An anti-waste technology company

ZEDLAB

Building a stronger food system

ZEDLAB is an anti-waste biotech company. We use science and engineering to give fresh produce more time, so more of what we grow gets sold, shipped, and eaten.

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What we do

The Mission

ZEDLAB transforms natural science and engineering into technology that keeps fresh produce alive for longer, replacing the loss the industry has learned to accept. We close the loop between innovation and nature, so that every harvest is grown to be eaten. But today, far too much of it never is.

1 Billion

A billion meals are thrown away every day, while hundreds of millions go hungry. (WFP, UNEP)

1 Billion

A billion meals are thrown away every day, while hundreds of millions go hungry. (WFP, UNEP)

US$1 trillion

The waste costs the world economy a trillion dollars a year. (UNEP)

US$1 trillion

The waste costs the world economy a trillion dollars a year. (UNEP)

3rd

If food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter on earth, behind only China and the US. (FAO)

3rd

If food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter on earth, behind only China and the US. (FAO)

How We Do It

Natural, food-safe biotech that helps fresh produce hold its quality for longer.

The engineering that carries it into the food system, designed to drop into what already exists.

Why ZEDLAB

Waste does not sit in one discipline. Neither do we.

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Applied biology
The living science of produce. Why fruit ripens, softens, and fails, and how natural, food-safe biology can slow it down.
Materials science
Developing the materials and formats that carry the science into the real world, without changing how the supply chain runs.
Engineering and fabrication
Designing, building, and testing our own work, so an idea becomes something real in weeks, in the places food actually moves, not just on a bench.
Testing and validation
We measure everything. Cooling curves, firmness, shelf life, loss, run under real conditions, so a claim only leaves here once the data backs it.
Systems and integration
Making the technology fit the way food already moves, so nothing we build asks the supply chain to change.
Design and translation
Turning capability into something the industry can pick up and use on the first day.

Applied biology
The living science of produce. Why fruit ripens, softens, and fails, and how natural, food-safe biology can slow it down.
Materials science
Developing the materials and formats that carry the science into the real world, without changing how the supply chain runs.
Engineering and fabrication
Designing, building, and testing our own work, so an idea becomes something real in weeks, in the places food actually moves, not just on a bench.
Testing and validation
We measure everything. Cooling curves, firmness, shelf life, loss, run under real conditions, so a claim only leaves here once the data backs it.
Systems and integration
Making the technology fit the way food already moves, so nothing we build asks the supply chain to change.
Design and translation
Turning capability into something the industry can pick up and use on the first day.

Applied biology
The living science of produce. Why fruit ripens, softens, and fails, and how natural, food-safe biology can slow it down.
Materials science
Developing the materials and formats that carry the science into the real world, without changing how the supply chain runs.
Engineering and fabrication
Designing, building, and testing our own work, so an idea becomes something real in weeks, in the places food actually moves, not just on a bench.
Testing and validation
We measure everything. Cooling curves, firmness, shelf life, loss, run under real conditions, so a claim only leaves here once the data backs it.
Systems and integration
Making the technology fit the way food already moves, so nothing we build asks the supply chain to change.
Design and translation
Turning capability into something the industry can pick up and use on the first day.

Applied biology
The living science of produce. Why fruit ripens, softens, and fails, and how natural, food-safe biology can slow it down.
Materials science
Developing the materials and formats that carry the science into the real world, without changing how the supply chain runs.
Engineering and fabrication
Designing, building, and testing our own work, so an idea becomes something real in weeks, in the places food actually moves, not just on a bench.
Testing and validation
We measure everything. Cooling curves, firmness, shelf life, loss, run under real conditions, so a claim only leaves here once the data backs it.
Systems and integration
Making the technology fit the way food already moves, so nothing we build asks the supply chain to change.
Design and translation
Turning capability into something the industry can pick up and use on the first day.

Narrow road running through symmetrical crop fields, aerial view

Natural biotech and the engineering to deliver it, developed side by side. Built to work within the way the supply chain already runs.

The Company

Our Approach

Our Proof

Our People

Natural biotech and the engineering to deliver it, developed side by side. Built to work within the way the supply chain already runs.

The Company

Our Approach

Our Proof

Our People

Natural biotech and the engineering to deliver it, developed side by side. Built to work within the way the supply chain already runs.

The Company

Our Approach

Our Proof

Our People

Natural biotech and the engineering to deliver it, developed side by side. Built to work within the way the supply chain already runs.

The Company

Our Approach

Our Proof

Our People

About us

An anti-waste technology company for the food we grow

ZEDLAB was founded in Hawke's Bay, by people who grew up around growers, packhouses, and the business of sending fruit to the other side of the world. New Zealand sits further from its customers than almost any other producer, and every extra day on the water is another day for good food to fail.

That distance is not going to change, so the technology has to. We combine natural science with the packaging and engineering that carries it, and we build what we design, because the fastest way to solve a physical problem is to make the thing that solves it.

Read our story

Aligned with New Zealand's goals

We don't need to grow more. We need to lose less.

Doubling export value by 2034

MPI's headline goal depends on getting more high-value produce to distant markets in sellable condition, which is exactly the loss we exist to close.

Doubling export value by 2034

MPI's headline goal depends on getting more high-value produce to distant markets in sellable condition, which is exactly the loss we exist to close.

Higher returns at the farmgate

MPI is driving to lift farmgate returns; every crate that arrives at grade instead of downgraded is money that flows back to the grower.

Higher returns at the farmgate

MPI is driving to lift farmgate returns; every crate that arrives at grade instead of downgraded is money that flows back to the grower.

New technology in growers' hands

MPI wants to accelerate access to new horticultural technology, and we build ours to work inside existing operations so adoption is not a barrier.

New technology in growers' hands

MPI wants to accelerate access to new horticultural technology, and we build ours to work inside existing operations so adoption is not a barrier.

Lower emissions from food that is never eaten

Wasted produce carries the full carbon cost of growing, cooling, and shipping it, so cutting loss cuts emissions across the food and fibre sector.

Lower emissions from food that is never eaten

Wasted produce carries the full carbon cost of growing, cooling, and shipping it, so cutting loss cuts emissions across the food and fibre sector.

Get in touch

If you grow, pack, ship, or invest in fresh produce, we would like to talk.

Get in touch

If you grow, pack, ship, or invest in fresh produce, we would like to talk.

Get in touch

If you grow, pack, ship, or invest in fresh produce, we would like to talk.

Get in touch

Main Pages

Main Pages

Main Pages

Main Pages

Building a stronger food system

ZEDLAB transforms natural science and engineering into technology that keeps fresh produce alive for longer, replacing the loss the industry has learned to accept. We close the loop between innovation and nature, so that every harvest is grown to be eaten. But today, far too much of it never is.

Waste does not sit in one discipline. Neither do we.

Applied biology

Materials science

Engineering and fabrication

Testing and validation

Systems and integration

Design and translation

Applied biology

Materials science

Engineering and fabrication

Testing and validation

Systems and integration

Design and translation

Applied biology

Materials science

Engineering and fabrication

Testing and validation

Systems and integration

Design and translation

Applied biology

Materials science

Engineering and fabrication

Testing and validation

Systems and integration

Design and translation

Our Approach

Our Proof

Our People

Our Approach

Our Proof

Our People

Our Approach

Our Proof

Our People

Our Approach

Our Proof

Our People

An anti-waste technology company for the food we grow

We don't need to grow more. We need to lose less.

If you grow, pack, ship, or invest in fresh produce, we would like to talk.

If you grow, pack, ship, or invest in fresh produce, we would like to talk.

If you grow, pack, ship, or invest in fresh produce, we would like to talk.

If you grow, pack, ship, or invest in fresh produce, we would like to talk.