Food Futures Company, Grow, and Austrade have selected eight agrifoodtech food and beverage companies as the inaugural cohort of GROW2Asia, a program to fast-track expansion into Asia.
with invisible insect proteins.
The businesses include innovative food and beverage companies, precision ag, native/Indigenous foods & ingredients, and organic & regenerative farming.
The eight teams are:
- Buggy Bix - developing, manufacturing, and selling nutritious and environmentally friendly insect-based pet food products
- Circle Harvest - Australia's largest insect protein farm, developing superfood products suitable for Western diets with invisible insect proteins
- Data Farming - agtech company developing integrated, easy to use, and intelligent precision technology solutions
- Indigiearth - Indigenous-owned and well-established business providing ethically sourced and sustainably harvested premium bush foods made from authentic Australian native products
- Rainforest Bounty - a range of food and drinks made from Australian native rainforest fruits grown in regenerative polycultures
- Southern Kuya - providing an efficient and sustainable source of high-quality, value-added products from fisheries and aquaculture
- Taka Gin - Indigenous-led startup creating gin inspired by Indigenous fusion flavours from First Nations native botanicals.
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Windowrie - family-owned vineyard and winery specializing in organic and preservative-free wines with a new focus on low-alcohol style wines
GROW2Asia was designed to leverage off the exponential growth in demand for sustainable food systems in Asia as consumer eating and shopping habits are changing amid the rise of the middle-class, digitalisation and a focus on climate and pandemic resilient supply chains.
Over the course of the next six months, the program will help the eight companies validate their market fit and co-develop an internationalisation roadmap to establish their in-market presence.
The program will provide companies with expert support from Food Futures Company and GROW, including access to their mentor and partners networks.
Companies will also tap into the capabilities and resources of the Austrade teams across the region. The six-month program is integrated with GROW’s Land x Launch platform, allowing entrepreneurs to capitalise on GROW’s network to access suppliers, channel partners, corporates and customers in Asia.
Austrade general manager ASEAN Mukund Narayanamurti said: “According to a new joint report by PwC, Rabobank and Temasek, food expenditure in Asia will reach over $8 trillion by the start of the next decade, a rise from $4 trillion in 2019.
“This represents significant opportunities for Australian agriculture and food exporters and increasingly for our innovation and technology companies. Our partnership with GROW and Food Futures Australia will create more pathways for Australian technologies to partner in Asia to boost domestic and export production and enhance farming sustainability.”
