Wide Open Agriculture has entered into two exclusive distribution agreements with SPI Group and Kramer Group in the United States to establish a commercial market for Buntine Protein.
CEO Jay Albany said Buntine Protein had a ‘strong enough competitive moat to move aggressively into the market’.
“It has been a goal of mine for some time to bring WOA’s products to the United States.
“This is a market with immense potential for growth. It is the leading market for plant-based food innovation and consumption, has the largest GDP in the world, and immense purchasing power,” said Albany.
SPI Group SPI Group (SPI) is a distributor of specialty ingredients to food, meat, and nutritional manufacturers and will exclusively market, distribute and sell Buntine Protein within Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, California, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Alaska, and Hawaii. SPI also has experience in plant-based proteins and currently distribute one of the world's largest pea protein products.
Kramer Group will exclusively market, distribute and sell Buntine Protein within Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
The venture signifies an essential phase in fortifying Buntine Protein’s footprint in the U.S., with the distribution partners selected due to their comprehensive sales network and experience in launching new ingredients across the U.S. market.
It is estimated that Buntine Protein will now have sales coverage across 24 states, with work ongoing to secure further distribution agreements for the additional territories.
WOA is now preparing to equip both distribution partners with Buntine Protein samples, marketing tools and sales support. This sales initiative will focus on a diverse range of prospects including plant-based dairy (milk and cheese), baked goods, protein supplements and other food categories.
This underscores WOA’s approach to allow partners to undertake essential product development, while concurrently working to achieve commercial scale production.
The initial term of the agreements is one year, with automatic renewal for additional one year periods unless either party provides written notice of termination at least 90 days prior to the end of the period. The terms of the Agreement do not contain binding minimum sales thresholds.
“Our partnerships with these proven and esteemed distributors will pave the way for Buntine Protein to reach more prospects and customers, faster. It also reaffirms our vision of sustainable and innovative agriculture on a global scale.
“As we journey into this new chapter, we are focused on increasing short term production capacity so that we can capitalise on the positive reception for Buntine Protein,” said Albany.
WOA is in the process of accelerating an increase to near-term production capacity with an aim to accelerate the path to market.
This step-up is expected to occur during the current fiscal year (ending June 2024), so that WOA can support larger order volumes of Buntine Protein.
WOA will provide an update on its commercial production plans when they are finalised.
