The Hive Awards 2025, run by PKN's stablemate Food & Drink Business, kicked off with a double win in the Gamechanger category, recognising two companies tackling sustainability challenges across the food and packaging supply chain, Gina’s Table and TomKat Koolpak.
The joint winners set the tone for the rest of the day. Actions speak louder than words – and industry leaders like these two recipients are throwing their weight behind both.
Gina’s Table: Value-added food waste solution
Bundaberg-based Gina's Table has earned the Gamechanger Award at the Hive Awards 2025 for its leadership in reducing food waste through value-added processing, diverting more than 252 tonnes of produce from landfill to date.
From surplus strawberries to international snacks, Gina’s Table is leading the way when it comes to addressing food waste. The company is an offshoot of Bundaberg’s SSS Strawberries that has created a high-impact model to transforms second-grade fruit, once deemed unmarketable, into nutritious, value-added products like freeze-dried powders, crumbles, and snacks.
Since launching, Gina’s Table has diverted over 250 tonnes of produce from landfill and is scaling rapidly. Its state-of-the-art 4000 square metre freeze-drying facility is equipped with GEA technology that was developed for NASA.
The project not only tackles food loss but provides year-round employment to seasonal farm workers and new revenue streams for farmers. In collaboration with End Food Waste Australia and the Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Gina’s Table is helping growers across multiple regions rethink what’s possible with rejected fruit.
The initiative now includes a growing export presence in the US and Vietnam and aims to expand into new regions with multiple facilities. Through innovation, collaboration and resourcefulness, Gina’s Table is proving that food waste can be a starting point for industry transformation, not just a challenge to be managed.
TomKat Koolpak: EPS alternative for cold chain
KoolPak by TomKat Global Solutions received the 2025 Gamechanger Award for its breakthrough in sustainable cold chain logistics, offering a reusable and recyclable alternative to environmentally damaging expanded polystyrene (EPS).
Developed with five patent families, KoolPak features a modular, collapsible design and includes NFC-enabled temperature and location tracking, empowering users to monitor shipments without opening them.
With over 30 reuses per unit, KoolPak delivers significant cost savings and reduces emissions by 65 per cent compared to EPS. The packaging’s flat-pack design cuts freight and storage costs while enhancing traceability and food safety.
Successful pilot programs across seafood, horticulture, and agriculture such as with Charoen Pokphand Foods in Thailand have demonstrated its versatility and effectiveness.
Additionally, initiatives like KoolPak libraries on Christmas Island are already diverting hundreds of wheelie bins of EPS from landfill annually. As governments phase out EPS and the world demands more circular solutions, KoolPak presents a scalable, tech-enhanced path forward, aligning environmental goals with real-world logistics needs.
