Future Alternative

The Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein at the National University of Singapore (NUS) was launched on 5 September, the centre being the first of its kind in Asia. With a US$30 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund, the Centre said it is poised to lead research and commercialisation efforts to develop “ultimate proteins” – advanced hybrid foods that match traditional meat–based products in both taste and price.

A series of alt dairy innovations emerged as winners of the 2024 KiwiNet Research Commercialisation Awards. The KiwiNet Awards recognises new technologies, businesses, and real-world solutions emerging from research from NZ’s universities, Crown Research Institutes, and other research organisations.

‘Meat reducer’ has become the most popular diet choice among Australians in 2024, with 21% of the population adopting it, according to a new consumer survey. The Food Frontier consumer survey – done in cooperation with research company Toluna – interviewed 2,000 people across Australia about their dietary preferences, including meat intake, dietary changes for themselves and their pets, and the reasons behind these changes.

Australian biotech company All G Foods has been named Food & Beverage Startup of the year by the Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA) for its work in changing dairy protein production. Hosted by FaBA and Uniquest, the University of Queensland (UQ) Entrepreneurship and Innovation Awards recognise the university’s most visionary and intrepid students, founders, and mentors with awards to coincide with World Entrepreneurs Day.

Proform Foods – manufacturer of MEET plant-based protein products – will be wound up three months after it fell into voluntary administration. According to a notice published by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the company is now set to be wound up voluntarily, after a resolution was passed to that effect at the end of August.

Swedish plant-based beverage company Oatly has released three new oat drink lines in Australia – dairy-free Full, Light, and Low Sugar. Oatly Australia & New Zealand Country Manager Marc O’Sullivan said, “We want to make it easy for people to swap in plant-based for dairy in their diets, and that means designing products that require zero compromise on taste, performance, or nutrition.

Australia has the potential to become a global leader in the production of precision-fermented ingredients, according to a new white paper published by think tank Cellular Agriculture Australia (CAA). The report provides an in-depth analysis of Australia’s emerging precision fermentation sector. Precision fermentation refers to programming microorganisms to produce specific functional ingredients — such as dairy proteins or fats — that can be used in various food and agricultural products.

Australian plant-based and dairy milk producer Noumi boasted another year of increased sales in its annual fiscal report. The ASX-listed beverage company said that in the 12 months to 30 June 2024 (FY24), its group revenue had gone up 6.9% to $589.8 million, with strong sales of plant-based milks, including its Milklab brand. Noumi said Milklab lifted its plant-based sales by 7.4%, with healthy growth in out-of-home and retail outlets.

More than half of Aussies and Kiwis surveyed for a new trends report have tried plant-based foods and beverages. The Future of Food Report ANZ by market research firm Toluna Corporate interviewed 1,444 and 534 consumers from Australia and New Zealand, respectively, with the goal of assessing the demand for plant-based, free from food, organic and clean label products in the two countries.

The large-scale uptake of alternative proteins could help to significantly transform land use through the APAC region, according to research from the Good Food Institute (GFI) APAC. Comparing data with the GFI report “Transforming land use: Alternative proteins for U.S. climate and biodiversity success”, an addendum by GFI APAC found that the APAC region has significant potential in this regard.