Leaft Foods is a New Zealand food-ingredient company built around extracting Rubisco, the abundant protein found in green leaves, and turning it into functional ingredients and consumer products. The company positions itself as a sustainable protein innovator serving food manufacturers, performance nutrition consumers, and pet food formulators. Founded by Maury Leyland and John Penno and led by Ross Milne, Leaft focuses on alfalfa as its source crop and on a gentle extraction process that preserves Rubisco’s functionality. Its messaging emphasizes high nutrition, strong food performance, and a lower environmental footprint than conventional dairy protein. Core Values Sustainability : Leaft repeatedly frames its platform as a way to grow more protein with less land, water, and emissions. The company highlights alfalfa’s agronomic advantages and the lower carbon footprint of leaf protein versus conventional dairy protein. Nutrition : The company emphasizes complete amino acid profiles, digestibility, and nutrient density, including iron and other naturally occurring vitamins and minerals. Its products are presented as supporting both everyday nutrition and performance use cases. Functionality : Leaft’s ingredients are not just nutritional; they are designed to perform in food systems. The company highlights emulsifying, foaming, gelling, binding, and texture benefits across multiple applications. Innovation : Leaft presents itself as unlocking a long-sought protein source through a proprietary, gentle extraction process. Its story centers on turning a difficult scientific challenge into commercially usable ingredients. Unique Aspects Rubisco as the core protein platform : Leaft is built around Rubisco, the photosynthesis enzyme found in leaves, which it describes as one of the most abundant proteins on Earth. This gives the company a distinctive raw-material story compared with seed-based plant proteins. Commercial validation in multiple channels : The company has moved beyond concept into consumer products and ingredient trials, including Leaft Blade, bakery work with Foodstuffs South Island, and ingredient development with Lacto Japan. Strategic investment from Lacto Japan : In 2026, Lacto Japan announced a strategic investment in Leaft Foods, deepening a partnership focused on production and distribution channels for Rubisco protein in Japan. Cross-category platform : Leaft is not limited to one market; it is developing applications for performance nutrition, bakery, dairy fortification, beverages, and pet food. Strong sustainability claims : Leaft states that its impact profile includes 94% less greenhouse gas emissions, 97% less blue water consumption, and zero waste compared with whey protein from New Zealand dairy cows.
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