New Zealand start up sees the future of women’s health in sheepskin
Since developing the protein Ovitage, Tertiary Extracts Ōtautahi has gained serious momentum in saying not just “more protein” but the right protein – changing the future of women’s health and sheepskin waste in one.
Globally, up to half a billion sheepskins go to waste every year. With no significant market demand, disposing of sheepskin waste comes at a cost to producers – they are generally composted, sent to landfill or in some cases, burnt.
Tertiary Extracts, a New Zealand-based biotech company, has identified that sheepskin is a high-value source of protein – if you can extract all the necessary components. Now the company has achieved exactly that, extracting proteins, peptides and amino acids out of the sheepskin, with further research into other parts of the skin including lipids, to create a differentiated, novel protein – Ovitage – which is being used to support female biology.
As Tertiary Extracts technology can process the entire sheepskin, it goes far beyond prior development into bovine collagen. The economic potential of Ovitage also translates to Australia’s sheep industry through the opportunity to reduce waste and add value to a significant by-product.
“Ovitage comes from a waste stream. When we’re wasting sheepskins, they come at a cost to the producer and wider industry. There’s an incredible, high-value nutrition story there, especially considering that we’re still at the very early stages of what we can extract from the skin,” Tertiary Extracts Co-Founder Kim Bray said.
“A lot of people have looked at this opportunity for a long time. The difference of what we’ve been able to achieve with Ovitage is, first and foremost, finding a specific market for the sheepskin components.”
Changing the future of women’s health
“When looking at female biology, women live longer than men, but they spend 25% of their lives in worse health than men do,” Kim said.
The leading cause of death for women is heart disease; women are also overrepresented in dementia, especially Alzheimer’s disease. Lean muscle loss also takes place following menopause leading to sarcopenia and compounded by reduction in bone density.
“We’re looking at that whole picture of female biology and how the nutritional needs of women change throughout their life. If we’re able to support that change with targeted nutrition at the right time, and in the right way, we can modify the longevity story for women,” Kim said.
The change of the story is simple: women living longer and living well. Looking beyond standard collagen or whey protein, Tertiary Extracts is examining what amino acid profile is needed to support gut health, or to support cognition, as examples, for women’s health. This matters especially around perimenopause and postmenopause.
“Nutrition can play a really strong role in supporting women to age well,” Kim said.
In the last 18 months, Tertiary Extracts has purchased an extraction facility in Christchurch and started exporting its protein globally. The company also runs the Everee Lab, where they invite people who are using their protein to find out about their experience and chart their responses.
“Early results have shown that 80% of women who used Ovitage slept better within the first four weeks. That’s particularly relevant for the perimenopausal stage, where sleep can become incredibly elusive. All the women felt calmer after four weeks. That’s related to restoring gut health,” Kim said.
evokeAG.: Taking women’s health, worldwide
Tertiary Extracts is only at the beginning of its journey. There’s untapped potential in developing medical, or functional, foods using its protein; for example for those who suffer from endometriosis.
“For consumers, there’s a need for products designed with women’s health in mind,” Kim said. “Designing for women’s physiology is new, and medical research has historically not been done on female physiology.”
Tertiary Extracts is an ingredient-producer, rather than going to market with a product. The company’s participation at evokeAG. 2026 offered a unique opportunity to partners and collaborators who want to invest in women’s health and support better aging, as around 1.2 billion women are expected to be postmenopause by 2030.
“Beyond hair, skin and nail solutions, what does health look like for women?” Kim asked. “From an investor perspective, that’s an enormous global market that no one’s really looking at, and it can come from an existing waste stream.”
Tertiary Extracts is in the early stages of understanding what extraction from sheepskin is possible. In the next two years, it’s also conducting a research project looking at vitamins and minerals and the phospholipids present in the sheepskin. Across much of Asia and Australasia, studies indicate that a substantial proportion of women have suboptimal vitamin D levels, exceeding 60% in some Asian regions. Sheepskin represents an exceptionally rich, natural source of this essential nutrient.
The manufacturing of Ovitage needs to occur close to the source material. Through its journey with growAG., Tertiary Extracts is excited by the potential of joint ventures and building a global formulary.
“As a Kiwi company, the streams of support we get from the Australian ecosystem is incredible. The connections we’ve been able to make has created an environment where we can see an expansive collaboration model that’s starting to form. There is an opportunity for a future business based in Australia, and there is a cohesive demand for what we’re creating, both on the supply side and on the consumer side.”
To learn more about their opportunity, visit: https://www.growag.com/opportunity/tertiary-extracts-novel-protein-and-collagen-upcycled-sheepskin-pre-series-raise