Harvest B opens plant-based meat ingredient facility in Sydney

The plant-based meat category is expected to grow 10x over the next decade; however, until now, the proteins used as key ingredients in this category have needed to be imported to Australia.

Australia’s plant-based meat manufacturers will now be able to locally source ingredients thanks to the opening of Harvest B’s plant-based meat ingredient manufacturing facility in Penrith on 13 December 2022.

Built with the assistance of a $1 million co-investment via the federal government’s Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC), the facility will initially manufacture up to 1000 metric tonnes of plant-based proteins designed for meat replacement products for both local and international consumption. The facility integrates both the R&D and advanced manufacturing capability required to produce the ingredients domestically using Australian-grown grains.

Supplied to food brands, food manufacturers and foodservice providers, Harvest B’s plant-based proteins will then be converted into food products such as sausages, patties, mince and the company’s own proprietary products.

When Harvest B co-founders Kristi Riordan and Alfred Lo set about investigating the plant-based protein market, it became apparent that there was not a single large-scale ingredient brand supplying plant proteins to Australian food manufacturers.

“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 Harvest B Co-founder and CEO Kristi Riordan.

The Harvest B facility in Penrith was opened by the Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic.

“The Albanese government is committed to revitalising Australia’s advanced manufacturing by backing companies like Harvest B. Supporting domestic capability in emerging technologies, including in areas like food production, will be a focus for the National Reconstruction Fund,” Husic said.

The Managing Director for the AMGC, Jens Goennemann, said Harvest B exemplifies how Australian manufacturers can value-add to the nation’s abundant natural resources.

“Australia is a nation blessed with abundant natural resources, yet we have relied too heavily on the luck associated with trading these commodities in a raw state. Like Harvest B, we should be leveraging our smarts and add value to these high-quality natural resources — right here in Australia,” Goennemann said.

With co-investment support from the federal government via AMGC and industry partners, including Woolworths’ venture fund (W23), Harvest B intends to initially develop 10 different product lines with export into Southeast Asia, which is already presenting opportunities.