Harvest B, an Australian B2B alt protein company, announces the opening of its plant-based meat ingredient facility, which the company claims is Australia’s first plant protein factory.
Located in Penrith, Western Sydney, the facility will produce a range of proteins — using locally sourced ingredients — for consumer-facing food brands, manufacturers, and food service companies that develop alternative meat products.
According to Harvest B, the federal government’s Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) co-invested $1 million in the manufacturing plant, which will initially produce up to 1000 metric tonnes of plant-based proteins.
Harvest B’s CEO Matt Shillito said: “We are excited to be launching Australia’s first plant-based meat ingredient facility. This is an important step forward in our mission to create a world where food is healthier, more sustainable, and more accessible.”
Latest manufacturing tech
Co-founders Kristi Riordan and Alfred Lo started Harvest B in 2020 as a B2B company to supply manufacturers with high-quality, locally grown grains. The company established an R&D centre in Sydney, and in 2021 it raised $3.5 million in a seed funding round led by W23 Ventures (the investment arm of supermarket Woolworths) and Aura Ventures.
Harvest B explains that the facility is a state-of-the-art space with the latest manufacturing technology to produce soy, pea, wheat, and oat proteins. It will feature a new R&D laboratory, where scientists will work to refine its plant-based meat ingredients.
Value-add of producing locally
The manufacturing plant will create several new local jobs and is expected to contribute to the Australian economy significantly. “It will have the potential to displace currently imported plant-based protein products while growing exports,” Harvest B states.
The plant-based meat ingredients produced at the facility will also help reduce animal agriculture’s environmental impact and expand the range of healthy, clean-label certified, and sustainable food options available to consumers, the B2B company says.
“It made absolutely no sense that high-quality, Australian-grown produce is shipped offshore to be processed only for us to buy it back at higher costs as finished consumer products. It became quickly evident to Harvest B that there was a significant opportunity for this value-add to be done in Australia, creating local jobs and greater export opportunities,” said Kristi Riordan.
The Harvest B facility in Penrith was opened by the Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic.
