Future Food Systems

Name

Future Food Systems

Legal name

Future Food Systems Ltd

Website

https://futurefoodsystems.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agrifood Research and Development

NAICS

Other Food Crops Grown Under Cover (111419)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (BPAGAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) / Vertical Farming (Indoor LED Farms) (AFAGAHAJ)

Keywords

• Agrifood research
• Protected cropping
• Food supply chain
• Sustainable food systems
• Agricultural biotechnology

Headquarters

HQ city

Kensington

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Federal CRC funding: Future Food Systems is a federally funded Not-for-Profit organisation established in 2019. The CRC receives government funding to lead collaborations with Australian universities, the agrifood sector, and government bodies to deliver world-leading research translated into industry-ready innovations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Future Food Systems is a federally funded Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) that collaborates with Australian universities, industry partners, and government bodies to deliver applied research in sustainable food systems. It operates 112 R&D projects covering protected cropping, gene-editing for disease-resistant crops, IoT-enabled smart sensing, supply chain optimization, robotics and automation, food metabolomics, and renewable energy integration in horticulture. The organization runs innovation precincts and living labs (e.g., Coffs Agrifood Living Lab, Food Innovation Precinct WA) and supports 68 industry PhDs.

Product overview

Future Food Systems is a federally-funded Cooperative Research Centre established in 2019 that operates research programs in partnership with 129 industry partners, universities, and government bodies. The organization delivers R&D across 112 projects with $158m in investment, supporting 68 industry PhDs. Its portfolio includes the FFS Connect Plus partner platform, the annual For Food's Sake summit series, and regional initiatives like the Coffs Agrifood Living Lab. Research facilities include the SIFT Centre (open-access food technology facility), National Vegetable Protected Cropping Centre, and the planned Agri-Tech Hub. Core research programs focus on protected cropping, supply chain optimization, genomics, robotics automation, and sustainable food technologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FFS Connect: A platform for partners and stakeholders to access resources, collaborate, and engage with Future Food Systems research initiatives.
• For Food's Sake

Products and services

• FFS Connect Plus A partner portal and collaboration platform providing stakeholders access to research resources, networking opportunities, and FFS program information.
• For Food's Sake Annual Summit Annual summit series bringing together industry, research and government to discuss agrifood innovation, collaboration and the future of food systems.
• Coffs Agrifood Living Lab (CALL) Regional innovation platform in partnership with City of Coffs Harbour and QUT that facilitates collaboration among industry, government, academia and community stakeholders to drive agrifood sector development.
• Food Metabolomics Library Four-year $1.6m project creating unique chemical fingerprinting methods for Western Australia's premium produce, connecting nutritional composition with health outcomes through NMR-based analysis.
• Sustainable Innovative Food Technologies (SIFT) Centre Open-access facility providing food companies with advanced infrastructure to research, trial, and scale new products.
• National Vegetable Protected Cropping Centre (NVPCC) State-of-the-art $7m experimental greenhouse facility at Western Sydney University's Hawkesbury campus used for advanced protected cropping research.
• WSU Agri-Tech Hub Planned six-hectare high-tech commercial, teaching and research greenhouse complex at Western Sydney University ($50m project, with $16.7m Federal Labor commitment), designed to create new jobs and opportunities for high-tech horticulture.
• ClearVue Solar Glass Greenhouse World's first clear solar glass greenhouse at Murdoch University, constructed by ClearVue Technologies using transparent solar photovoltaic glazing panels for plant breeding research.

Quantifiable outcome

• 112 R&D projects completed or underway
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability9 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Qatar UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 September 2021Qatar University, based in Doha, joined the CRC as a participant focusing on food security challenges shared with Australia. Leading research institution ranked second among Arab universities. Collaborates with WSU on sustainable fertigation technology for protected cropping in harsh environmental conditions.
• Murdoch UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 September 2021Murdoch University hosts the Australian National Phenome Centre (ANPC) and Food Futures Institute. Partners on food metabolomics library project and hosts the world-first ClearVue solar glass greenhouse at its grains research precinct.
• Bruker BioSpin GmbHcoreTechnology or Integration · 30 September 2021Global scientific equipment manufacturer providing NMR FoodScreener system and IVDr Clinical NMR Research Platform for food metabolomics library project.
• ClearVue TechnologiescoreTechnology or Integration · 20 April 2021Smart building materials company that constructed the world's first clear solar glass greenhouse at Murdoch University using transparent solar photovoltaic glazing panels.
• UNSW SydneycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNSW Sydney is a key research partner leading supply chain optimization, logistics research, and renewable energy projects. Hosts Future Food Systems headquarters at UNSW Sydney campus. Researchers from Particle and Catalysis Research Group work on CO2 capture and hydrogen peroxide generation projects.
• Queensland University of Technology (QUT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerQUT leads the 'Genetics for Next Generation Orchards' $41m Hort Innovation program and the Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy. Robotics experts from QUT's Centre for Robotics develop automation solutions for protected cropping and horticulture including pollination robots.
• Western Sydney University (WSU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWSU hosts the National Vegetable Protected Cropping Centre (NVPCC) and Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment. Leading research in plant physiology, genomics, protected cropping, and climate-smart agriculture. Partnership with Qatar University on fertigation research.
• University of New England (UNE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNE contributes expertise in crop science, plant physiology, and agricultural research. PhD candidates and researchers work on heat tolerance, sugarcane yield prediction, and protected cropping research.
• Australian National University (ANU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerANU researchers including Professor Owen K. Atkin contribute to photosystem II heat tolerance research, providing expertise in photosynthesis and crop physiology.
• The University of SydneycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Sydney contributes to heat tolerance research through Professor Richard Trethowan, supporting genomic and breeding approaches for crop improvement.
• City of Coffs HarbourcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity of Coffs Harbour is a key partner in the Coffs Agrifood Living Lab (CALL), collaborating on regional agrifood innovation and economic development initiatives.
• Protected Cropping AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry association partner for protected cropping research, collaborating on national mapping of protected cropping structures and industry development.
• NSW Local Land ServicesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partner collaborating on national protected cropping mapping project, providing regional land services data for NSW regions.
• Hort InnovationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHort Innovation is a key industry partner funding the $41m 'Genetics for Next Generation Orchards' program and berry sector automation initiatives.
• P'Petual HoldingscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSME commercial greenhouse operator and industry partner collaborating on robotic pollination automation. Company operates 12-hectare facility with six greenhouses, planning expansion to 20 hectares.
• Superior Production PTY LTDcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorld-leading mandarin variety developer with unique mutant germplasm collection (80,000 in Australia, 800,000 in USA). Collaborates on gene-editing for disease-resistant and dwarfing citrus rootstocks.
• Sanitarium Health Food CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAll-Australian health food manufacturer and industry partner working on sustainable packaging, plant-based product optimization, barista milk formulation, and new protein development research.
• ARM HubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrisbane-based ARM Hub collaborating on robotics and automation technology adoption for North Queensland banana growers and horticulture sector.
• WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partner linking industry with the Food Innovation Precinct WA, identifying priority farming systems and agricultural products for metabolomics analysis.
• GreenbiominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry partner collaborating on high-tech vertical farm module development for functional foods and medicinal products.
• Edith Cowan University (ECU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner in ClearVue solar glass greenhouse project, contributing to plant breeding technology development.
• Shire of MurrayminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal government partner in Western Australia collaborating on Food Innovation Precinct WA development and agri-food hub initiatives.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• CSIRO: Australia's national science agency, running large-scale applied research across agriculture, food, and sustainability with government and industry co-funding. Comparable to FFS as a publicly funded Australian applied-research body, though materially larger in scope, headcount, and infrastructure.
• Hort Innovation: Australia's horticulture Research and Development Corporation, funding and coordinating industry R&D including the $41m 'Genetics for Next Generation Orchards' program with FFS partners. Direct counterparty and partial comparable as Australia's sector-specific agrifood R&D funding body.
• Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada: Canadian federal department combining science, research, and innovation for the agrifood sector. Analogous to FFS as a government-funded research provider partnering with universities and industry to translate science into commercial outcomes.
• USDA Agricultural Research Service: The US Department of Agriculture's in-house research agency operating extensive programs in crop production, food safety, and sustainable agriculture. Comparable large-scale publicly funded agrifood research mandate, but at substantially larger scale and budget.

Direct peers

• INRAE: France's national research institute for agriculture, food, and environment, formed from INRA and IRSTEA. Comparable scale of publicly funded agrifood research programs spanning protected cropping, food quality, and supply chain science.
• AgResearch: New Zealand Crown Research Institute focused on pastoral, crop, and food sciences with industry and government funding. Comparable applied agricultural research mandate, partner-funded model, and commercialization pathway.
• Plant & Food Research: New Zealand Crown Research Institute conducting plant-based and food research across horticulture, genomics, and sustainable cropping. Highly comparable applied-research structure, partner network, and pre-commercial science translation model.
• Rothamsted Research: UK-based applied agricultural research institute focused on crop science, agronomy, and sustainable farming systems. Comparable model of industry- and government-funded applied agronomic research with strong university affiliations.
• Wageningen University & Research: World-leading agrifood research organization combining Wageningen University and applied research institutes focused on sustainable food systems, protected cropping, and food technology. Most globally analogous operating model to FFS at much larger international scale.
• Food Agility CRC: Former Australian CRC focused on digital innovation across the agrifood value chain, partnering with universities, industry and government. Closest prior Australian CRC comparable to FFS in structure, funding model, and collaboration scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ffscrc
• Facebookfacebook.com/futurefoodsystems
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/future-food-systems
• Instagraminstagram.com/futurefoodsystems
• Xx.com/futurefoodcrc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Future Food Systems