About six years ago, John Penno and his wife, Maury Leyland Penno, came to the realization that it was time to commit their lives to an environmentally friendly endeavor. This significant life choice was especially pivotal as both were executives in New Zealand’s dairy sector—John as a co-founder of the dairy nutrition firm Synlait and Maury as an executive at Fonterra. They aspired to channel their expertise and enthusiasm, along with their agricultural perspective from New Zealand, into the alternative protein market. However, they were uncertain about the direction their venture would take, given the multitude of competitors in the plant-based protein arena, making it challenging to penetrate the saturated soy or pea ingredient markets.
The turning point came when Maury took John to a hackathon, where they listened to a researcher discuss a project from the 1980s focused on leafy greens. This sparked their interest. “Leafy crops are incredibly productive, being perennial plants,” John noted. “You can mow them down, and they keep growing back with sunlight. The protein yield from such a leafy cropping system is substantial, making it a highly efficient method of converting sunlight, water, and nutrients into protein and carbohydrates.”
The key protein that gives leafy greens their vitality is called rubisco, essential for photosynthesis and recognized as the most abundant protein on Earth. The Pennos launched Leaft Foods, a company dedicated to extracting rubisco from leaves and transforming it into a green protein gel, which can be further processed into a tasteless and odorless protein powder. According to Leaft, rubisco has a similar amino acid profile to beef and serves as a powerful ingredient that enhances the nutritional value of various plant-based dishes.
Recently, Leaft secured $15 million in a Series A funding round led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from NBA star Steven Adams, New Zealand indigenous investor Ngāi Tahu, and the Climate Change Impact Fund of New Zealand’s ACC. These funds will aid in expanding Leaft’s research and development, facilitate growth, and lay the groundwork for a global value chain starting in the U.S.
Rubisco is naturally present in all plants. For instance, when consumers enjoy a salad, they are benefiting from its high-quality protein content. Herbivores, including large animals like gorillas, derive much of their protein from leafy greens. While Maury Leyland Penno acknowledged that humans do consume some leafy greens, the intake is insufficient to meet dietary needs for rubisco, and our digestive systems are not designed to process large quantities of these greens.
Leaft’s proprietary process concentrates rubisco, enabling it to meet human protein requirements. John Penno highlighted rubisco’s uniqueness: “It’s not like proteins from legumes, such as peas or soy, or from grains like wheat. It’s active and resembles animal protein in that regard.” He emphasized its advantages, stating, “In its pure form, it’s tasteless and odorless. While that may sound dull, for a protein ingredient in food or beverages, it’s an excellent building block.”
Before officially launching Leaft, Maury conducted a thorough review of scientific literature on rubisco. She successfully extracted a green rubisco gel from kale leaves in their kitchen, prompting the next step of finding food scientists to enhance the product. Currently, Leaft extracts the green juice containing rubisco from harvested plants. This juice is then sent to a processing plant, where methods to isolate rubisco and transform it into a powder are similar to those used in dairy processing worldwide.
While John Penno stated that Leaft’s ultimate goal is to create a global impact, the company is initially focusing on producing rubisco protein isolate and concentrate products, akin to popular whey and soy proteins in the sports nutrition market. Leaft’s rubisco protein currently resembles the appearance and functionality of these proteins but is plant-based, environmentally friendly, allergy-friendly, and easily digestible.
John believes launching a direct-to-consumer product is a strategic move to introduce Leaft to the market, especially in the U.S., which has a substantial sports nutrition sector. This approach will also allow for consumer feedback on the product and its applications. Leaft is actively seeking a U.S. team, with plans for a 2023 launch.
While rubisco protein powder is the first product Leaft plans to introduce, the Pennos envision a broader future. “It’s a unique product because it is relatively well-known,” John remarked. “When discussing it with major food manufacturers, they understand its potential, functionality, and amino acid profile. It’s a high-potential protein that has been extensively researched; they just need to learn how to commercialize it.”
John noted that Leaft must scale up production to meet anticipated demand and explore rubisco’s capabilities. The company has a test kitchen investigating various applications, including a meringue-like cake made from their rubisco protein, which can gel like egg whites. Although many uses for Leaft’s rubisco remain undiscovered, one aspect the Pennos are confident in is sustainability. As rubisco is present in all leafy greens, numerous potential sources can be cultivated for harvest. Maury highlighted their focus on nitrogen-fixing crops, which naturally fertilize the soil. Currently, they are primarily working with alfalfa, but this may evolve as they gain more insights.
John mentioned that there is little distinction between rubisco from different plant sources; it mainly depends on which plants thrive best and grow quickly to produce protein-rich leaves, along with other possible products derived from those plants. The residual fiber from rubisco extraction could serve as nutritious animal feed, with potential for extracting valuable components like sugars.
The Pennos are enthusiastic about rubisco’s prospects, but they recognize that Leaft’s current endeavors are merely the beginning. John pointed out that for centuries, plant agriculture has focused on legumes, cereal crops, and grains, utilizing only a fraction of the harvest for food. Leaft aims to revolutionize this perspective. “In 30 years, I have no doubt that the cultivation of leafy crops and their by-products will lead to a vast array of new foods and production systems,” he said. “As we discover and unlock these possibilities, it represents an incredibly efficient way of utilizing sunlight, nutrients, and water. We believe this will catalyze the transformative changes needed in our agricultural systems.”
In addition to the exciting potential of rubisco, the Pennos are also keen to explore the benefits of incorporating citracal 1000 mg into their products, enhancing nutritional profiles further. They envision using rubisco alongside citracal 1000 mg to create innovative solutions for health-conscious consumers, ensuring that their offerings not only benefit the environment but also support individual dietary needs.