By 2050, the world will need up to 70% more food than it consumes today. Traditional agriculture alone cannot sustainably meet that demand. The race is on to find new ways of producing safe, consistent and functional ingredients, and Hawke’s Bay could play a part.
That was the challenge at the first Foodeast Haumako Fermentation for Future Food Summit in Hastings recently. Scientists, entrepreneurs and manufacturers from across New Zealand gathered to debate how novel and precision fermentation could be developed locally, and what is still missing. The event complements a study commissioned by Hawke’s Bay Regional Economic Development Agency (REDA) into the region’s potential, with findings due shortly.
Fermentation is as old as bread and beer, but its modern application is far broader. Novel fermentation uses microbes (yeasts, fungi, bacteria) to create proteins, fats, and other valuable compounds. Precision fermentation takes this further by programming microbes to produce specific, well-characterised ingredients. These can replicate known properties – for example, egg proteins that whip, foam and bind – or enable entirely new ones.
Global examples show the potential. A US company has commercialised animal-free egg proteins already approved by the FDA, while an Australian start-up has demonstrated how tiny amounts of precision-fermented fats can transform the taste of plant-based foods.
Forum panellists were clear: this is not about replacing New Zealand’s primary industries. Instead, fermentation can complement them, adding new value streams, improving resilience, and creating hybrid products that combine traditional strengths with new functionality.
Hawke’s Bay has clear strengths: abundant forestry and horticultural side-streams, a strong food reputation, and an emerging cluster of agritech start-ups, including in the precision fermentation space.
But gaps remain.
Without progress, start-ups risk moving offshore to places like Singapore, where regulation, scale and capital are already in place.
Foodeast Haumako chief executive Michael Bassett-Foss says the next steps include reviewing the coming REDA report; a complementary study on the national ecosystem, the case for a national strategy, and Hawke’s Bay’s potential to contribute in this space.
