The evolution of fermentation from familiar tradition to a powerful platform for future food innovation was the topic of conversation at a recent invitation-only Novonesis business breakfast for business leaders from the Australian and New Zealand food and beverage industry.
The breakfast brought together senior leaders across management, research and development, marketing, innovation, retail, industry bodies and B2B media to examine how biology, cultures and enzymes can help manufacturers create products that are trusted, delicious, relevant and more sustainable.
The event was designed around a clear question for food and beverage manufacturers: how can one of the oldest ways of making food help solve some of the most current challenges facing the industry, from consumer trust and product quality to everyday health, sensory appeal and waste reduction?
Novonesis regional president APAC, Lensey Chen, said many of the challenges facing the food industry require a rethink for solutions.
“Biosolutions, with science of biology and precision fermentation at their core, offer an opportunity to improve efficiency, unlock innovation and support sustainability. We believe the companies that embrace biology as a strategic advantage will be best positioned to deliver growth and create value in the years ahead,” said Chen.
Chen opened the session by setting the scene for the role of Biosolutions in helping food and beverage companies respond to changing consumer expectations while delivering efficiency, innovation and commercial value.
David Zilber, chef, fermenter, food scientist at Novonesis, and former director of fermentation at Noma, then explored fermentation as both art and science. His session looked at how fermentation has shaped food and humans for thousands of years, and how its next chapter could evolve.
“Humans and microbes have been working together for thousands of years. Fermentation helped our ancestors unlock new sources of nutrition, and it still has an important role to play as we look for ways to nourish a growing population more sustainably.
“At the same time, it gives us an incredible creative toolkit to unlock new flavours, experiences and ways of producing food. The challenge today is helping people better understand the value fermentation brings to the food they eat,” said Zilber.
Mintel VP Consulting APAC, Shelley McMillan, built on this creative and scientific perspective with a market-facing view of what fermentation can mean for Australian manufacturers. Drawing on Mintel’s work with Novonesis, her presentation, From Fermentation to the Front of Pack, examined how cultures and enzymes can be translated into consumer-relevant value.
Mintel highlighted that consumer awareness of fermentation is rising, while the number of global food and drink launches mentioning fermentation on pack increased between 2021 and 2025.
“For years, fermentation has largely been communicated through the lens of gut health. We are now seeing a broader opportunity. Consumers increasingly associate fermentation with craftsmanship, taste, wellbeing and sustainability. The challenge for manufacturers is how to translate this value into language consumers understand and trust,” McMillan said.
A key theme across the morning was trust. As consumers pay closer attention to how food is made, fermentation offers manufacturers a way to connect science with familiarity. It can signal tradition, craft and authenticity, while also supporting more practical product benefits such as taste, texture, shelf life, quality and everyday wellbeing.
For Novonesis, the breakfast formed part of a broader effort to help customers and partners turn biology into practical business outcomes, supporting better products, clearer consumer communication and more sustainable ways of producing food and beverages.
