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There's never a dull moment in the dynamic Australasian packaging industry, with M&A activity, leadership changes, and product innovation keeping our news desk busy all year long.

From Orora's booming growth over the financial year, to the Australian Government's pledge to make all packaging in the country reusable, compostable or recyclable by 2025, to needles in strawberries and plastic bags out of supermarkets, to the first ever Print21 + PKN LIVE joint event, 2018 was a rollercoaster of a year for the packaging industry... and PKN was there to cover all the news highlights.

See our review of the year that was in the latest issue of PKN magazine.

Food & Drink Business

Australian food processors are facing a growing commercial squeeze as major retail and foodservice customers want stronger environmental credentials from suppliers, while continuing to push hard on price. New modelling from the Australian Meat Processor Corporation (AMPC) shows Australia’s red meat processing sector could achieve net zero emissions by 2045 without sacrificing profitability.

Australian investment firm, Tundra Capital, has led a $2.4 million Series A raise for deep-tech company, N&E Innovations. The Singaporean company turns discarded food waste into an edible antimicrobial that can help fresh produce last up to four times longer.

Circana retail scan data shows sales of bottles of shiraz under $10, fell 8.3 per cent over the past year, but sales above $35 grew 6.9 per cent. According to the data, shiraz accounts for two in every five dollars spent on bottled red wine in Australia, which covers the year to 4 October 2026.