New Zealand's, The Pure Food Co is capitalising on a rising demand for ready-to-eat solutions tailored for ageing populations across ANZ. By partnering with EAT, it has extended its footprint from institutional care into private homes, reinforcing its position at the intersection of healthcare, nutrition, and convenience. Consumer testimonials highlight not just improved nutrition, but psychological comfort, safety, and reduced caregiver burden. With breakfast lines added ear

The Dutch based, CRAFT Consortium - Respect Farms -is building the world’s first cultivated meat farm, embedding bioreactors into working agricultural systems. This hybrid approach positions farmers as central actors in cellular agriculture, reducing environmental impacts while providing a pathway for rural resilience. For ANZ, the model is particularly relevant: farmers here already operate at export scale, but cultivated farms could allow them to monetise expertise, land, a

Cacao-free chocolate and beanless coffee are no longer fringe experiments. With cocoa futures breaking $10,000/tonne and weather stress pushing Arabica off its traditional lands, substitutes are moving into mainstream pipelines. Corporate validation (Mondelez backing Celleste), scale-up partnerships (Voyage + Cargill), and footprint advantages (Atomo, Pluri) point to early adoption in blends, coatings, and foodservice channels before full consumer-facing rollout.

The global ashwagandha market is moving beyond herbal tradition into hard science and mass consumer adoption. At USD 0.76B in 2025, with a projected USD 1B+ by 2030, growth is led by supplement innovation, functional foods, sports nutrition, and the crossover into beauty. North America retains leadership, but Asia-Pacific, powered by India and Sri Lanka's production base, is the fastest growing region.

Malaysia Airlines has added a fully plant-based satay made from Lion’s Mane mushroom to its Business Class and Business Suite offering. The product preserves the airline’s famous cucumber and onion marinade and side accompaniments, extending inclusivity without sacrificing tradition. This is a strong signal of how mainstream plant-based proteins are becoming in high-value travel markets.

The five-year, NZ$10.4m programme will demonstrate how microbes can turn forestry pulp and other local side-streams into export-grade proteins and functional ingredients. Beyond the science, it creates the shared infrastructure and regulatory precedent that startups like Daisy Lab (animal-free dairy proteins) and OPO Bio (cell media and cultured tissues) have been waiting for. Together, these signals point to a potential billion-dollar export category anchored in precision fe

Miditer is taking Sri Lanka’s food story beyond coconuts and dried fruit. At Fine Food Australia in Sydney (8–11 Sept), the brand will showcase new vegan FMCG lines alongside its heritage fruit and nutraceutical exports. This marks a bigger signal as Sri Lanka edges away from commodity-driven exports and into value-added, plant-based consumer goods that can sit comfortably on supermarket shelves from Sydney to San Francisco.

A curated cluster of plant-based startups ranging from desserts to brain drinks are exhibiting at or leveraging proximity to the Fine Food Australia Expo (8–11 Sept). These brands signal a quiet evolution in the alt-protein landscape, less “fake meat,” more lifestyle-aligned product verticals targeting everyday eaters.

Ai meets pet care as plant- and insect-based dog foods become precision-personalised. With household awareness of sustainability on the rise, Ai-powered pet food may be the sleeper category that drives consumer crossover into clean proteins, one bowl at a time.

Global market size for alt. plant-based meat is expected to cross USD $35B by 2034, with growth driven by ingredient optimisation, regional regulation shifts, and institutional buy-in. Retail slowdown masks deeper structural adaptation and new B2B opportunity layers. (Source Here)

Miso is no longer just soup stock, it’s become the poster child for the global umami wave. From UK supermarkets to Michelin kitchens, miso is crossing categories and palates. The Bonnie Chung Miso Tasty x Jamie Oliver story illustrates how mainstream adoption can be driven by product excellence and simple, relatable applications.

Lidl UK and its near-700% (694%) increase in plant-based sales marks a consumer reset from niche veganism to mainstream pantry choice. The trend is shifting from meat analogue hype to everyday affordability, powered by tofu, pulses, and low-priced branded staples. Lidl’s playbook, price accessibility plus nutritional credibility, creates a blueprint for other UK retailers facing scrutiny over health and sustainability targets.

Redefine Meat experienced a sharp rise on UK's Ocado, August food searches, reflecting the fusion of seasonal BBQ culture with next-gen plant-based parity. Consumer curiosity plus rising cost-of-living pressures are pushing alt-meat into prime summer behaviour patterns.

South Australia has become the first jurisdiction globally to outlaw the iconic plastic soy sauce fish, citing their recycling impossibility and outsized environmental impact. The ban fits within a broader push to eliminate single-use plastics and signals a new front in food packaging reform. Industry must change rapidly toward refill stations, compostable seaweed-based solutions, or redesigned sachets.

Consumers are being whiplashed between TikTok wellness influencers warning against “toxic seed oils” and the long arc of evidence-based nutrition. This study gives households clear, practical swaps - a drizzle of plant-oil like olive, sunflower or soy oil, instead of a pat of butter. Accessible, affordable, and life-saving, but thats if messaging cuts through the noise.

Little Lato, the Auckland, NZ -based boutique gelato maker, has claimed the Tetra Pak Dairy-Free Champion for the second consecutive year of the NZ Icecream Awards, with its Mango Lassi Dairy-Free Gelato. As well it picked up the New Zealand Ice Cream Association Sorbet Champion with its Little 'Lato, Chocolate Orange Sorbet.

The Marks and Sparks Pantheon isn’t just a store refresh, it’s a blueprint for where others can go. Retailers worldwide are re-engineering their delivery of food into curated, quick, high-quality experiences. The new standard combines indulgence with speed, healthfulness with shareability.

Scotland’s agritech exports are now shaping food futures in the desert. The Dubai “GigaFarm” is a 200-tower vertical farm set to produce 3,000+ tonnes annually. It showcases the UAE’s appetite for sovereign food systems, while testing whether vertical farming can meaningfully offset import reliance. Globally, vertical farms are still a micro-fraction of agricultural output, but governments from Singapore to Saudi Arabia are betting on scale as climate and geopolitics squeeze

A Nature study highlights the hierarchy of protein acceptance in Singapore - conventional chicken > plant-based > cultivated chicken. Despite Singapore’s pioneering regulatory stance, cultivated meat remains an “option of interest” rather than a preferred choice.

Fable Food Co.’s pulled shiitake is no longer a niche flexitarian choice, it’s rapidly becoming a category staple in Australia’s biggest Mexican food chains. With Guzman y Gomez and now Zambrero on board, Fable is redefining what “protein” means in the nation’s burritos and tacos. The rollout across nearly 500 restaurants signals both consumer acceptance and a brand-building masterstroke for Fable, which continues to resist the “mock meat” label by leaning on flavour, texture