Cream and the crops: Dairy innovation and kiwi classic win big at New Zealand Food Awards
Leading the way in dairy innovation, Fonterra’s revolutionary Easy Bakery Cream has been crowned Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University’s Supreme Award winner at the 2025 New Zealand Food Awards.
Aotearoa New Zealand’s leading food and beverage producers gathered at Palmerston North’s Central Energy Trust Arena last night, to celebrate the excellence and innovation driving New Zealand’s vibrant food industry. A standout event on the culinary calendar, the gala brings together trailblazers and changemakers from every corner of the sector to connect, honour outstanding achievements and recognise those shaping the future of food in Aotearoa.
Massey University Vice-Chancellor Professor Jan Thomas opened the evening by emphasising how the awards have evolved over time to reflect the maturing of Aotearoa New Zealand’s dynamic food and beverage sector.
“The New Zealand Food Awards celebrate home-grown expertise while also expanding horizons to recognise innovation that reaches global markets and creates new export opportunities, all while delivering real value to a diverse community of producers and creators.
“The problems that our finalists and winners have solved to bring their food and beverage products to both the domestic and export markets, are huge. We celebrate their innovation and resolute focus on the flavours, textures and experiences their customers are looking for.”
In addition to the supreme title, Fonterra’s Easy Bakery Cream won the Ingredient/Food Service Award sponsored by Massey University. The UHT (ultra-high temperature) cream has been developed specifically for the needs of bakeries and the foodservice sector, in particular the rapidly growing mid-tier segment of China’s UHT cream market.
The Fonterra team behind the winning product which developed the formula, was also recognised and rewarded, winning the title of FoodHQ’s Food Technologist/Developer of the Year.
Fonterra cream Products Manager, Herman Bhatt said the product’s initial development began over nine years ago, but the science breakthrough that delivered the final product was rapid.
“It happened very quickly. We launched within six months from the final concept to commercialisation.”
Principal Research Engineer Maria Ferrua gave credit to the wider Fonterra team involved in developing and launching the cream.
“You can’t begin to imagine how many were involved - from people working in labs, people testing the cream, analysing its composition, pilot plant development, from scalability to manufacturing, and then sales and marketing.”
Judging Convenor Nikki Middleditch says Fonterra’s win celebrates not only one product, but the scientific excellence and creativity that define New Zealand’s food sector.
“Achieving a full-dairy whipping cream at just 30 per cent fat, without losing any of the flavour, structure, or functionality professional bakers demand, is a remarkable scientific feat. Reducing fat in cream while maintaining identical whipping performance is notoriously difficult, yet this team has done it, using 100 per cent New Zealand pasture-fed milk and a patented formulation that has already captured international attention.
“Although this product is made exclusively for export, it’s a powerful example of New Zealand’s dairy ingenuity at its finest — proof that our food innovation can hold its own on the world stage.”
Mrs Middleditch says all of this year’s winners represent the incredible range and depth of innovation in New Zealand’s food industry.
“Each product solved a genuine technical challenge, from Chantal Organic's Choc Hazelnut Corn Puffs where their specially formulated hazelnut butter was engineered to coat evenly, to Elta Ego's Pina Colada which is an alcohol-free and adaptogenic beverage in one. We also had winemakers Giesen applying spinning cone technology to produce alcohol-free wine, Otis enhancing their oat milk with inulin for added nutrition and mouthfeel and Firebird achieving a high-protein café brew with all the flavour, but without the sugar and bitterness.”
Chair of the New Zealand Food Awards Governance Board and Massey University College of Sciences Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Ray Geor says the awards play an integral role in the food and beverage industry with the awards evening bringing the sector together to meet, connect and celebrate the best products New Zealand has to offer, as well as Massey's key role in the food landscape.
“Together, these products remind us that behind every great food innovation is food science and technology. Our Supreme Winner this year takes that principle to a new level and as the country’s leading university in food technology, we are delighted to recognise it at the Food Awards. This winner and in fact all winning products showcase the scientific excellence and creativity that underpin New Zealand’s thriving food sector.”
Beloved kiwi icon Harraways Rolled Oats took home the Product Lifetime Achievement Award, a tribute to its enduring place in New Zealand’s kitchens and hearts. Sponsored by AsureQuality, the award was introduced in 2019, and recognises iconic New Zealand products that have stood the test of time.
Harraways Head of Marketing and Product Innovation Peter Cox says the team is thrilled to receive this prestigious award and says the win is down to the dedicated, enduring and high-quality milling and operations team which has produced a true quality, traditionally kilned and milled oat product for kiwi breakfast tables since 1867.
“This is also a win for our valued farming partners in Otago and Southland. With trusted supply partnerships going back generations, these farmers harvest the finest quality, New Zealand grown oats that are at the core of this enduring, much-loved breakfast cereal. From paddock to the supermarket shelf – this is truly a team effort and the wider Harraways Oats team is hugely proud to have achieved this accolade.”
Another standout winner was Aoraki Salmon, winning both the Chilled/Frozen Award for its Zesty Salmon Spread - Yuzu & NZ Lemonand the Primary Sector Award for its Blackcurrant with Kamahi Honey – Cold Smoked Salmon. Aoraki Salmon is the largest employer in the Mackenzie district and breeds, farms, cures and creates their own freshwater salmon for all its products.
“Aoraki Salmon exemplifies technical mastery paired with true innovation. Its Zesty Salmon Spread with Yuzu & Lemon is a brilliant example of circular thinking in food production - transforming what might once have been waste into a premium, flavour-forward product. Achieving a natural six-week chilled shelf life while balancing the brightness of yuzu and lemon against the richness of smoked salmon is no small feat,” Mrs Middleditch explains.
“Equally remarkable is Aoraki Salmon’s Blackcurrant with Kamahi Honey – Cold Smoked Salmon, which pushes the boundaries of what’s possible in cold-smoked seafood. Delivering a stable, vibrant and safe product without any heat treatment required a deep understanding of food chemistry — from managing anthocyanin stability and pH to fine-tuning vitamin C levels for colour and flavour integrity. The result is elegant, intriguing and globally unique — a true first in its category.
“Together, these two award-winning products demonstrate Aoraki’s rare combination of scientific precision, creativity and respect for both their raw material and the environment. They are an outstanding example of New Zealand food innovation at its best.”
The New Zealand Food Awards programme is made possible with the support of Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University which owns and operates the awards, alongside strategic partners Woolworths, Cuisine Magazine, New Zealand Food Safety, FoodHQ, New Zealand Food Innovation Network, AsureQuality, Palmerston North City Council, Alpha Group Ltd, and FMCG Business.
2025 winners
Artisan Award – Sponsored by Cuisine Magazine
The Kutai Guy – Smoked Mussels Natural
Beverage Award – Sponsored by Massey University
Elta Ego - Pina Colada – Alcohol-Free Adaptogenic Cocktail
Otis Oat Milk - High Fibre + Low Fat
Chilled/Frozen Award – Sponsored by Woolworths
Aoraki - Zesty Salmon Spread - Yuzu & NZ Lemon
Health & Wellbeing Award – Sponsored by Alpha Group Ltd
Firebird - Protein Coffee – Original
Ingredient/Food Service Award – Sponsored by Massey University
Fonterra - Easy Bakery Cream
Pantry Award – Sponsored by Woolworths
Chantal Organics - Organic Choc Hazelnut Corn Puffs
Primary Product Sector Award – New Zealand Food Safety
Aoraki - Blackcurrant with Kamahi Honey – Cold Smoked Salmon
Product Lifetime Achievement Award – AsureQuality
Harraways - Rolled Oats
Technical Innovation Award – NZ Food Innovation Network
Giesen 0% - New Zealand Chardonnay
Emerging Talent: Food Science and Technology – Sponsored by Palmerston North City Council
Gabrielle Lobo - New Zealand Food Innovation Network
Food Technologist/Developer of the Year Award – Sponsored by FoodHQ
Hemang Bhatt, Leena Kishor and Maria Ferrua - Fonterra
Supreme Award – Sponsored by Massey University
Fonterra - Easy Bakery Cream
