Today, 85 per cent of the world’s sweet lupins are grown right here in WA, where they play a vital role as a break crop, fixing nitrogen into the soil, improving subsequent wheat yields, and reducing the need for fertilisers.
Despite their agronomic benefits, lupins have historically had limited value as a human food ingredient due to their bitter taste. Instead, they’ve largely been grown as low-value animal feed.
But that is about to change.
With an impressive nutritional profile – 40 per cent protein, 40 per cent fibre, and 8 per cent oil – lupins are now being transformed into a high-value food ingredient with huge potential in global human nutrition.
In 2020, WA-based Wide Open Agriculture (ASX: WOA) licensed breakthrough technology developed at Curtin University that removes the bitter flavour and unlocks the functionality of lupin protein for human food production.
With support from Curtin and CSIRO, WOA built a pilot plant in Kewdale before acquiring a larger facility in Germany, allowing the company to begin engaging with food manufacturers worldwide.
WOA has since developed expertise not only in lupin protein isolate but also in co-products such as lupin fibre and lupin oil.
Together, these three ingredients have wide-ranging applications across food, beverage, and cosmetic markets.
Lupin protein can be used in plant-based dairy, shakes, snack bars, baked goods, dips, and ready meals; lupin fibre is valued for its health benefits; and lupin oil shows strong promise in skincare thanks to its antioxidant properties.
The opportunity is significant.
By extracting and commercialising these high-value ingredients, WOA estimates the value of WA’s annual lupin crop could increase 20-fold – from around $200 million to $4 billion.
WOA is already building a global sales pipeline, with interest from customers in South America, Europe, Asia (including China), and Australia.
Wide Open chief executive Matthew Skinner says this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for WA farmers and the wider agricultural sector.
“By taking a crop which has long been undervalued and turning it into a premium global ingredient, we can create new revenue streams for growers, strengthen our export markets, and position Western Australia as a leader in sustainable plant protein,” he says.
With global demand for plant-based ingredients surging, and awareness of lupin’s environmental and health benefits rising, the future looks bright.
For WA farmers and exporters alike, the world’s next big plant protein revolution is already growing in our paddocks.
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