Harvest B to begin exports with NZ distro deal

Plant-based ingredient company Harvest B has announced a new distribution agreement with New Zealand’s Dunninghams, which will lead to the first exports for the start-up manufacturer.

Dunninghams is a privately owned, fourth-generation family company supplying ingredients and other products to butchers and food manufacturers across NZ. 

In a statement on Tuesday, Harvest B said Dunninghams brought “a deep understanding of the New Zealand market” to the table. 

“Partnering with such a highly respected organisation like Dunninghams to serve New Zealand made absolute sense for Harvest B,” said Kristi Riordan, CEO and co-founder of the Australian company.

“Harvest B’s plant-proteins are ideally suited to this market, where consumers have, until now, had limited choice when seeking healthier and more sustainable food options to reduce their animal protein consumption,” added Scott Reynolds, CEO of Dunninghams.

Harvest B was established in 2020 and raised $4.5 million the following year, through equity backing from Aura Ventures and Woolworths’ venture division, W23, and $1 million in funding through the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre Commercialisation Fund.

It designs and produces analogues for a variety of meat types, such as beef, pork and chicken, using wheat from Narrabri, NSW as the main ingredient, and incorporating a proprietary combination of plant proteins and extrusion technology.

Its points of difference in the alternative protein market include no use of binders or additives, and no need for a cold supply chain. Their products are sold dry and undergo “a simple on-site brine process” before preparation.

Harvest B opened a Penrith pilot factory, with a 1,000-tonne-per-year capacity, in December 2022. It also.runs a kitchen lab at Surry Hills.

Riordan was a guest on the @AuManufacturing Conversations podcast in January. Click here to listen to the episode.

Picture: supplied

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