics, scientists showed kimchi consumption alters gene expression in specific immune cells including antigen-presenting cells and helper T cells..

Researchers screened 106 fungal strains grown on orange and black carrot side streams from natural colour production, ultimately selecting Pleurotus djamor (pink oyster mushroom) for its protein yield and growth efficiency. By focusing on fungi rather than fruiting bodies, the process dramatically reduced time, space, and resource inputs.

Organic dried fruit is undergoing a structural repositioning, driven by health-led snacking behaviour and technology-enabled premiumisation. Verified Market Reports forecasts sustained growth through 2033, with innovation centred on functionality, format, and clean-label assurance rather than novelty flavours.

Foodstuffs NZ, South Island’s trial of Leaf Rubisco Protein signals a shift from alternative proteins as products to alternative proteins as infrastructure. Rather than selling plant protein to consumers directly, Leaft Foods is embedding it into the backbone of everyday food manufacturing, replacing eggs where functionality, cost volatility and emissions intersect.

Italy is emerging as an unlikely leader in applied food fabrication. ENEA’s work at EltHub combines plant cell culture with 3D printing to precisely control food structure, from mouthfeel to sliceability, without relying on heavy industrial additives. The technology is already moving beyond R&D, with Rome-based restaurant Impact Food demonstrating real-world culinary use.

New neuroimaging data has intensified scrutiny of ultra-processed foods (UPF), particularly formulations heavy in emulsifiers, flavour systems, and structural additives. Crucially, UPFs span all categories, meat, dairy, snacks, beverages, and plant-based alike. Yet public discourse increasingly frames the issue as a plant-based failure, rather than an industrial food-system problem.

China has achieved a major milestone in the cultivated meat industry - the first scaled production run of cultivated pork in a 2000-litre bioreactor, engineered by Joes Future Food at its newly commissioned pilot plant. This expands the cultivated meat narrative beyond niche lab batches toward industrialised processes with real engineering data and performance insights, a crucial stage for commercialisation.