Victorian start-up Viridi Innovations has partnered with engineering firm Austeng and Swisse Wellness to develop a process to transform grape marc and seed into grape seed extract, a highly sought after ingredient in the Australian nutraceutical industry.
The project, launched in 2020, also includes Swinburne University of Technology as research partner, and is facilitated by Fight Food Waste Co-Operative Research Centre.
Viridi’s managing director Nick Terziovski said that global health company Swisse Wellness had expressed interest in using the highly desirable antioxidants; even more so in this context given its local “clean and green “origins.
Swisse Wellness regional CEO Nick Mann said if the process were implemented in Australia, the green tech process could see the grape waste from wine production reduced by up to 35-40 percent each year.
“We have been proud to support this initiative in partnership with Viridi, Swinburne and Austeng, converting a former waste stream into usable raw materials, for complementary medicine. This further supports our commitments to our sustainability strategy and principles.”
“We have fully developed a small-scale pilot plant and are now market-ready and seeking interest from investors to help scale-up,” Terziovski said.
Terziovski added that the process being delivered in Australia could help propel significant job growth while building a highly valuable product and new revenue streams.
“Currently Australia imports polyphenol antioxidants, which is inefficient and detrimental to our global climate. Using local wine production waste, we can now source this product locally and create new, climate friendly jobs and potentially export to the world,” Terziovski said.
Enzo Palombo from Swinburne University of Technology said that through research and testing, it was found that the antioxidant extracts could also be powderised in high purity, making the material more readily accessible, easily packaged and transported.
Fight Food Waste CRC CEO Steven Lapidge says transforming food waste into new food products has a multitude of benefits – reducing environmental impact, creating new revenue streams, and preventing loss of nutrients.
“Investment in research and development allows the delivery of new high-value commercial opportunities like this one, while at the same time helping fight food waste in Australia.”
