Agriculture / Agribusiness

Naylor Farms Pioneers Upcycled Cabbage as Super Sustainable Protein

One of the largest coleslaw cabbage growers in Europe, Naylor Farms, has revealed plans to build what it claims will be the world’s first agricultural processing facility to transform cabbages into innovative new functional plant-based protein ingredients, creating 150 jobs in Lincolnshire, UK.

Upcycling cabbage crop, trimmings, and leaf from coleslaw production, the company’s Naylor Nutrition arm has developed a unique, patent-pending, cold extraction process that produces protein-plus functional ingredients from cabbages. 

The new eco-friendly factory will be built on Naylor Farms land and will create around 150 skilled positions within the food supply chain. As part of the investment, Lincoln University will be involved with the development of an in-house learning and research centre at the facility.

Naylor Nurtition Site ©Naylor Farms

Cabbage as a sustainable solution

Many plant-based producers have been moving away from soy protein recently, opting for the more sustainable and allergen-friendly pea protein. However, pea production has been hit with droughts and wet harvests impacting both the global price and availability of the ingredient. Naylor Nutrition states that cabbage-based protein is a sustainable, locally sourced, allergen and GMO-free alternative.

“The world has a growing requirement and desire for quality, sustainable plant-based food and to deliver this, we will need to grow crops that have positive functional benefits but without the negative environmental impact that soy, for example, has. Cabbage on the other hand, is fully traceable from field to consumer, sustainable and relatively simple to grow with a high yield. This innovative facility is being built on our land so the food miles from field to processing are at a minimum,” explained Simon Naylor, CEO of Naylor Nutrition.

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