- Wide Open Agriculture (WOA) officially opens the doors of its plant-based protein pilot production facility in Western Australia
- The pilot facility will produce a breakthrough, eco-friendly protein called Buntine Protein which can be used as a key ingredient for plant-based food and beverage products
- The company says it has future ambitions to become a major player in this market and transform as much of WA’s lupin crop into plant-based protein as possible
- It also confirms that there are plans to scale the production process over time to meet any future demand
- Shares in Wide Open last traded at 54 cents on June 23
Wide Open Agriculture (WOA) has officially opened the doors of its plant-based protein pilot production facility in Western Australia.
The pilot facility will produce a breakthrough, eco-friendly protein called Buntine Protein which can be used as a key ingredient for plant-based food and beverage products for global markets.
Developed in partnership with Curtin University, Buntine Protein has a low carbon footprint and is an integral component of regenerative farming systems – a farming practice widely understood to be a key component in tackling climate change.
WOA Managing Director Ben Cole said the company’s technology had unlocked the potential of the Australian Sweet Lupin plant beyond traditional applications and helped drive the plant’s transformation into plant-based proteins.
“Previous barriers for lupin to be used in the food sector relate to its taste, texture and its capacity for gelling and thickening. Our technology overcomes these challenges,” Dr Cole said.
“Our novel technology unfolds the constituent protein in lupin to increase its ability to blend and mix with other food ingredients.
“This allows the protein to become suitable for new applications in a wide range of food and beverage sectors.”
WOA said the plant-based market could make up to 7.7 per cent of the global protein market by 2030, with a value of over US$162 billion (A$234 billion), up from US$29.4 billion in 2020.
The company said its future ambitions were to become a major player in this market and transform as much of WA’s lupin crops into plant-based protein as possible.
WOA Founding Chairman Anthony Maslin noted lupin was an annual crop that would not run out of supply and could become one of the state’s biggest resource-based exports.
Wide Open has also confirmed that there are plans to scale the production process over time to meet any future demand.
It has recently signed a supply agreement with Monde Nissin Australia which will use Buntine Protein to develop various plant-based food and beverage products.
Monde Nissin Australia will purchase up to 60 per cent of the total production of Buntine Protein from the pilot production facility over a two-year period, with the first shipment expected in June 2022.
Shares in Wide Open last traded at 54 cents as of June 23.