FoodHQ

What FoodHQ does

FoodHQ is a public-private partnership established in 2013 and headquartered in Palmerston North, New Zealand. It functions as a collaboration hub for New Zealand's food science and innovation ecosystem, convening approximately 2,500 food researchers drawn from founding partners including Massey University, AgResearch, Plant & Food Research, Fonterra, the Riddet Institute, the Cawthron Institute, and others. The organisation does not develop proprietary technology products; instead it operates programmes and platforms that connect researchers, industry, policymakers, iwi, and emerging food startups to reduce fragmentation across the food innovation value chain.

Its core offerings span four areas: capability development (the STAMP leadership programme using Harvard-style case analysis, the Food Innovation Youth Summit, and international study tours to Melbourne, Singapore, and IFAMA conferences); community platforms (Emerging Foods New Zealand, formerly Emerging Proteins New Zealand, accelerating plant, fungi, insect, bacterial and cell-culture food sectors); thought leadership (the 'Future of Food' docu-series/podcast, monthly 'The Feature' newsletter, and policy reports on alternative proteins, gene editing, GLP-1 impacts, and food waste); and events (the annual E Tipu Agrifood Summit, acquired from Boma in 2024 and relaunched in 2025 under FoodHQ's ownership). A physical innovation hub was opened in December 2023.

FoodHQ is sustained by contributions from its partner organisations and grant funding from AGMARDT (a two-year partnership grant received in 2024). It does not operate a traditional commercial pricing model; rather it monetises indirectly through programme sponsorship (e.g., New Zealand Food Awards sponsorship), event ticketing/sponsorship for E Tipu, and partner dues. The CEO is Dr Victoria Hatton, appointed in February 2023. FoodHQ signed a memorandum of understanding with the East China Agricultural Science and Technology Centre in Kunshan in June 2024 to extend collaboration beyond New Zealand.

Name

FoodHQ

Legal name

FoodHQ

Website

https://foodhq.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

FoodHQ is a New Zealand public-private partnership and collaboration hub connecting 2,500+ food researchers across universities, Crown Research Institutes, and industry partners to advance food innovation, capability development, and policy through programmes, summits, and thought leadership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Innovation Research Collaboration

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (BPAGAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Resilient Livelihoods & Climate-Smart Food Security (BPADAJAH), Nutrition Governance, Policy & Coordination (SUN, National Plans) (BPADAJAL)

Keywords

• Food innovation collaboration
• Agrifood research network
• Food science partnership
• Leadership development programmes
• Emerging foods community

Headquarters

HQ city

Palmerston North

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Partnership and Grant Funding: FoodHQ operates as a public-private partnership sustained by contributions from partner organisations (Fonterra, Massey University, AgResearch, Plant & Food Research, Cawthron Institute, Riddet Institute, Palmerston North City Council, Sprout) and grant funding from AGMARDT (Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust). A two-year AGMARDT partnership grant was received in 2024 to support connection, capability development, and thought leadership activities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

FoodHQ is a New Zealand public-private partnership hub that aggregates 2,500+ food and food production researchers from leading institutions (Massey University, AgResearch, Plant & Food Research, Fonterra, Riddet Institute, Cawthron Institute) to drive collaboration, food innovation, and investment among researchers, industry, and policymakers. It convenes community platforms (Emerging Foods New Zealand), leadership programmes (STAMP), annual events (E Tipu Summit, Food Innovation Youth Summit), scholarships, and thought-leadership content (Future of Food docu-series) advancing New Zealand's food and fibre sector.

Product overview

FoodHQ is New Zealand's leading hub of food and food production researchers that functions as a collaboration platform connecting researchers, industry, and policymakers to advance the food industry. The organisation operates as a network of interconnected programmes and platforms rather than a single product. Its core offerings include the Emerging Foods New Zealand community platform accelerating emerging food sector development, the Future of Food docu-series covering disruptions to the NZ food system, the STAMP leadership development programme using Harvard-style case analysis, the E Tipu annual Future Food and Fibre Summit, and the Food Innovation Youth Summit for secondary students. Additional programmes include international leadership tours to Melbourne and Singapore, the Food Technology Scholarship for Massey University students, and a physical innovation hub in Palmerston North.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Emerging Foods New Zealand: A community accelerating the development of a thriving emerging foods sector in New Zealand, encompassing plant, fungi, insect, bacterial and cell-culture food sources.
• STAMP (Strategic Thinking in Agrifood Management Programme)
• Future of Food Platform
• E Tipu: The New Zealand Future Food and Fibre Summit

Products and services

• Emerging Foods New Zealand A community platform accelerating the development of a thriving emerging foods sector in New Zealand, connecting members across growing, producing, manufacturing, retailing, and exporting of plant, fungi, insect, bacterial, and cell-culture food sources. Formerly Emerging Proteins New Zealand.
• Future of Food Platform A docu-series told in podcast and article format about five disruptions challenging the New Zealand food system: emerging proteins, climate change, gene editing, conscious consumers, and Te Ao Māori, circularity and being better ancestors.
• Strategic Thinking in Agrifood Management Programme (STAMP) An AGMARDT-funded leadership development programme that accelerates strategic skills and broader agrifood sector awareness using Harvard Business School-style case study analysis, including workshops, site visits, discussions with industry experts, and international tours for emerging New Zealand agrifood leaders.
• E Tipu - New Zealand Future Food and Fibre Summit An annual summit bringing together farmers, growers, iwi, innovators, researchers, agribusiness leaders, investors, and policymakers to tackle questions shaping the future of food and fibre in Aotearoa New Zealand.
• Food Innovation Youth Summit (FIYS) An immersive three-day programme at Massey University designed to inspire secondary school students about careers in New Zealand's food and fibre sector through hands-on workshops, product development challenges, factory tours, and industry Q&A.
• Melbourne Leadership Insights Tour International development experience for STAMP graduates immersing emerging leaders in Australia's food and fibre sector through on-farm visits, industry engagement, and attendance at Australia's evokeAG agrifood innovation conference.
• Singapore Market Insights Tour Immersive international programme for industry leaders providing exposure to global markets, innovation ecosystems, and emerging trends through visits with business, government, and research organisations in Singapore.
• FoodHQ Food Technology Scholarship Scholarship supporting first-year Bachelor of Food Technology (Honours) students at Massey University who demonstrate passion for food innovation, academic excellence, and commitment to building a career in the industry.
• FoodHQ Innovation Hub A physical collaboration hub and meeting room space in Palmerston North's science precinct, serving as the headquarters for FoodHQ and a convening location for the New Zealand agrifood ecosystem.

Quantifiable outcome

• STAMP teams won both 1st and 2nd place at the IFAMA 2024 Global Student Case Competition in Almería, Spain.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Massey UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMassey University is a founding academic partner of FoodHQ, contributing food science research expertise, hosting the STAMP programme, and co-delivering the Food Technology Scholarship and Food Innovation Youth Summit. The partnership is central to FoodHQ's science-led innovation mission.
• FonterracoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFonterra is a founding partner of FoodHQ, contributing industry expertise to drive food innovation and collaboration across New Zealand's food ecosystem.
• AgResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgResearch is a Crown Research Institute partner within FoodHQ, providing food and fibre research expertise and hosting FoodHQ's physical office (previously The Factory building).
• Plant & Food ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlant & Food Research is a Crown Research Institute partner within FoodHQ, delivering food science research and commercialisation expertise. The institute works on projects including cellular horticulture and genetic technology applications.
• The Riddet InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Riddet Institute, a Centre of Research Excellence at Massey University, is a partner within FoodHQ providing advanced food science and technology research capabilities.
• Cawthron InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Cawthron Institute is a partner within FoodHQ contributing to New Zealand's largest food science and innovation collaboration.
• Melbourne Leadership Insights Tour (evokeAG)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational leadership development experience for STAMP graduates, immersing emerging leaders in Australia's food and fibre sector and including attendance at Australia's premier agrifood innovation conference evokeAG.
• Palmerston North City CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPNCC is a partner in FoodHQ, promoting Palmerston North as a food innovation-friendly city and supporting the Manawatū Regional Food Strategy to establish the region as a food basket of New Zealand.
• Sprout AgritechcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSprout Agritech is New Zealand's leading agrifood tech accelerator and early-stage investor that is a partner within FoodHQ's ecosystem.
• CEDA (Central Economic Development Agency)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEDA connects people, place, and business in Manawatū and co-funds the FoodHQ Food Technology Scholarship for first-year Bachelor of Food Technology (Honours) students at Massey University.
• East China Agricultural Science and Technology CentreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoodHQ signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the East China Agricultural Science and Technology Centre in Kunshan, China on 17 June 2024 to collaborate on developing feasible and functional solutions to address global food demands and continue the relationship between Palmerston North and Kunshan.
• IFAMA (International Food and Agribusiness Management Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFAMA is the global association that runs the annual World Conference and Global Student Case Competition. FoodHQ STAMP participants compete in these events, which expose emerging leaders to global perspectives on food and agribusiness.
• The Good Food InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoodHQ references and promotes The Good Food Institute's state-of-the-industry report series covering plant-based, cultivated meat and seafood, and fermentation sectors.
• The Aotearoa CircleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Aotearoa Circle partnered with PwC to publish the 'Modern Genetic Technology: Applications in Aotearoa Food and Fibre Production' report, which FoodHQ promotes as thought leadership for policymakers.
• NZFSSRC (NZ Food Safety Science & Research Centre)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNZFSSRC hosted a two-day food safety culture workshop led by Frank Yiannas in Auckland (August 2024), an event promoted by FoodHQ to its network.
• New Zealand Food Innovation Network (NZFIN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoodHQ works alongside NZFIN to connect with the national food innovation ecosystem and support food innovators across New Zealand.
• New Zealand Food Waste Champions 12.3 Charitable TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoodHQ promotes the 'Driving Action on Food Waste' report from NZ Food Waste Champions 12.3 Charitable Trust, contributing to advocacy and knowledge sharing on food waste reduction.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• AGMARDT: The Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust — a core financial partner and capability-builder in NZ's agrifood sector. Comparable as a grant-making, thought-leadership, and talent-development actor funding the same ecosystem FoodHQ convenes.
• Plant & Food Research: NZ Crown Research Institute that is both a FoodHQ partner and an adjacent innovation actor in horticultural and food science. Comparable because it operates capability-building research programmes and commercialisation activities within FoodHQ's ecosystem.
• AgResearch: NZ Crown Research Institute and FoodHQ founding partner that previously hosted FoodHQ's physical headquarters. Comparable as a state-backed research and innovation actor in the same food-and-fibre space FoodHQ convenes.

Direct peers

• EIT Food: Europe's leading food innovation partnership, funded by the EU, that convenes research, industry, and policy actors to drive sustainable food systems. Closest structural analogue to FoodHQ: a multi-stakeholder innovation intermediary rather than a single-firm operator.
• Food Innovation Australia (FIAL): Australia's industry-led food innovation cluster aggregator, convening research organisations, corporates, and government. Directly comparable to FoodHQ in its cluster-convening, capability-building, and thought-leadership mission for an Asia-Pacific food sector.
• Food Valley: Dutch agrifood innovation cluster that connects Wageningen UR, corporates, and startups. Operates as a convening and capability-building hub in food innovation — a regional peer to FoodHQ with a similar network-broker model.

Broad incumbents

• CSIRO (Australia's National Science Agency): Australia's national science agency with a major agrifood research portfolio including food innovation, alternative proteins, and precision fermentation. Comparable in convening research, industry, and government on food-system challenges — at far larger scale.
• Wageningen University & Research (Food & Biobased Research): World-leading agrifood research institution whose food innovation activities overlap with FoodHQ's mission. Operates at much larger scale and global reach; relevant as the global benchmark FoodHQ positions itself against in the Asia-Pacific region.

Emerging players

• The Good Food Institute (GFI): Global nonprofit focused on accelerating alternative-protein innovation through research, policy, and industry convening. FoodHQ directly cites GFI's state-of-the-industry reports; comparable as a thought-leadership and ecosystem-builder in the emerging-foods space FoodHQ targets.
• Sprout Agritech: NZ's leading agrifood tech accelerator and early-stage investor; a FoodHQ ecosystem partner. Comparable as a capability-building and startup-enabling platform within NZ's food innovation community, though more commercially focused.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/foodhq

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 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 FoodHQ