AUSTRALIAN company Wide Open Agriculture (WOA) is poised to start commercial production of lupin based protein product Buntine Protein.
The interest in plant based protein sources has risen in the last few decades due to the benefit to human health, the environment and sustainable farming.
WOA positions itself as being a company that ‘reinvents the way the world grows, thinks about, and buys food’.
Its inception came about when the company’s creators discovered the world’s current food systems account for 34 percent of carbon emissions and are a leading cause of climate change.
Finding ways to produce nutritious food while being kind to the planet meant thinking outside the box and into options that include protein additives.
The plant based protein product is made from sweet lupins and can be used in a range of meat and dairy alternatives.
It has already received interest from global manufacturing and food companies interested in using it in plant-based foods to increase protein levels in products like plant milks, vegan cheeses, vegan yogurts, cookies, baked goods and protein supplements.
WOA has also acquired the assets of the leading European lupin producer, Prolupin, and is now one of the world’s largest lupin producers.
The move has given them a large operational base in Europe and a manufacturing facility in Germany.
The Australian company is focusing on a business to business approach, leveraging Prolupin’s established network in the European plant-based dairy alternative market.              Prolupin was established in 2010 and built manufacturing capabilities in Germany and crafted products that have a wide range of commercial applications, particularly in the plant based dairy sector.
WOA CEO Jay Albany said the acquisition was testament to his company’s ‘ambitious growth strategy and commitment to leading the shift towards sustainable, plant-based nutrition’.
“By integrating Prolupin’s decades of expertise and innovative technologies, we are able to meet potential Buntine Protein demand faster,” he said.
“This is a giant leap forward for WOA, our shareholders, and the industry at large.”
Dirty Clean Food is the food brand of WOA and as such first started supplying restaurants with high quality protein in 2019.
Mr Albany said there had been demand from consumers who wanted to buy high quality protein while supporting local regenerative farmers.
WOA expects commercial scale production of Buntine Protien within six months and already has a growing list of potential customers.