Food waste isn’t just what ends up in our kitchen bins, it starts long before that. In orchards and packhouses across Aotearoa, near-perfect fruit is often rejected, not because it’s damaged, but because it ripens too quickly to survive storage, transit, or time on the retail shelf. That everyday loss sparked a simple question for founders Evie Tan and Zac Taylor: What if packaging could do more than just identify fruit? What if it could help it stay fresher, naturally?

That question became the foundation of ZEDLAB, a Hawke’s Bay–based sustainable innovation lab turning science into practical, nature-based packaging technologies. They are one of 18 exciting ventures taking part in the Sprout Accelerator Spring25 Cohort.

Evie brings a background in Biomedical and Food Science, with more than a decade of experience in R&D, product development, and quality systems. Zac, a mechanical engineer, transforms lab concepts into manufacturable products through creative design and prototyping. Together, they blend deep science, design thinking, and purpose to develop solutions that make fresh food last longer and waste less.

Their first innovation reimagines the everyday fruit label as an active freshness technology. The Active Freshness Fruit Label’s natural coating has a dual function of absorbing and inhibiting ethylene, the plant hormone that drives ripening. By slowing this process, it helps maintain firmness and extend shelf life through storage, transport, and retail. Early trials are showing strong potential with their label maintaining freshness for up to 30% longer, depending on the fruit.

For the team, the timing couldn’t be better. From July 2028, plastic-based fruit stickers will be phased out under new regulations. ZEDLAB’s solution, the Active Freshness Fruit Label, is designed to align with these upcoming standards, while also being home-compostable, food-safe, and affordable to manufacture right here in Aotearoa.

For many growers and distributors, this innovation could be more than just a sustainability upgrade; it’s a commercial unlock, with longer shelf life meaning more value recovered and less waste across the supply chain. Along the way, Evie and Zac discovered another opportunity, despite New Zealand’s rich resources, most fruit labels are still imported, and many “compostable” versions aren’t truly home-compostable. ZEDLAB aims to change that by building local manufacturing capacity and a proudly Kiwi supply chain that keeps value and jobs onshore.

Today, the team is advancing through validation trials, refining formulations, securing IP, and working with packhouses ahead of the next harvest season. Through the Sprout Accelerator, they’re building investor readiness and a clear pathway for commercial rollout in 2026.

For Evie and Zac, success isn’t just about one product. It’s about proving that science, design, and sustainability can come together to create real impact, helping Aotearoa lead the way in smart, sustainable packaging for the world.

“We want to see fruit last longer, waste less, and know it’s thanks to Kiwi innovation,” says Evie & Zac. “That’s what ZEDLAB is here for, to turn good science into better systems for people and the planet.”