In an exclusive with our stablemate, PKN Packaging News, Australian-based Zipform Packaging revealed its groundbreaking development – a paper bottle made from over 95 per cent wood-based fibre, containing no plastic liner, and incorporating more than 50 per cent post-consumer recycled content. 

Hort Innovation has launched its latest initiative, Australian-Grown Innovation, developed in collaboration with Startupbootcamp and Cluster Connect, and funded through its Frontiers co-investment program.

Cultivated meat company, Vow Group, has taken the next step towards Australian market approval, with Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) declaring the company’s cell-cultured quail meat safe to be used as a novel food ingredient.

Contemporary chocolatier, Koko Black, has acquired Melbourne-based Chocolatier Australia and its 5812 square metre production facility in Heidelberg West as the next stage in the company’s expansion.

Yowie Group says the recent tariff changes and a key customer significantly reducing its order means the company had to revise its FY25 forecast.

A food and beverage industry roundtable is being held tomorrow (8 April) in Alice Springs, bringing together freight and grocery stakeholder companies to discuss food pricing and insecurity in remote Australia.

The recent 10 per cent tariff introduced on Australian imports into the United States has intensified pressure on Australian food and beverage exporters. With the US being Australia’s fourth-largest export destination for agrifood products, this change has prompted concern across the sector.

Fourteen Australian companies have made the official 2024 FoodTech 500, an annual compilation of companies and start-ups that showcase entrepreneurial thinking at the intersection of food, technology and sustainability. More than 1420 companies from more than 80 countries had applied for inclusion on the list.

Australian entrepreneur and race car driver, Aaron Zerefos, has acquired Sydney-based drinks distribution company, Fresco Beverages – aiming to expand the reach of his existing brand portfolio, which includes Add Water, Ozone, Little Fox Coffee Roasters, C Coconut Water, Fiji Water and Milk Lab.

Australia's national science agency, CSIRO, has opened another focused Innovate to Grow: Agrifood program for 2025, this round focused on Western Australian small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) looking to advance through innovation.

Every participant across the food and packaging industry supply chain must ensure foreign contaminants are not present in the products companies deliver to their customers. Eric Confer from Eriez outlines the best practices processing plants use today to achieve the highest product purity and avoid costly tramp metal damage by using magnetic separators and metal detectors.

Wild abalone fishery and undersea wine company, Rare Foods Australia (RFA), says a downturn in global seafood demand, supply challenges, and the significant cost of being listed on the ASX are behind its decision to delist.

TasFoods says its petfood brands, Isle and Sky and Pet Treats, will benefit from its sales and distribution agreement with Natures Best (Tas) due to its “significant” retail network. Pet Solutions International is Natures Best’s parent company.

Alternative protein non-profit, The Good Food Institute (GFI), has opened its 2025 request for proposals round, accepting applications from around the globe for its $3.5 million Research Grant Program.

Wide Open Agriculture (WOA) has secured a $1.2 million tax rebate under the federal R&D Tax Incentive Scheme for FY24. The ASX-listed ingredient company says it reflects the large amount of R&D it has undertaken in developing its proprietary lupin protein isolates ready for market.

Forbidden Foods group revenues for the March quarter were up due to solid growth in physical store and online channels. The company reported a 171 per cent increase in net sales on the prior corresponding period (pcp), from $406,000 to $1.1 million.