FAQ  – Attending

The 2026 BiteBack Awards will be held at the Scientia Building, UNSW, Sydney on Thursday, 21 May 2026 5pm-8pm.

Location on Google maps here.

The 2026 Foodpreneurs Festival will be held at the Scientia Building, UNSW, Sydney on Friday, 22 May 2026. Registration opens 8:30AM. The Festival closes at 6:00PM.

Location on Google maps here.

Yes. Paid parking is available at UNSW Sydney. For full maps and parking details, please refer to UNSW parking information and maps.

Recommended parking options:
• Botany Street Carpark (Gate 11) – closest carpark to the venue with lift access
• Barker Street Carpark (Gate 14) – alternative parking option

Important:
• Payment for parking at UNSW requires the CellOPark app
• We recommend downloading the app before arriving on campus. Download the CellOPark app here.

Public transport is also recommended:
• Take the L2 Randwick Light Rail
• Get off at the UNSW High Street stop
• The Scientia Building is a short walk from the station

The 2026 BiteBack Awards will be held on Thursday, 21 May 2026, from 5pm to 8pm at the Scientia Building, UNSW, Sydney.

The 2026 Foodpreneurs Festival will start with registration at 8:30am on Friday, 22 May 2026 at the Scientia Building, UNSW, Sydney. Programming runs throughout the day, including workshops, talks, and networking until 6:00pm.

At 4pm is the CPG Investor Hub pitching event (pitching is by application and applications have now closed). Being in the room is invaluable. Where else do you hear real brand owners open up their business models — pricing rationale, margin management, promotional plans, brand positioning, retailer relationships — in a room full of people who genuinely want to see them succeed? It’s refreshing. It’s revealing. And for anyone serious about CPG, it’s the ultimate benchmarking opportunity.

You must have a ticket to attend either the BiteBack Awards or Foodpreneurs Festival or both. Once you have a ticket for Foodpreneurs Festival, you can apply to pitch at the Pitch Hub (applications have closed for 2026), apply for investment at CPG Investor Hub (applications have closed for 2026), broaden your network at Collaboration Corner, showcase your product on Stickybeak Station and be inspired by what you hear from the speakers in the expert-led workshops or on the Dream Lab. You don’t need a ticket to the Awards to submit an entry but you do need a ticket to attend the awards ceremony.

Foodpreneurs Festival is the only one of its kind in Asia-Pacific. It is a day where CPG food, drink and pet food brand owners have the opportunity to pitch to a range of buyers from some of the biggest and specialist stockists around Australia and beyond and/or CPG specific investors; get direct feedback from our ‘Tasting Panel’ experts on whether your product works at scale or not; showcase your great product on ‘Stickybeak Station’; rub shoulders with the whole industry at ‘Collaboration Corner’; plus loads more. Foodpreneurs Festival is only held once a year and it is THE event every CPG food, drink and pet food brand owner should do their darndest not to miss. Once you’ve got a ticket, you can apply to pitch to our stockists and CPG investors. Terms and Conditions apply.

The 2026 BiteBack Awards celebrate bold, innovative brands that are redefining the CPG food, drink and pet food industry. In a retail landscape where supermarket private labels dominate – threatening the survival of challenger brands, stifling innovation, and limiting consumer choice – it’s harder than ever for challenger brands to compete. And we’re changing that! To learn more click here.

And just a reminder that you don’t have to be attending the Foodpreneurs Festival to purchase a ticket for the BiteBack Awards (although you’ll get priceless sales and promotional opportunities for your brand if you do 😉).

Goodness no! Our retail and media partners, not to mention other brand owners and Festival partners and sponsors, want to know about products from all over the place. We have brand owners travelling from all across Australia, New Zealand and Asia to showcase their products. Buyers are also coming to buy for some of the biggest and specialist retailers from around Australia, USA, Canada, Europe and UK and representing a range of major retailers and department store brands for foodpreneurs to pitch to (by prior application). That’s why we created this unique sales + promotion opportunity, to get more eyeballs on more emerging and challenger brands!

Simply head to the Registration Desk and show your ticket (digital or printed). Our friendly Foodpreneurs Festival team will be there to welcome you and get you sorted.

Registration and the Festival Fairground opens at 8.30am. The registration desk will be open from 8.30am-4pm. As this is a one-day event only, we suggest you make the most of everything on offer by getting there early. Talks begin at 9am. The full schedule will be announced closer to the event date.

Yes. The John Niland Scientia Building at UNSW Sydney is accessible, and Foodpreneurs Festival is committed to creating an inclusive experience for all attendees.

Accessibility information, including venue access details, parking, mobility access and facilities, can be found here.

Of course, children under 15 are free and babies and prams are welcome too. Please note ‘Stickybeak Station’, ‘Pitch Hub’ and the ‘CPG Investor Hub’ are all child-free zones.

Yes. The quickest way to get through registration and start soaking up all that is on offer at the Festival is to have your ticket ready when you arrive. You will also need to show proof for the ticket type you bought. Please note, unless you are an emerging or challenger food or drink brand owner, you must purchase an Industry Specialist ticket to attend the Festival. Please note no refunds will be given per the terms you agreed to when you purchased the ticket. If you’d like to give your ticket to someone else, make sure you send your ticket to your friend as they will need to bring the paper copy along on the day and the email from you saying you’re passing your ticket over to them.

Absolutely! Foodpreneurs Festival is open to all foodpreneurs and industry specialists regardless of what stage of business you are at and interest in pitching. There’s loads on offer. Take a look at our How It All Works page for some of what else is on but please note, not everything is outlined on that page – we need to keep a few things up our sleeves!

Please note buyer and investor pitching applications have now closed.

There will be limited storage available at the venue. If you are bringing more than a handbag or tote, we recommend planning ahead and packing accordingly.

Once you have placed your three items on Stickybeak Station, any remaining belongings must be kept with you for the duration of the event. If you need to store larger items, we recommend arranging off-site storage (for example, public lockers) prior to arrival.

Please note that any items left in the designated storage area are left at your own risk.

Not this time. This is a business-to-business (aka trade only) event and whilst you’ll get a stickybeak of lots of incredible products, they won’t be for sale. But, keep an eye out for the brand owner and ask them where you can buy their products!

There will be food and drink at the BiteBack Awards, and a drink and a nibble at Happy Hour at the end of the Festival.

We’re in the CPG space, so we figured you’ve got to showcase your great food, drink or pet food packaged product! Read more about how your product can be showcased here.

Your pathway to new brand-boosting partnerships. Read more about how you can boost your sales and build your network here.

• Coogee Sands Hotel & Apartments
• Adina Apartments Coogee
• The Coogee View Serviced Apartments
• Intercontinental Coogee
• Coogee Bay Hotel
• Dive Hotel Coogee
• Avonmore Boutique Rooms
• Sydney Lodges_Randwick Accommodation
• St Marks Randwick Accommodation
• The Lurline Randwick
• The Alison in Randwick

It’s predominantly a networking event. The purpose is to rub shoulders with specialist industry experts, other foodpreneurs, media and the opportunity to pitch to retail buyers and investors. It therefore will not be live streamed and you need to attend in person to take advantage of eveything that’s available.

You can use our Expense Request: Foodpreneurs Festival 2026 letter to support planning or budget approval. The letter is available for download here.

For general questions about attending, please check our FAQs.

You betcha it is. We believe in equal rights for all people, no matter their gender, race, colour, religion or sexual orientation.