Three Queensland First Nations native food businesses have received support from the Queensland Government’s Indigenous Native Food Program to develop and expand their products in the $50 million native food market.
The program helps Indigenous-owned businesses commercialise new food products with native ingredients. The businesses will receive support in various areas such as formulation development, packaging selection, and consumer assessment.
The program aims to increase the production of native food products by First Nations peoples, as currently less than 2% of such products are produced by them. Its an initiative through a collaboration between the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Department of Tourism, Innovation, and Sport.
The support provided includes support from researchers including consumer-led formulation development, process development and practical scale-up, packaging selection, end product shelf-life assessment and validation, and consumer and sensory assessment.
The Queensland Government says the businesses also have the opportunity to connect with raw material and equipment suppliers, contract manufacturers, marketers and distributors.
