The Leaf Protein Co.’s ‘proof of concept’ plants were ones that aren’t commonplace in Australian diets: saltbush – traditionally a forage crop known for its ability to ameliorate saline soils; and Pereskia – a low-water-use leafy cactus celebrated for its nutritional value in its native Brazil. 

And while volumes were sufficient for lab scale testing, securing an ongoing supply of these plants isn’t feasible. Saltbush is currently produced in low volumes in Australia, and domestic production of Pereskia isn’t an option, given its status as an environmental weed in certain states. 

“That initial work into extracting leaf protein from saltbush and Pereskia gave us the confidence that there was merit behind the processes that we were investigating,” said Fern. “But we know that if we really want to make a meaningful impact, we need to look at large volumes.”

One industry with abundant green leaf matter is vegetable production. Yet with so many types in production, the challenge was in narrowing the focus. 

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“RuBisCo as a protein source isn’t new. It’s been used for decades as a crude protein for animal feed, where texture and flavour are less important,” said Fern. “But as a human food source we’re being really selective about finding the right nutrient profile. Looking to vegetable leaf matter is a great way of focusing our efforts.”

She continued, “We’re currently working with sweet potato leaves. But there’s a lot of other potential crops, like the Brassica family, which are produced at such huge volumes that we can secure reliable domestic supply upfront. Their leaf mass is considered waste. But what if we valorise that by-product – giving farmers another source of income?”

The concept has been music to growers’ ears, according to Fern.

The Leaf Protein Co. team is driven by their passion for food production and sustainability. With expertise ranging from food science and leaf protein extraction to marketing and product development, the team has done a lot of the heavy lifting in getting their concept off the ground. 

And now a recent project with CSIRO through the Kick-Start program is helping to accelerate their development program. Fern explained, “The CSIRO research is aimed at delivering an efficient, scalable food grade protein extraction process. CSIRO has been working with plant proteins for decades, so bringing together their knowledge, our own learnings from the lab, plus the experience of other partners we’re working with across the world, gives us a lot of confidence in what we’re doing.”

Kick-Start is an initiative for innovative Australian start-ups and small businesses, providing funding support and access to CSIRO’s research expertise and capabilities to help grow and develop their business.