- Incubate and scale independent profitable businesses
- Pilot global technologies in NZ conditions
- Attract external founders, capital, and IP to Wānaka
Welcome to Criffel Futures
Criffel Futures is an innovation and venture-building entity, focused on connecting people, science and ideas to shape the health of our future — in Wānaka and across Aotearoa New Zealand.
We work at the intersection of agriculture, food and health — helping translate innovation into pathways that lift the value and global contribution of New Zealand’s primary sector.
Our purpose
Criffel Futures exists to lift the value, resilience and wellbeing of New Zealand’s agri sector by connecting people, science and markets to create joined-up solutions that strengthen regional economies, improve environmental outcomes and support global food and nutritional security.
Place-based and globally connected
We bring people and knowledge together to explore what’s possible and create solutions that work in the real world.
What we do
Criffel Futures works across three interconnected domains shaping the future of agrifood:
Venture Creation & Commercialisation
Build a structured pipeline to:
Global Connectivity & Partnerships
Position Wānaka and Criffel Futures as a global landing pad by:
- Create global alliances and partnerships for local benefit
- Creating export and market-entry pathways for NZ innovation
- Connecting local opportunities to global capital and customers
Leadership, Talent & Community
Develop the next generation of leaders by:
- Delivering programmes to build business capability
- Creating pathways for local talent
- Attracting global expertise while retaining local value
How Criffel Futures Works
Criffel Futures operates through four core functions that support impact across all our focus areas:
Connection
Linking people, science, markets and opportunities — locally, nationally and internationally.
Opportunity
Helping New Zealand lift value, capability and innovation across its agrifood system. We complement — not duplicate — the work of accelerators, research organisations, councils and industry bodies.
Integration
Bringing together biodiversity, carbon, water, data, nutrition and land-use insights into joined-up solutions that work in practice.
Clarity
Simplifying complexity for decision-makers and partners, translating science and market signals into practical, real-world pathways.
Our strength lies in connection, knowledge-sharing and turning complexity into practical action.
Connect with us
Criffel Futures welcomes conversations with farmers, researchers, innovators, investors, government partners and community members shaping the future of land, food and environmental wellbeing.
Mandy Bell
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Latest news
Shaping the health of our future
Published in The Journal, Summer 2025
New Zealand’s food story has long been one of purity, abundance and global export success, but the world is turning a page. Mandy Bell discusses how a new paradigm is emerging – food as medicine, farming as health care. Nations that integrate agriculture with human wellbeing are leading the future.
Farming the Next 50 Years
Published in Countrywide Magazine, Summer 2025
New Zealand’s food story has been built on volume and purity. But global markets are shifting fast. To stay competitive, farmers must link stock and soil with health, science, and environmental care.