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Returning for its second year, the AltProteins conference brought together our region’s vibrant ecosystem under one roof to unlock pivotal insights, from farming to fermentation to foodservice and more.

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AltProteins returned bigger and better than before

The alternative proteins ecosystem has grown tenfold in Australia and New Zealand over the past few years.

Learn from 35+ industry speakers
Explore the latest success stories
Network for Connections and collaborations
Start-up pitch session
Delicious and diverse food
Retail Sessions: Trends, Competition, opportunities.

Food Frontier’s AltProteins 23 explored everything from game-changing protein technologies on the horizon to immediate scale-up bottlenecks across R&D, ingredients and production.

Industry leaders, agri-food and policy experts and pioneering researchers came together to explore the latest success stories, learnings, and insights that you can’t get anywhere else.

Watch AltProteins 22 Highlights Reel

As the lead educator and facilitator in our region’s alternative proteins ecosystem - and the founder of AltProteins 23 - Food Frontier invites you to join us for this exciting event.

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EARLY BIRD

$ 379 + GST
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STANDARD

$ 429 + GST
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EVENT DAY

$ 499 + GST
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Meet the Speakers

Over 40 domestic businesses are now producing plant-based meat, cultivated meat or products of precision and biomass fermentation, and there are 350+ plant-based meat products in our supermarkets and restaurants.

With rapid growth comes major challenges, and new opportunities. Is category consolidation inevitable? How can the industry maximise growth potential in foodservice? What can be learnt from industry strategies that have come to fruition and those that haven’t, here and overseas?

Who should attend

If you’re interested in the rapidly expanding sector for emerging proteins, or are already part of the ecosystem in Australia and New Zealand, AltProteins 23 will provide you with valuable knowledge-sharing, problem-solving and collaborative opportunities. This event is especially relevant for:

Agricultural leaders

Interested in the increasing market for plant proteins

Alternative protein companies

Driving the industry’s growth and direction

Foodservice providers

Eager to cater to new and changing customers

Ingredients companies

With solutions that can enable development of the highest quality products

Investors

Eager to deepen your knowledge and connect with the most promising ventures

Policymakers

Considering infrastructure investments and jobs growth

Researchers or academics

Looking to unlock insights on the industry and the changing consumer

Retailers

Exploring how to position this growing category for success

Testimonials

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Contact

For event information on attending or sponsoring AltProteins 23 please contact:

Food Frontier, Event Manager
Liz Shaw 
info@altproteinsconference.com.au

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AltProteins 23 is proudly presented by Food Frontier.

Food Frontier is the independent think tank on alternative proteins in Australia and New Zealand. Food Frontier’s work is creating a nutritious, sustainable and diversified protein supply.

Food Frontier is located on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to Elders both past and present, and recognise and respect their abiding connection to this land, its waterways and community. Wurundjeri people have nurtured this land for over 50,000 years and continue to do so today.

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James Petrie

Nourish Ingredients

Dr. James Petrie is the co-founder and CEO of Nourish Ingredients. An experienced crop metabolic engineer, James is now using his decades of expertise in synthetic biology to take the plant-based meat and dairy space to the next level with Nourish’s animal-free fats.

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Simon Newstead

Better Bite Ventures

Simon Newstead is the founding partner of Better Bite Ventures, a future-food and climate VC focused on Asia Pacific. To date, the fund has invested in 20 early-stage alt protein companies in both plant-based and cell ag. Prior to Better Bite, Simon helped start tech companies Frenzoo and GoalsWon, as well as vegan food and fashion companies Bite Society and Kinds of Grace.
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Matt Lowe

Agriculture Victoria

Matt Lowe is currently Chief Executive, Agriculture Victoria, and Deputy Secretary, Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), a role he has held since June 2020.

During that time Agriculture Victoria has delivered Victoria’s 10-year Agriculture Strategy which highlights the growth potential of new and emerging agricultural industries including alternative proteins. The alternative proteins industry provides opportunities to grow jobs, diversify farm income, and position Victoria as a world leader in agricultural innovation.

Prior to Agriculture Victoria, Matt held a number of senior roles at the Department of Premier and Cabinet in Victoria across economic and social policy domains and spent some time in the private sector with EY.

Matt holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) and Science, University of Melbourne.

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Kim Berry

Food & Drink Business

Kim Berry is the editor of trade media platform Food & Drink Business, providing in-depth news and editorial coverage on Australia’s largest manufacturing sector. She specialises in reporting on innovation and leadership, consumer trends, sustainability, and food tech. Her passion is to showcase the people and companies pushing boundaries and being bold, from scrappy start-ups to global players. Food & Drink Business delivers six print magazines a year – including the annual Top 100 Food & Drink Companies report, a daily digital newsletter, weekly video news bulletin, and regular podcast.

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Klara Kalocsay

Food Frontier

Klara is Head of Research Strategy at Food Frontier. As both a trained nutritionist and a science communicator, Klara drives the organisation’s research capabilities and leads the analysis for Food Frontier’s major reports, including the 2020 report ‘Plant-Based Meat: A Healthier Choice?’ on the nutrition of plant-based meat alternatives, the ongoing State of the Industry reports and the forthcoming report Alternative proteins and Asia: Insights for Australian and New Zealand Exporters. Klara works to close gaps in the evidence base surrounding alternative proteins and has been awarded an Adjunct Fellowship at Macquarie University.

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Dr Madeline Mitchell

Breakthrough Victoria

Madeline is Director, Agrifood at Breakthrough Victoria, an independent investment company that delivers patient capital to groundbreaking innovations that will improve people’s lives and benefit the state’s economy. As a foodie with farming connections, she is passionate about investment, innovation and research to create a sustainable agrifood system. She has collaborated on diverse projects, from synthetic biology to natural capital, with a focus on translating research into social, economic and environmental impact. She has a PhD in plant sciences from the University of Cambridge and held previous roles at CSIRO, Food Agility Cooperative Research Centre and RMIT University.

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Dr Tim Olsen

Merck

Tim joined Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany in 2020 and is currently Head of Cultured Meat. Previously, Tim directed laboratory operations at Allevi, a 3D bioprinting company, and then held Senior Scientist and Global Account Management positions at RoosterBio, a regenerative medicine company focused on human stem cell and exosome manufacturing. Tim has a PhD in Bioengineering from Clemson University and BS in Biomedical Engineering from The College of New Jersey. He sits on the external advisory boards of The College of New Jersey and the University of California, Davis.

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Gabrielle Munzer

Main Sequence

Gabrielle Munzer is a partner at Main Sequence where she has helped create and invest in a number of companies in their Feed 10B People and Decarbonise the Planet challenge areas. With a strong focus on ESG principles, Gabrielle seeks investments in startups with the ambition to have massive impact in the world. Gabrielle brings more than 20 years of financial markets experience to Main Sequence, having worked at Challenger in Australia and Morgan Stanley and ABN AMRO in London.

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Sid Jain

La Trobe University

Sid Jain is the Director of Precinct Development and Operations at La Trobe University, Australia. He specialises in design & operations of food, biopharma and digital based innovation hubs and has extensive international experience across food, agribusiness & biotechnology sectors.

With 25+ years of experience in delivering P&L growth for leading international companies, his experience spans across leading growth for industry leaders such as Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Ingredion Inc,
Syngenta Ag, CSIRO Australia, Ridley Corporation & Boral Limited.

Sid holds a Bachelor of Science degree from University of Delhi and a Master of Business Administration from University of Adelaide. He is a Graduate of Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD).

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Megan Stanton

Mintel

Megan is an Associate Director, South APAC Food & Drink and Mintel’s global animal and alternate protein analyst. She has over 25 years in the food industry and holds a degree in food technology with postgraduate qualifications in marketing. Megan speaks at conferences, events and client forums helping audiences understand what consumers want and why. Prior to joining Mintel, Megan worked with several multinational food ingredient companies and leans on her expertise to deliver actionable insights for our food and drink clients.

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Paul Bevan

Magic Valley

Paul Bevan is the founder and CEO of Magic Valley – an Australian food company developing healthy and delicious cultivated meat products. Paul previously held senior roles at ASX100 listed companies, TABCORP, NAB and ANZ. He was also the co-founder of Absolute MMA (Melbourne’s biggest martial arts gym) and founder of Boss Finance (an award-winning finance brokerage). In his spare time, Paul enjoys working out, watching Aussie Rules football and exploring Melbourne’s amazing food scene.

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Dr Roger Bektash

Alternative Proteins Council

Roger is a founding member of the Alternative Proteins Council and has 42 years of experience in manufacturing, R&D, science and regulatory roles across food, confectionery and petfood businesses in ANZ and Asia Pacific.

A biochemical engineer, Roger has spent much of his career with Mars where he held various roles including Director Scientific Affairs at Mars Asia Pacific, and R&D Manager with Masterfoods Japan.  Roger currently consults in scientific and regulatory affairs for Australian plant-based meat company v2food, a leading company in retail and food service, and a major exporter to Asia.

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Dr Hanh Nguyen

Nourish Ingredients

Dr Hanh Nguyen is the Head of Food Science at Nourish Ingredients, a foodtech company creating potent fats that make alternative proteins cook, taste and smell like the real thing. Hanh has almost two decades of expertise in food fermentation, microstructure, rheology and mouthfeel. At Nourish, Hanh is the key innovator, leading a talented global food science team, focusing on the innovative creation of new formulations and ingredients to transform flavour and mouthfeel for animal-free dairy and meat products.

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Roger Drew

Eighth Day Foods

Roger is a mission-driven entrepreneur with a passion for creative problem-solving. ​He is the Co-founder of the Australian food innovation company, Eighth Day Foods. He is the innovative mind behind the global award-winning protein called Lupreme® and unique patented process Rapid Solid-State Fermentation.


Roger’s agricultural background is foundational to his passion to see nutrition security a reality for all.

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Renée Rogers

All G Foods

Renée’s considerable expertise as a Sales Director has proven to be a tremendous asset to the companies she has worked with over her career, including some of Australia’s most recognisable names. Her contributions have been crucial to the success of the organisations with which she has collaborated. She has proved her abilities at All G Foods in designing and implementing successful sales strategies, directing high-performing sales teams, and cultivating great client relationships. Renée is continuously looking for new ways to stay ahead of the competition in her sector, employing cutting-edge technology and attentively analysing market trends.

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Siobhan Coster

Eclipse

Siobhan Coster, a qualified Dietitian and accomplished entrepreneur, is on a mission to sustainably improve access to crucial nutrients. With an MBA from The University of Queensland and diverse international business experience spanning health, eCommerce, and investment banking, Siobhan is spearheading Eclipse, a food tech start-up incubated within CSIRO. Eclipse utilises ground-breaking science to sustainably make vital nutrients from yeast, starting with lactoferrin. This wonder nutrient is found in human breastmilk and is known for its immune-boosting, iron-binding, and anti-microbial properties.

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Simon Jackson

Simon Jackson

Compass Group Australia

Simon is spearheading the sustainability transition for Compass Group Australia. With over 20 years’ experience in the food service sector, he is responsible for developing the approach to achieve global net zero commitments. Simon’s multifaceted role involves turning strategic priorities into operational actions, supervising activities to uphold quality, cost, and performance standards, whilst balancing business commerciality with emission reduction to achieve set targets.

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Adam Moore

Corporate Executive Chef

Adam Moore is ranked among the world’s top corporate chefs, public speakers and TV presenter award-winning innovator and esteemed culinary judge internationally.

Adam began his chef’s apprenticeship in hotel kitchens. He worked his way up through the ranks until he could set out on his own, running multiple branches of a restaurant chain in his hometown and beyond. In his pursuit of professional development, he’s gained formal qualifications in pastry, charcuterie and butchery, food styling and food photography.

With nearly 30 years in the industry to his credit, Adam has worked in restaurants, foodservice, retail, food manufacturing, marketing, and sales. In the corporate sector, past employers include Mars Australia, George Weston Foods, Suntory, Kraft Heinz, and Cerebos Foods, NAFDA Foods, Plant-based Proform Foods and the multinational Campbell Arnott’s. He’s currently a Culinogist and a lead expert focused on consumer-led recipe development, creating culinary trends, as well as creating and developing new product development and helping food and drink companies with their innovation.

​ Adam is a Research Chefs Association Certified Executive Chef (CEC), A member of the Australian Institute of food scientists and a culinary judge for many national and international competitions in food like the Sydney Royal Fine Foods and more. He’s an active member of the Global Research Chefs Association. He is a renowned industry mentor for young chefs.

​Adam has a strong portfolio of TV and video appearances and presenter roles including Chanel 10 and Studio 10 and many more and writes for culinary magazines as well as maps out global food trends. In social media, Adam has a strong presence on social media with an Australian and international audience.

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Sissel Rosengren

Food Industry Foresight

Sissel has more than 30 years of experience in industry research, economic forecasting and strategic planning in Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, China Region, the Middle East, and Europe. For the past twenty years, Sissel has specialised in the food & beverage industry, particularly in the Asia Pacific region.

Sissel leads Food Industry Foresight’s extensive work in supply and demand modelling, detailed market sizing, brand valuation, distribution research, competitor analysis, growth prospects as well as tactical and strategic planning for global and national food and beverage providers.

Sissel served on the Board of the Foodservice Suppliers Association Australia (FSAA) for ten years; of which four as the Chair. Sissel is the co-founder and current Chair of the Australian Foodservice Advocacy Body (AFAB).

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Dr Victoria Hatton

FoodHQ

Victoria is the CEO at FoodHQ, a not-for-profit partnership driving innovation across the food system in New Zealand. She is a net zero strategist, passionate about New Zealand’s agriculture and food system; promoting the opportunities to create more resilient, diversified landscapes and innovative food.

Victoria joined FoodHQ from the Sustainability and Climate Change team at PwC. Her experience includes leading ambitious climate action for both the UK and NZ governments, a stint at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation in Rome working on livestock mitigation and managing international operations at the New Zealand Greenhouse Gas Research Centre.

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Nathaniel Tupou

v2 food Australia

Nathaniel Tupou is the General Manager for v2food in Australia, one of Australia’s leading plant-based protein suppliers. Developed with more than 100 years of CSIRO food and science research and with powerful collaborations within the food industry v2food has played a pivotal role in establishing the plant-based protein category in Australia.

With responsibility for v2foods’ sales and marketing divisions Nathaniel is passionate about growing the plant-based category amongst Australians and draws on his experience working in major FMCG suppliers Mars & McCain to encourage more consumers to update their plate with plant-based foods and v2food.

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Dr Simon Eassom

Food Frontier

Dr Simon Eassom is an experienced leader, business executive, and strategic thinker. He has had a distinguished career as a university professor with a PhD in applied ethics and a background in health and nutrition as Head of a large university School of Physical Education and Sport Science. As a freelance investigative journalist, Simon was a regular media commentator on numerous issues, including the political economy of food and the public presentation of information and advice on diet and health.

Mid-career, Simon moved to the corporate sector and worked in various executive roles for IBM, leading on the use of Big Data, predictive analytics, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence to improve business and performance outcomes. As a recognised subject-matter-expert on artificial intelligence, he has consulted to numerous organisations on the impacts of technology on the futures of work, education, and food. He has been an in-demand public speaker on technology and change and currently serves on the Board of the Australian Council of Professions as its Chief Futurist.

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Susie O'Neill

Susie O'Neill

Food Frontier

Susie is an accomplished professional in the alternative proteins industry with a passion for making connections and synthesizing information to build value for stakeholders. With a deep understanding of the industry’s challenges and opportunities, Susie is a trusted partner to many of the start-ups and alternative protein manufacturers across Australia and New Zealand. Drawing from her deep connection with food and agriculture combined with a background in sales, marketing, and executive roles, Susie fosters collaboration and problem-solving among stakeholders across the value chain to find opportunities for category growth. A recent MBA graduate with a focus on design and futures thinking, she believes in the importance of food systems innovation, working together to produce tasty and nutritious food that is produced sustainably. Susie understands sustainable growth for start-ups and manufacturers will come through category building, science and technology, product innovation, and consumer understanding.

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Mark Field

Prof Consulting Group

After an international career in fresh food manufacturing working with some of Europe’s leading retailers and QSRs, Mark joined Coles Supermarkets in 2011. His responsibilities included technical, innovation and strategy launching more than 1,200 products a year and he was head of Coles Own Brand. 

Mark then founded and now manages the award-winning Prof Consulting Group, which operates across the UK and Australia. Prof Consulting Group specialises in combining an in-depth understanding of today’s consumer, international markets, retail strategies and ESG capabilities to help portfolio clients achieve industry leading growth. 

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Colin Lim

Future Ready Food Safety Hub (FRESH)

Colin Lim is the Deputy Director of the Future Ready Food Safety Hub (FRESH)—a national initiative by A*STAR, Singapore Food Agency, and Nanyang Technological University. FRESH aims to advance food safety research to support Singapore’s food innovation ecosystem. Colin directs FRESH’s corporate strategy, business development, operations, and partnerships. As a passionate advocate of food safety science and public-private partnerships, Colin is committed to creating a conducive science and regulatory environment that catalyses food innovation. With more than 15 years of experience in shaping R&D policy and programs, Colin has also played an active role in the founding of two key national initiatives in Singapore: FoodInnovate and the Singapore Food Story R&D program. 

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George Peppou

Vow

George Peppou is the CEO and Co-Founder of Vow, Australia’s first cell-based meat company. Vow is making sustainability irresistible with cultured meat, inventing new products by growing the cells of animals rather than the animals themselves. For diners, this means tastier and more nutritious meat. For the future of our environment, this means a smaller land footprint and a fraction of the greenhouse gases produced by factory farming. It’s the best possible way to make better food available to billions of people.

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Mauro Pisani

Mauro Pisani

Woolworths

Mauro Pisani has more than 20 years of fast-moving consumer goods, or FMCG, experience and is the Category Manager for plant-based proteins at Woolworths supermarkets. He introduced the plant-based proteins category into Woolworths five years ago and has since seen it grow to be the market share leader. Mauro has been a driving force behind Woolworth’s plant-based strategy and continues to bring healthier and more sustainable offers to customers around Australia.

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Aaron Yeo

GOOD Meat

Aaron is responsible for GOOD Meat’s operations and growth in Singapore. GOOD Meat makes cultivated meat and sells cultivated chicken through restaurants in Singapore—the first country to approve the sale of cultivated meat.   

Prior to his role at GOOD Meat, Aaron spent four years in the United States as the Singapore Economic Development Board’s regional director where he developed and oversaw the implementation of strategies to position Singapore as a choice destination for alternative protein product launches and investments in the Asia-Pacific region. He also played a critical role in facilitating the world’s first regulatory approval for cultivated meat through Singapore. 

Aaron has also spent close to a decade working in sustainability related roles, which included defining renewable energy targets for Singapore.

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Andrew Noyes

Eat Just

Andrew serves as VP/Head of Global Communications & Public Affairs at food tech pioneer Eat Just, Inc., which created the market-leading plant-based egg (JUST Egg), and the world’s first-to-market meat made from animal cells instead of slaughtered animals (GOOD Meat). 

He has nearly 20 years of experience operating at the intersection of international business, policy and politics and previously ran public relations, advocacy and marketing campaigns during formative early years for Facebook and Uber. Earlier in his career, he was a tech policy journalist and served on the adjunct faculty at American University’s School of Communication in Washington, D.C.

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Klara Kalocsay

Food Frontier

Klara is Head of Research Strategy at Food Frontier. As both a trained nutritionist and a science communicator, Klara drives the organisation’s research capabilities and leads the analysis for Food Frontier’s major reports, including the 2020 report ‘Plant-Based Meat: A Healthier Choice?’ on the nutrition of plant-based meat alternatives, the ongoing State of the Industry reports and Food Frontier’s latest report, Alternative proteins and Asia: Insights for Australian and New Zealand Exporters. Klara works to close gaps in the evidence base surrounding alternative proteins and has been awarded an Adjunct Fellowship at Macquarie University.

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Dr Angeline Achariya

Dr Angeline Achariya

Innovation GameChangers

Angeline is an inspirational industry executive and innovation leader with 25+ years of experience. As CEO of Innovation GameChangers and Australia Chair AgriFood Innovation for G100: Mission Million, she drives positive change in the AgriFood sectors.

Raised on her grandparents’ farms, Angeline’s passion for agriculture and food fuels her commitment to creating a sustainable global food system. With expertise in commercialising innovation and market expansion, she has launched more than 1,000 ground-breaking initiatives in Asia Pacific markets. Angeline proactively supports the agrifood industry through advisory roles, mentoring, and speaking engagements, inspiring others to make a meaningful impact and shape a brighter future.

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Doris Lee

GFI Consultancy

GFI Consultancy (GFIC) is a China-based impact consultancy firm focused on providing industry insights and R&D resources to support the alternative protein sector. GFIC’s expert-driven team collaborates with academic institutions, scientists, corporations, startups, and investors to accelerate plant-based, fermentation-enabled, and cultivated protein innovation. 

Doris has more than a decade of experience creating strategies and localising programs for international organisations, including EU-funded initiatives. In addition to her food security work, she has organised more than 50 events that have facilitated knowledge-sharing between government representatives, universities, and industry on sustainability-related topics, such as urban greening, smart cities, and social inclusion.

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Daphne Tan

dsm-firmenich

Daphne has spent most of her 20 years in the industry as a food product designer, including running her own consultancy for more than a decade, working with companies across Asia-Pacific to put new food products on shelves across the world that meet consumer and commercial expectations. Today, Daphne is focused on taking the same design approach into broader conversations around tackling the problems faced by the food sector in diverse areas ranging from sustainable nutrition to food security. Daphne is currently the innovation, technology and deployment director for dsm-firmenich Taste, Texture & Health Asia and is based in Singapore.

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Kirsten Grinter

Nestlé Australia & Alternative Proteins Council

Kirsten is the Regulatory, Scientific Affairs and Nutrition Manager for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands at Nestle Australia. She has worked in several capacities across her career at Nestle including R&D, manufacturing, research, and regulatory and nutrition.

Kirsten is also the Chair of the Alternative Proteins Council, Director of the Allergen Bureau (a peak industry body representing food industry allergen management) and Chair of the Australian Food & Grocery Council Nutrition and Regulatory committee. She is passionate about delivering pre-competitive industry initiatives that support a thriving, safe and innovative food industry. Kirsten considers that working collaboratively with industry stakeholders, consumer groups and government is key to our success as a food industry globally.

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Anna Tao

CSIRO

Anna is an Executive Manager, Company Creation for CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency. She manages and leads the curation and development of market-led science ventures with industry, investors, and entrepreneurs.

In 2022, she created the first ideation initiative called Biomakers, which builds new food tech companies using synthetic biology, in partnership with Main Sequence Ventures. Anna has extensive experience in research commercialisation across food, agriculture, energy, and advanced manufacturing. Prior to CSIRO, she was the Chief Operations Officer of Cybercon, a climate tech start-up that delivers energy-efficient solutions for data centres. Anna earned her Bachelor of Commerce in Economics and Finance from the University of Melbourne and received a Master of Business Administration from Melbourne Business School.

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Dr Daisy Coyle

Dr Daisy Coyle

The George Institute for Global Health

Dr Daisy Coyle is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and Research Fellow at The George Institute for Global Health. Her primary research focus is on evaluating strategies to promote healthier and more equitable diets. She collaborates closely with NGOs, government entities, public health organisations and academic partners to translate research findings into actionable policies aimed at improving public health.

Daisy has secured more than $2 million in grant funding for her research and has published more than 40 papers. As a sought-after nutrition science media commentator, she regularly presents on prominent news outlets including ABC News and Nine News and is frequently quoted in print media, including the Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Financial Review.

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Dr Garry Rosewarne

Agriculture Victoria

Dr Garry Rosewarne is a Senior Research Scientist at Agriculture Victoria, overseeing the National Lentil and Field Pea Breeding programs along with several pulse research projects. He has released 14 crop varieties and published over 40 scientifically reviewed articles. He is also a Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne and President of the newly formed Pulse Grains Society of Australia Inc.

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Didier Chanove

Kerry

Didier Chanove is a seasoned business executive with more than 20 years of experience in global strategy, marketing, innovation, sales, operations, and management. He leads the sustainable food and beverage technologies transformation as the Plant Proteins & Innovation Business Director at Kerry Ingredients for Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa.

With a track record of launching successful brands, driving innovation, and leading digital transformation, Didier is passionate about mentoring and coaching individuals to achieve their full potential. He also supports startups in their strategic and go-to-market approach to unlock their growth. In his free time, Didier enjoys cooking, sports, and learning new things with his family. He is committed to reducing hunger and carbon footprint through sustainable and charitable associations.

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Kirsten Grinter

Nestle Australia/Australian Protein Council

Kirsten is the Regulatory, Scientific Affairs and Nutrition Manager for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands at Nestle Australia. She has worked in several capacities across her career at Nestle including R&D, manufacturing, research, and regulatory and nutrition. 

Kirsten is also the Chair of the Alternative Proteins Council, Director of the Allergen Bureau (a peak industry body representing food industry allergen management) and Chair of the Australian Food & Grocery Council Nutrition and Regulatory committee. She is passionate about delivering pre-competitive industry initiatives that support a thriving, safe and innovative food industry. Kirsten considers that working collaboratively with industry stakeholders, consumer groups and government is key to our success as a food industry globally.

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Amos Palfreyman

Miruku Proteins

Amos is the CEO and co-founder of NZ biotech future food company Miruku. With a background in food innovation and business development he is passionate about the potential of biotechnology to enable sustainable and climate resilient food systems.

Prior to Miruku Amos was project lead for emerging proteins at FoodHQ, a food science and innovation hub headquartered in Manawatu, New Zealand, supported by leaders in science, education and business. Amos is also a board member of the food rescue charity Just Zilch and an advisor on several biotechnology projects.

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Adriana Heinzen

Mintel

Adriana is the Director of Consulting, South APAC at market intelligence agency Mintel.

She has more than 10 years of experience in marketing across agency and client-side, most recently leading product innovation, brand health tracking and advertising research in a range of sectors including food & beverages, VMS and personal care. 

Prior to that, she worked on shopper marketing projects for leading FMCG companies. Adriana holds a Master of Marketing from the University of Sydney. She has recently worked on a number of plant-based projects including the Food Frontier research to identify export market opportunities in Asia.

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Andrew May

Unigrain

Andrew is Co-CEO of Unigrain and has over a decade of experience in the food manufacturing industry. Unigrain is one of Australia’s leading producers of plant based food and beverage ingredients, specialising in oat cereal, pulse based and animal nutrition products.  

Andrew has been heavily involved in driving Unigrain’s continuing evolution, through its recent strategic investments in building large-scale alternate protein and oat milk supply chains in Australia. Andrew’s original background is within the finance sector where he worked in a range of corporate advisory roles within Australia and the UK.

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Dr Lisa Dyson

Air Protein

Dr Lisa Dyson is a mission-driven entrepreneur with a passion for creative problem solving. She is the founder and CEO of US-based Air Protein, a company that uses an innovative process to make nutritious, carbon negative protein from elements of the air. 

She has a PhD in Physics from MIT where she conducted research in Theoretical Physics, was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of London, receiving an MS in Physics with an emphasis in Quantum Fields and Fundamental Forces, and degrees in Mathematics and Physics from Brandeis University. Lisa is the recipient of numerous awards and a renowned thought leader in biotechnology and food innovation.

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Jim Fader

Eden Brew

Jim Fader, Co-Founder and CEO of Eden Brew, an animal-free dairy B2C company, is a purpose-driven business leader with more than 20 years in retail across multiple sectors and countries and more than five years in business turnarounds and restructures. 

Jim has chased innovation throughout his career, from fresh food product development and award-winning duty-free store concepts to turning car tyres into printer ink in a waste-to-energy startup. Jim builds entrepreneurial cultures with an authentic leadership style focusing on people, pace and collaboration.

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Dr Aparna Venkatesh

Buhler Group

Aparna is the Collaborative Innovation Lead at Bühler for Southeast Asia and Oceania. In this role, she leads innovation strategy in emerging opportunities for sustainable foods and scouts for novel agri-food technology applications with external partners in the ecosystem to develop purposeful and high-impact transformations for the future of food. 

Previously, as head of A*STAR Singapore’s Agri-Food and Nutrition division, Aparna played a key role in supporting the scientific, business, regulatory and strategy aspects of building up Singapore’s alternative protein capabilities, enabling local food production as part of the nation’s food resilience agenda.

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Benjamin Smith FRESH ASTAR

Dr Benjamin Smith

Future Ready Food Safety Hub (FRESH)/A*Star

Dr Benjamin Smith is a risk assessor and toxicologist who has worked across industry, academia and government. He is the Director of the Future Ready Food Safety Hub (FRESH), a national research and support platform under the Singapore Food Story R&D Programme. He is also the Director of the A*STAR IFCS Programme which helps to shape the strategy of Singapore’s research initiatives in the fields of food, consumer product and chemical safety and regulatory science. 

Benjamin is a strong proponent of collaborative research and the importance of embedding safety across the entire food chain. His current research interests extend across a range of different areas broadly linked to the development of risk-benefit frameworks for novel foods and the integration of human-relevant and socially responsible safety methodologies into the regulatory assessment processes for new ingredients.

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Nick Fletcher - FSANZ

Dr Nick Fletcher

Food Standards Australia New Zealand

Dr Nick Fletcher is the Principal Toxicologist and leads the Standards and Surveillance area at Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). 

He chairs the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods which provides advice on the need for regulatory assessment of non-traditional foods in Australia. Nick has more than 20 years of experience in premarket safety assessment across agricultural and veterinary chemicals, therapeutic goods and foods. He is a member of The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, the New Zealand Environment Protection Agency Hazardous Substances and New Organisms committee, and leads FSANZ’s work for the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food which establishes and endorses permitted maximum levels or guideline levels for contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants in food and feed. His research background is in food contaminants and he has a PhD from Karolinska Institute, Sweden.

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Dave David Bucca Change Foods

David Bucca

Change Foods

David Bucca is the founder and CEO of Change Foods, a precision fermentation food tech company creating animal-free dairy products, starting with cheese. 

David is a passionate food industry professional with expertise in alternative proteins, and who was previously an aerospace engineering leader at Boeing for more than 13 years. Following a career change in 2016 motivated by his mission to create more sustainable, ethical, and innovative food systems, he became a founding director of Food Frontier. He also became the COO of a hemp foods startup, and subsequently the APAC manager for a US plant-based meat company. David holds a graduate certificate from Melbourne Business School, a double degree in Aerospace Engineering and Applied Science from RMIT University, and a commercial pilot license for airplanes

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Matthew Dunn

ProForm Foods

Matthew Dunn is the Chief Executive Officer of ProForm Foods and founder of MEET. As a triple Olympian for Australia in swimming, he understands the benefits of good nutrition to maximise physical and mental performance. He has joined the family business and continues to apply his philosophy of great tasting nutritious products that are good for you and benefit the environment.

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Phil McFarlane

Australian Plant Proteins (APP)

Phil McFarlane is a Co-Founder & Director Australian Plant Proteins (APP). APP was founded in 2016 to capture the significant opportunity for Australia to play a key role in the supply of high-quality plant proteins to meet increasing global demand. APP produces protein isolates from pulses (faba beans, pea, lentils, chickpeas, mung beans) using a proprietary process which creates highly functional, ‘clean’, great tasting proteins suitable for a range of food and beverage applications. Phil is responsible for APP’s R&D, business operations, and developing its future assets expansion strategy.

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Kim - AltProteins 22

Kim Berry

Food & Drink Business

Kim Berry is the editor of the media platform Food & Drink Business. She specialises in reporting on innovation and leadership, consumer trends, sustainability, and technological change in Australia’s largest manufacturing sector. Her passion is to showcase the people and companies pushing boundaries and being bold, whether they are scrappy start-ups or global players. She produces twice weekly eNewsletters, a weekly video news bulletin, a monthly magazine, and a regular podcast.

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Danielle Bowling - AltProteins 22

Danielle Bowling

Intermedia

Danielle Bowling is a Journalist and Researcher at Intermedia, Australia and New Zealand’s largest business-to-business publishing company. She has extensive experience reporting on and promoting Australia’s foodservice industry, and spent the best part of a decade as Journalist and Editor at Hospitality magazine, before moving into a PR and Communications role at a premium restaurant group in Sydney’s CBD. At Intermedia, Danielle’s at the helm of Future Alternative, a roundtable and networking event for Australia’s plant-based and alternative protein industry, and is continuing to research this burgeoning sector.

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Alejandro Cancino_Fenn Foods-web

Alejandro Cancino

Fenn Foods

Highly awarded chef Alejandro Cancino never set out to become a pioneer of the plant-based cooking scene. And yet – having spent many years building a remarkably successful career as a respected culinary talent, Alejandro made the bold decision to found Fenn Foods, a company which is now leading the plant-based meat industry in Australia.

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Tim Noakesmith_Vow-web

Tim Noakesmith

Vow

Tim Noakesmith is a serial entrepreneur, design professional and the Co-founder of Vow – a future-focussed food company, blending biology breakthroughs and food science to create a new category of food made with animal cells, and not the animal. Tim has held a number of Senior roles in Design and Product Strategy and before launching Vow was the Global Human-Centred Design Lead for Cochlear.

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Diem Fuggersberger_Coco_Lucas-web

Diem Fuggersberger

Coco & Lucas | Earth

Diem Fuggersberger is an award winning entrepreneur, flavour alchemist and storyteller. She is the Founder of Coco & Lucas + Earth and Co-Founder & CEO Berger Ingredients. The daughter of a butcher, Diem embarked on a plant-based journey with a vision to create deep, positive and sustainable change in the diets and lifestyles of the people of Australia and beyond.

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