Kiwi bed maker Sleepyhead has announced a $55m deal to buy two Australian businesses, as it looks to ramp up its offshore production.

New research says New Zealand is underperforming when it comes to high-value, processed food exports.

New businesses with big ideas are fighting to stay aloft as the money runs out, Karyn Scherer reports.

Sleepyhead, one of New Zealand's last big privately owned manufacturers, has unveiled aggressive expansion plans as it prepares to open a new $35m bed factory in Melbourne.

New Zealand tourism businesses and manufacturers that export to Australia are expected to be the winners from a strengthening Australian dollar.

Exports were up 15 per cent or $405 million in August from a year earlier to $3.2 billion, led by higher prices for dairy products.

Lower taxes from foreign investors have helped push NZ's current account deficit up.

Fisher & Paykel has shown off the result of 17 years of top-secret research, saying its new compressor is a revolutionary change.