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Lupins offer Thailand a real taste of WA

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ATQ Consulting managing director Daniel Marshall, and Dowerin farmers Todd Quartermaine and Glen Quartermaine.
Camera IconATQ Consulting managing director Daniel Marshall, and Dowerin farmers Todd Quartermaine and Glen Quartermaine. Credit: Cally Dupe

A new range of WA-grown lupin–based snack foods is expected to hit Australian shelves later this year after being launched at a food expo in Thailand last month.

The products are the brainchild of two Dowerin farmers and a WA businessman, and were developed with investment from Thai business partners.

They were unveiled on May 28 at THAIFEX — a leading international trade exhibition for food and beverages, as well as food service technology.

Farming brothers Todd and Glen Quartermaine say they have long seen the potential in lupins as more than just stock feed, or a rotation crop to enrich the soil with nitrogen.

Australian sweet lupins make up about 25 per cent of their 5500ha cropping program.

“For years lupins have been for animal feed, but we thought the pulses were far too good for just that,” Glen said.

Two years ago, the brothers started talks with Perth–based ATQ Consulting & Advisory managing director Daniel Marshall, who helped them join the Thai partners to create a branded range under the company Thai-WA Lupin Products.

Mr Marshall said the product line was primarily driven by Thai researchers, who came up with two lines of snack products and a line of food ingredients.

Thai-WA Lupin Products have now launched eight products under three brands — Pinarie lupin chips snacks, Supermood lupin snacks and You Cook food ingredients.

Pinarie lupin chips snacks, targeted at health-conscious consumers, includes two types — salt, and onion and chive.

Supermood lupin snacks, an everyday snack, includes tom yum or sour cream and onion-flavoured rings in a similar shape and texture to cheezels.

The You Cook range features four food-ingredient products; split lupins, lupin crumb, lupin flour and lupin flakes.

Thai-WA Lupin Products now hope to launch the products in selected WA, and Thai, retail and online channels by September.

Mr Marshall said the Thailand launch culminated a year of market development, supported by AusTrade EMDG, the Thai Government and the research team of Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Technology at Silpakorn University.

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