Collaboration powers industry success

In a panel discussion, Dr Jeremy Hill, Chief Science and Technology Officer, Fonterra, and James Petrie, Chief Executive Officer, Nourish Ingredients, reflected on the recent announcement that the two companies would work together to accelerate the development of dairy products with innovative fats.

Initially, the collaboration will focus on product innovation and explore dairy applications using the Nourish Ingredients product Creamilux.

Dr Hill reflected on the importance of complementary relationships.

“Startups provide the agility, focus, and the ‘can do’ and ‘keep doing’ attitude that can be difficult in the corporate environment. Corporates can provide capability, scale and reach for a partnership,” Dr Hill said.

Clusters can be vitally important for small- to medium-sized businesses, that represent more than 95% of Australia’s F&B industry.

Food and Agribusiness Network (FAN) CEO Ms Nicole McNaughton said clusters allowed for shared experiences and growth.

“Clusters are conduits for collaboration, providing a supportive environment where small businesses can connect and grow,” said Ms McNaughton.

“Together, a rising tide floats all boats. By providing an ecosystem we normalise the journey that businesses go through by sharing pain points and insights.”

Ms Naughton joined a panel with Jacqueline Wilson-Smith, FaBA Industry Steering Committee and Kym Cooper, Co-Founder, East Forged, to discuss the benefits of clusters, as well as working together to access MakerSpaces and other research facilities.

“We want to accelerate our R&D projects and FaBA is helping us to do that faster and more efficiently. It’s given our investors a great deal of confidence,” Kym Cooper said.