Tag: Future of Food

April 1, 2026 In this episode of RaboTalk Growing our Future episode, host Katie Rodwell talks with Dr Victoria Hatton, CEO of FoodHQ, about why New Zealand’s food and fibre sector is still running on a 100-year-old “commodity operating system” despite our premium reputation, driving export growth through volume rather than value and leaving farmers exposed to competitors who can simply produce it cheaper. Victoria argues the real opportunity is playing the long game in premium markets by building what customers really want not just shipping what we produce, with fast-growing potential...

March 26, 2026 The New Zealand Future Food and Fibre Summit, E Tipu 2026, is the place for farmers who want to stay ahead in a rapidly changing sector, says FoodHQ chief executive Dr Victoria Hatton. She says the summit, to be held this year in Christchurch from May 20-22, will bring together leading thinkers, innovators, and doers to share practical insights on technology adoption, market trends, sustainability, and resilience. Read The Full Article Latest Articles

March 18, 2026 Food futurist and keynote speaker at E Tipu New Zealand Future Food and Fibre Summit, Jack Bobo, argues the food system’s hardest problem is social. When no one can trust what you say, why would they buy your product? He argues framing and language can determine whether industry and advocates collaborate or reach a deadlock. In a wide-ranging conversation, FoodHQ asks Jack to reflect on the future of food to 2100. Opportunity: Rebuild trust by changing the story. We have an opportunity to move from argument to problem solving, ...

March 16, 2026 Seen the latest fad diet? Following a new food guru? Confused about what to eat? You’re not alone. Nutritional advice is the biggest source of misinformation online. For consumers, it’s a mess of conflicting fads and facts. For producers, it’s walking a minefield of science and marketing hype. How can Kiwi producers build trust in a world of nutritional noise? Trust in food information is at all-time low; diet and nutrition advice is the largest category of misinformation on social media. Disagreements...

Jan 28, 2026 The Manawatū campus welcomed 56 secondary school students from across Aotearoa New Zealand for the inaugural Food Innovation Youth Summit in January. The three-day immersive experience was designed to showcase the creativity, science and collaboration behind the food industry. – Massey University Article Read More Here Latest Articles

Jan 28, 2026 It all started as an idea at FoodHQ, then began with a spark at Innovation Day last year. How could the next generation be inspired to see beyond the supermarket shelf, to imagine, create, and shape the future of food in New Zealand? That question grew quietly over the months, until it became something much more tangible: The Food Innovation Youth Summit (FIYS). Last week, secondary students from across Aotearoa arrived at Massey University’s Manawatū campus, curious and eager. Over three days, the summit transformed curiosity into experience, theory into hands-on...

Dec 10, 2025 New Zealand’s next phase of growth will depend on pairing quality with curiosity, but are we ready? Our production mindset has long focused on scale, but success now depends on how well we understand our consumers. IKEA’s painstaking study of Kiwi homes before opening here showed what empathy in action looks like: listening before selling, designing before assuming. As India’s vast, complex market edges within reach through a free trade deal, the burning question is whether New Zealand can make that same shift, or whether we’ll cling to old habits...

July 31, 2025 It’s already New Zealand’s biggest industry – what more can it do? If New Zealand is to double the value of exports by 2035, dairy must surely do a lot of the heavy lifting. But how much more growth and innovation can we expect to see? With so much pressure facing the sector from both home and abroad, where does sustainable growth come from? And without dairy, can New Zealand do it? Dairy is unparalleled by any other sector, growing almost 10-fold in 30 years. Growth is in volume and value; and...

October 20, 2025 We’re incredibly proud to officially introduce the Massey University Food Innovation Youth Summit | powered by FoodHQ! Together with Massey University – Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa, we’ve created an immersive experience designed to spark curiosity, drive youth engagement in our food sector, and inspire future careers in New Zealand’s world-class food industry. Get ready to experience real food tech magic – dive into hands-on workshops, tour high-tech labs, and visit cutting-edge food factories across the Manawatū region. Ever wondered what a Food...

October 10, 2025 Unlocking Plant Protein Ingredient Value: Australia and New Zealand in Review. This report was developed by FoodHQ following the release of Food Frontier’s The Case for a National Plant Protein Ingredient Industry, which sparked important conversations about the future of plant protein across Australasia. In recent months, we’ve seen a resurgence of discussion around plant protein in New Zealand, and for good reason. We believe New Zealand, like Australia, is now at an inflection point: the opportunity to pivot toward high-value plant protein ingredient production...