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.  

Tasmania-based biotechnology company, Sea Forest, has marked the next step in its journey to reduce harmful methane emissions – partnering with Australian restaurant group, Three Blue Ducks, to serve the world’s first low-emissions steak, Sea Fed Beef.

More than two years in the making, the New South Wales Government has released its Innovation Blueprint, stating it will guide how the government will design projects, allocate funding, and work with stakeholders.

The recent Global Wine Trends Executive Summary 2024 report from beverage alcohol data and insights leader, IWSR, has shown wine volumes in most key markets will continue to decline over the next few years, but despite ongoing economic difficulties, opportunities remain to meet the needs of the next generation of more involved and adventurous consumers.

With the rising popularity of ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages in Australia, innovation is the key to breaking into the market. Reality TV personality, Aesha Scott, has partnered with Melbourne-based craft brewery, Moon Dog, to jump on this trend, with the launch of Drop Alcoholic Coconut Water & Vodka.

Plant-based protein production company, Australian Plant Proteins (APP), has been acquired by My Co, the investment vehicle for the Paule Family Office, which focuses on FABtech (Food, Agri & Bio) start-ups. APP was the first company in Australia to develop and commercialise a plant protein isolate powder.

Fonterra Co-operative Group has appointed Elizabeth (Liz) Coutts as chair-elect of Mainland Group, the proposed divestment entity of Fonterra’s global consumer business. This announcement follows the selection of René Dedoncker as CEO-elect and Paul Victor as CFO-elect in February.

Australian food and nutrition science company, FOODiQ Global, has launched ‘Mission MushVroom’, a first-time attempt to grow mushrooms in space. The experiment is taking place onboard the Fram2 mission, which launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket this week.

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) is reviewing the relationship between growers and producers in the chicken meat supply chain, aiming to assess whether there is evidence of market failure within the industry and potential actions that could be introduced.