Lemon myrtle tea is fast emerging as a potential international export as one of the country’s largest commercial growers of the botanical, Australian Native Products, expects to substantially increase its production by 2021.

Australian brand and creative agency Optimo Designs has gained exclusive rights to an Artificial Intelligence-based platform which aims to deliver category-specific trends and changes in consumer behaviour as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold.

In a bid to help Foodbank Australia address ta doubling in demand for support, the maker of Leggo’s pasta sauce, Simplot Australia, has provided 85,500 jars of Napoletana pasta sauce.

The Arnott’s Big Recipe Release campaign continues with a Tim Tam Brownie. In the last three weeks it has shared an adapted-for-home recipe for the Monte Carlo, Scotch Finger and Iced VoVo.

The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade have highlighted the need for “specific focus” on the economic challenges resulting from COVID-19.

Coca-Cola Amatil has appointed Greg Barnes as its Group chief financial officer, starting 1 June. Barnes joins Amatil from Nine Entertainment, where he was part of the team that led Nine’s acquisition of Fairfax, creating a $3 billion entity.

As businesses plan next steps in the wake of COVID-19, CEO of Perfection Fresh Australia Michael Simonetta reflects on how one of Australia’s largest fresh produce companies has managed the pandemic.

Automating the e-grocery fulfilment process is a complex task, but Swisslog senior consultant Paul Stringleman explains how the challenge can be approached, as the sector grows.​

More Australians are replacing traditional meals with frequent snacks throughout the day. GlobalData consumer markets analyst Meenakshi Haran shares how snack makers are tapping into trends to meet consumer snack demand.

Australian family-owned agribusiness Manildra Group will expand its distillery to produce an additional 90 million litres of ethanol for pharmaceutical and beverage industries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australian naturally sugar-free drinks brand Nexba has expanded into 200 independent liquor retailers (ILR) around the country, as it meets demand for consumers looking for better-for-you choices in the mixer consumption category.

Recent research has found further insights into the inherent sustainability of macadamia trees, giving growers guidance on how to adopt more sustainable on-farm practices to meet today’s conscious consumer’s demand.

Lion is now Australia’s first large-scale carbon neutral brewer, offsetting its remaining organisational carbon footprint across its Australian beer business, and reducing its carbon footprint by 30,000 tonnes.

Coles Group has secured two sites in Sydney and Melbourne for high-tech customer fulfilment centres. The long term leases were struck with Charter Hall Group and Ocado Solutions will install and maintain the automation technology.

Industry association AUSVEG says the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) will help Australian vegetable exporters trade into the growing Indonesian market.

For more than 20 years Mark Barthel has worked on food and agricultural sustainable innovation, largely on quantifying and preventing food loss and waste around the world. Now he has Australia in his sights. Kim Berry writes.