A new Government-backed export initiative with Canada is set to accelerate the commercialisation rate of New Zealand’s food innovations to meet global demand.
The move will provide Kiwi businesses access to emerging technologies, market intelligence, and research and development support through the Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN), to reach Canada’s 40 million consumers – following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with its local counterpart the New Zealand Food Innovation Network (NZFIN) this month.
The collaboration aims to promote the global exchange of food manufacturing knowledge and opportunities to accelerate domestic and export growth in both countries’ food sectors and to drive the adoption of transformative technologies worldwide. The connection of food innovators in New Zealand and Canada will also help companies commercialise new products, foodtech solutions, and intellectual property more effectively and efficiently.
The agreement with Canada follows New Zealand’s entry into the Asia-Pacific Food Innovation Network, a partnership between Government research and applied innovation facilities in Indonesia, Australia, NZ, and Singapore established in 2024 – designed to support food security, nutrition, innovation and economic growth in the ASEAN Region.
Agriculture is NZ’s largest export industry, accounting for almost half of all goods and services sold offshore. Data shows New Zealand spends more than half a billion dollars each year on agri-food research and relies on the development of innovations to create new value-added products for export markets.[1]
Under a separate new initiative launched by NZFIN, a Crown-funded open-access applied science and commercialisation organisation, nationwide facilities, international partners, New Zealand’s science, innovation & technology system as well as economic development agencies and industry, will be purposefully linked to ensure the output of research is commercialised to meet global market demand and drive commercialisation of innovation developed by food scientists in partnership with industry.
The new Catalyst model is designed to create an international ecosystem – integrating food innovation facilities in Auckland, Waikato, Otago, Palmerston North and Canterbury as well as university’s applied innovation facilities in Australia, Singapore and Indonesia – supporting ideation, prototype development, pilot scale trial and production through to market launch and export expansion.
The networked facilities will allow businesses looking to develop value-added types of foods, food technologies and food production systems to access expertise from a global network of food scientists, food process engineers, and millions of dollars worth of specialised technologies, research and manufacturing equipment.
The establishment of the international programme follows a call from the government to double the value of New Zealand food exports by 2030. Latest forecasts show the country’s food and fibre exports will reach $56.9 billion by mid-2025.[2]
The industry-first initiative is designed to reduce the barriers faced by businesses in scaling their production volumes to export levels and will see the creation of a defined pathway from conceptual research to export as well as an ecosystem of scientific research partners, manufacturers and business advisors.
Grant Verry, NZFIN Co-CEO, says there are numerous challenges faced by entrepreneurs wanting to commercialise the outputs of research and only a small proportion of innovations survive through to export success stories.
“The expansion of our network into Canada and our Asia-Pacific network partnership is designed to provide Kiwi businesses with new technologies as well as much larger pools of capital, expertise and value-added food manufacturing options to enable growth.
“Food and beverage firms are now able to come to us with an idea and outcome and we will guide them through the fastest way to commercialise that to export.
“By extending support for New Zealand food innovation beyond territorial and regulatory boundaries, we are unlocking market access through a unified system. This innovation ecosystem, replicated across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, ensures businesses can seamlessly scale and compete globally with the same level of support and expertise they can receive through our domestic programme,” he says.
Verry says NZFIN was established in 2011 to enable Kiwi food and beverage businesses to develop and commercialise innovative value-added products to meet global demand and generate economic growth.
[2] Ministry for Primary Industries. (2024, December 12). Situation and outlook for primary industries | NZ Government. Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries | NZ Government. https://www.mpi.govt.nz/resources-and-forms/economic-intelligence/situation-and-outlook-for-primary-industries/
