Hazel MacTavish-West

Dr Hazel MacTavish-West is a creative plant scientist and food industry consultant with more than 35 years’ experience in food innovation throughout the value chain, from primary producers through to consumers, natural flavours and fragrances, colours and bioactives. Her work has a strong science core, fleshed out with commercial experience and flavoured with a passion for effective communication - for concepts, products and people. 

Hazel’s 2018 Churchill Fellowship travels examined nimble food factories and interviewed successful food innovators with a focus on approaches to incorporate more fruit and vegetables into value-added foods. Hazel’s Churchill trip made her think bigger, more strategically, and realise that with experience comes the responsibility to give back and to share.

After Hazel’s Churchill Fellowship, Hazel was enthused to develop another bigger, more strategic activity. Hazel is a passionate believer in the power of connection, and sharing so entrepreneurial people DON'T have to reinvent every wheel themselves. She developed a unique business support program that brings the best brains in the business together to help smaller businesses be successful faster, safer and better than they ever thought possible. This program started with Seedlab Tasmania, a program that assisted over 200 Tasmanian entrepreneurs to develop their food, beverage or agri-tourism businesses. As a result of the success of this project, Woolworths has supported the Seedlab Australia program since 2021, supporting hundreds of Australian and New Zealand small businesses producing consumer products to start, scale and grow to supply nationally.

In 2026, Hazel was motivated to sponsor a Fellowship after attending a Tasmanian Fellowship dinner. The Seedlab Australia Churchill Fellowship is available nationally. It supports projects on food and beverage innovation, including nutrition, reducing food waste, and state-of-the-art or sustainable food production or packaging solutions.