Innovative food producers Leisa and Tony Sams from Hum Honey in Queensland and Michelle Edwards from DaisyYam Seasoning in Victoria have started the Farmers2Founders Ideas Program this month. They are looking forward to taking their ideas and businesses to the next level with the expertise of Farmers2Founders.
Jennifer Medway, Senior Manager Rural Futures, AgriFutures Australia explained that AgriFutures’ partnership with Farmers2Founders aims to support primary producer-led innovation and develop new products and markets that would otherwise be unexplored.
“It gives people access to business advice and the tools and technologies to develop their entrepreneurial capacity. AgriFutures Australia working with Farmers2Founders means producers in levied and emerging industries have the chance to step outside their everyday businesses and work towards commercialising new products, ideas and technology,” said Ms Medway.
As well as the Ideas Program, AgriFutures Australia provides sponsorship for producers in levied or emerging industries who want to participate in the Farmers2Founders Bootcamp Accelerator and applications are now open for businesses with an existing product ready for growth.
AgriFutures Australia supports two primary producers with unique business ideas
Hum Honey are organic, pure, raw honey producers based on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Founders Tony and Leisa Sams applied for the Farmers2Founders Ideas Program with the objective of developing a food technology that can convert pure liquid honey to a unique format suitable for broad industry application.
“AgriFutures is always looking for new opportunities and approaches that will help our rural industries become more productive and profitable. Hum Honey’s innovative idea for this new food technology excited us because it is an innovative approach, has the potential to scale and we can see alignment with the AgriFutures Honey Bee & Pollination Program’s objectives to support honey bee industry development,” said Ms Medway.
Through its Emerging Industries Program, AgriFutures seeks to identify and support new rural industries, including Indigenous crops, that have the potential to make a valuable economic or social contribution to Australia.
In her application to the Farmers2Founders Ideas Program, Michelle Edwards outlined her project that is underway to utilise the Australian Indigenous plant Myrnong (commonly known as Yam Daisy) in combination with food fermentation to produce a new food product with health benefits. With sponsorship from AgriFutures Australia to participate in the project, DaisyYam Seasoning has the chance to scale up from a pilot project with support from food tech and business experts.
Hum Honey seeks food tech to bring a unique product to life
Mrs Leisa Sams, co-founder of Hum Honey said, “We wanted to apply for the Ideas Program to help us find the expertise we need to bring to life a new food technology that can convert pure liquid honey into a format suitable for broad industry application. We are also looking for support with understanding our market and how distribution and networks can work on a large scale. We want to strengthen our business, diversify and move forward.