Japanese dairy group Lacto Japan has invested an undisclosed sum in the New Zealand start-up Leaft Foods, which extracts Rubisco protein from alfalfa leaves.

This builds on the companies’ ongoing collaboration to supply Leaft Foods’ sustainable protein to some of Japan’s largest food manufacturers and to generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue within five years.

“We have made this investment in Leaft Foods to establish a production and distribution structure for Rubisco protein, expand our business in the Japanese market, and strengthen the strategic partnership between the two companies,” explained Lacto Japan.

Rubisco is found in every green plant on Earth, and the variant used by Leaft Foods is derived from alfalfa grown in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. It is a complete protein with a high content of essential amino acids and a PDCAAS value similar to that of beef, egg white and milk proteins, and is rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and micronutrients. Functionally, the protein offers foaming, gelling and emulsifying properties, binds in baked goods in a similar way to egg white, and serves as an alternative to methylcellulose in plant-based meat substitutes.