Seedlab Australia has launched a new national sponsorship for a Churchill Fellowship focused on food and beverage innovation, with the opportunity to be offered nationally from 2026 for five years.

Maggie Beer Holdings (MBH) has accelerated a strategic review of its Hampers & Gifts Australia (HGA) division following unsolicited and non-binding approaches from external parties.

The Western Australian government is investing $6 million to grow the state’s wine industry, through a new four-year partnership with Wines of Western Australia.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Coles have levelled up in the Federal Court over the ACCC’s accusation the retailer misled consumers through its “down, down” pricing program on hundreds of products.

The a2 Milk Company (a2MC) has upgraded its FY26 outlook after delivering stronger first-half growth across infant milk formula (IMF), liquid milk and nutritionals.

Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) has reported a loss of $649.4 million in its 1H26, due to the large non-cash impairment of $770.5 million against its US business and ongoing challenging market conditions.

US-based bioalternatives scale-up platform, Manus, has opened its new, purpose-built application hub in Singapore to support customers and partners across the Asia-Pacific region.

Australia’s food ministers have voted to begin the process of making the Health Star Rating (HSR) system mandatory on eligible packaged foods, after new monitoring showed the voluntary scheme fell well short of its agreed uptake target and has struggled to build consistent consumer confidence.

South-east Melbourne’s largest speculative cold storage facility has been launched to the leasing market, with Hale Capital Partners’ 27,291sqm “Adapt” project at Oakleigh South targeting completion in December 2026.

Asahi Beverages and Toll Group have launched what they describe as Australia’s largest single-location electric “route-to-market” heavy vehicle fleet, rolling out five battery-electric rigid trucks to service metropolitan beverage deliveries across Perth.

Global agrifood technology and innovation event, evokeAG. 2026, is headed to Melbourne this week, taking place from 17-18 February at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Western Australian winery, Ampersand Estates, has entered an exclusive distribution partnership with Young & Rashleigh to bring its portfolio to New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

Global wine company, Vinarchy, has appointed Nicole Battistessa as managing director, Australia and New Zealand. She starts in the role in early March.

Global food business, Kraft Heinz, has reported a statutory loss for FY25 and halted plans to split the business while it focuses on returning the company to profitable growth. CEO Steve Cahillane also announced an $860 million (US$600m) investment plan.

Over the past month, three international infant formula manufacturers have had to issue global recalls for specific product batches, due to the potential presence of the toxin cereulide. As investigations continue, more batches are being added to the list. Food safety is critical, particularly for vulnerable consumers, but who is responsible for ensuring products are up to standards?

Indian FMCG company, Reliance Consumer Products (RCP), has entered the Australian market by acquiring a majority stake in local better-for-you beverage business, Goodness Group Global.