Plant & Food Research

What Plant & Food Research does

Plant & Food Research is a New Zealand government-owned Crown Research Institute headquartered in Auckland, employing 501-1,000 staff, that conducts applied research across plant breeding, bioprotection, functional foods, plant genomics, and environmental management. Its core technology platforms include proprietary plant cell culture technology enabling climate-independent production of cultured plant cells with targeted nutrients, flavours, and functional benefits, and chemical fingerprinting capabilities (NMR-based authentication) used to verify the authenticity of premium New Zealand food exports such as mānuka honey, wine, olive oil, and kiwifruit. The organization is one of four CRIs — alongside AgResearch, Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research, and Scion — that together form the Bioeconomy Science Institute, which leads a $42.8 million government-funded Biodiscovery Platform over seven years targeting pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, functional foods, and advanced materials derived from New Zealand's native flora and fauna.

The institute commercializes its research through a combination of contract research for food, beverage, and flavour manufacturers, food authentication services, IP licensing, and the spinout of ventures such as Forever Harvest, a cellular horticulture startup leveraging the plant cell culture platform. Forever Harvest closed an NZ$1.2 million pre-seed round led by Sprout Agritech with co-investment from the Bioeconomy Science Institute and Callaghan Innovation, and is engaging a global food brand on commercial applications of cultured fruit and nut ingredients. Revenue is not publicly disclosed; funding is sourced from New Zealand Government core and contestable funding, commercial research contracts, and downstream spinout equity. The organization has also established a strategic partnership with Māori iwi to explore bioactive compounds in taonga plant species, ensuring indigenous enterprise participation in biodiscovery.

Name

Plant & Food Research

Legal name

Plant & Food Research

Website

https://plantandfood.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Plant & Food Research is a New Zealand government-owned Crown Research Institute that develops plant cell culture technology, food authentication services, and biodiscovery research, serving food, beverage, and flavour manufacturers and the Bioeconomy Science Institute consortium.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural and Food Science Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833)

akta.pro primary industry

Transformation & Tissue Culture Platforms (Plant regeneration, delivery systems) (AFABALAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Medicinal Plant Farming (Botanical/Pharmaceutical Crops) (AFAGAGAE), Phytogenics & Botanicals (Essential Oils, Plant Extracts) (AFADAKAF)

Keywords

• Plant breeding research
• Food authentication testing
• Plant cell culture
• Biodiscovery research services
• Crop science genomics

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Core offering

Plant & Food Research provides applied plant and food science research, including plant breeding, bioprotection, functional foods, plant genomics, and environmental management services. Its commercial offerings center on proprietary plant cell culture technology for climate-independent production of cultured plant cells with targeted nutrients and flavours for food and beverage manufacturers, and chemical fingerprinting-based food authentication services for premium New Zealand exports such as mānuka honey, wine, olive oil, and kiwifruit. The organization also participates in the Bioeconomy Science Institute, a $42.8 million biodiscovery platform partnered with other New Zealand Crown Research Institutes to develop bio-based products from native flora and fauna.

Product overview

Plant & Food Research is a New Zealand government-backed research organization operating as part of the Bioeconomy Science Institute consortium (with AgResearch, Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research, and Scion). The organization develops plant cell culture technology for climate-independent food ingredient production, food authentication and testing services using chemical fingerprinting methods, and collaborates on biodiscovery of bioactive compounds from native species for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, functional foods, and advanced materials. Their technologies have been spun out to commercial ventures including Forever Harvest for lab-grown fruit and nut ingredients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Plant Cell Culture Technology Platform
• Food Authentication & Testing Services Research and development services for authenticating premium New Zealand food exports including mānuka honey, wine, olive oil, and kiwifruit. The service uses chemical fingerprinting (including NMR FoodScreener) against global databases to detect food fraud, dilution, mislabelling, and false origin claims, serving exporters, regulators, and food industry participants.
• Biodiscovery Research Platform (Bioeconomy Science Institute) A government-backed biodiscovery research program delivered through the Bioeconomy Science Institute consortium, in which Plant & Food Research is one of four partner CRIs. The platform focuses on discovering and developing bioactive compounds from New Zealand's unique native flora and fauna for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, functional foods, and advanced materials, with Māori iwi partnership on taonga plant species.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Forever HarvestcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerForever Harvest is a cellular horticulture startup that leverages plant cell culture technology spun out from the Plant & Food Research programme. The startup has already begun collaboration with a global food brand to explore commercial applications of cultured fruit and nut ingredients.
• AgResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of four Crown Research Institutes comprising the Bioeconomy Science Institute, partnering to discover and develop bio-based products from New Zealand's unique native flora and fauna, including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, functional foods, and advanced materials.
• Manaaki Whenua - Landcare ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of four Crown Research Institutes comprising the Bioeconomy Science Institute, partnering to explore bioactive compounds in taonga plant species and develop bio-based products from New Zealand's native flora and fauna.
• ScioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of four Crown Research Institutes comprising the Bioeconomy Science Institute, partnering on biodiscovery initiatives focused on pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, functional foods, and advanced materials from native species.
• Māori IwicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMāori iwi have partnered with the Bioeconomy Science Institute (including Plant & Food Research) to explore bioactive compounds in taonga plant species and ensure Māori enterprise participation in biodiscovery.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Scion: One of the four New Zealand Crown Research Institutes in the Bioeconomy Science Institute consortium alongside Plant & Food Research. Scion performs forestry and bio-based materials R&D, sharing the same government-backed research mandate and biodiscovery focus on native species.
• Boyce Thompson Institute: US plant science research institute focused on plant genomics, molecular biology, and bioenergy. Comparable in mission and approach to the plant genomics and breeding work at Plant & Food Research.
• Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research: Fourth Crown Research Institute in the Bioeconomy Science Institute with Plant & Food Research. Manaaki Whenua focuses on terrestrial biodiversity and taonga species, collaborating directly on bioactive compound discovery — making it the closest consortium peer.
• AgResearch: New Zealand Crown Research Institute partnering with Plant & Food Research inside the Bioeconomy Science Institute. Both conduct government-backed biological and agricultural research with a focus on bioactive discovery from native species, and they share funding, infrastructure, and commercialization pathways.
• Donald Danforth Plant Science Center: US-based independent plant science research institute working on crop improvement, plant biology, and bioenergy. Comparable as a non-profit research institute with similar plant science and biotech translation programs.

Broad incumbents

• INRAE (Institut national de recherche pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement): France's national research institute for agriculture, food, and environment. Comparable as a large state-backed research body conducting plant science, food authentication, and bioactive discovery work.
• Wageningen University & Research: Major Dutch government-affiliated agricultural and food research institution with global leadership in plant science, food technology, and biotech R&D — comparable in scale, scope, and government backing to Plant & Food Research.
• Rothamsted Research: Long-established UK agricultural research institute focused on crop science, plant genetics, and sustainable food production — analogous in mission and structure to Plant & Food Research's plant breeding and food ingredient work.
• CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation): Australia's national science agency. Like Plant & Food Research, it is government-backed, conducts applied plant and food science, and has a track record of commercializing research through spinouts and licensing across agriculture and biotech.

Emerging players

• Forever Harvest: Cellular horticulture startup spun out from Plant & Food Research's plant cell culture programme. Directly leverages PFR's proprietary tech for lab-grown fruit and nut ingredients and represents the commercial face of PFR's cell culture platform.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/plantandfood
• Facebookfacebook.com/plantandfood

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Plant & Food Research