Local ‘Super’ Cooking Oil Hits Market

(Image: Plenty Foods’ managing director Josh Gadischke is confident that Plenty Foods’ new high oleic safflower oil will be a winner for his company)

May 5, 2023 – https://southburnett.com.au/news2/2023/05/05/local-super-cooking-oil-hits-market/

Kingaroy-based Plenty Foods has released a super high oleic safflower oil, the first food product to be made using Super High Oleic safflower seeds grown exclusively in Australia.

The safflower varieties, developed by the CSIRO and Grains Research and Development Corporation, are grown in Queensland, NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

Plenty Foods owner Josh Gadischke said the ground-breaking oil made from the seeds would shake up the $920 million edible oil category.

The company extracts the oil naturally with state-of-the-art presses that use pressure and heat. This specialised processing line is the result of a $7 million investment to create Australia’s leading seed and nut oil facility.

“It takes a little more time than other methods, but it doesn’t use any chemicals. Creating a high-quality oil naturally is important to us as a company and we know it matters to our customers, too,” Josh said.

“As well as being chemical-free, the process creates no waste by-products and even the ‘cake’ of leftover seed husks is used to feed livestock.”

Plenty Safflower Oil has the highest proportion of oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid, and the lowest amount of saturated fats, of all common cooking oils.

These qualities help to keep the oil stable at high cooking temperatures making it a healthy choice for frying, roasting, barbecuing, baking and everyday cooking.

Josh said the safflower 0il would appeal to customers looking for a healthier, Australian-made cooking oil for everyday use, as an alternative to imported rice bran oil and other high smoke point cooking oils.

“Given initial interest in the product and strong consumer conversion, we expect our safflower oil to be a $1.2 million product for Woolworths by the end of the year and grow steadily from there. We are confident the product will also help to lift our portfolio’s household penetration from 1.5 per cent to more than 5 per cent.

“Our sales data tells us that once people try our safflower oil, they stay with it.

“We believe Australian households will grow to love this high-quality, homegrown alternative to the imports commonly available.”

Plenty says the total cooking oils market is growing at steady rate of 8.6 per cent year-on-year, driven by an increase in the number of health-conscious shoppers looking to eat well.

Plenty Safflower Oil contains 92 per cent oleic acid (omega 9), compared with 75 per cent for regular safflower oil.

It is available in a 750ml recyclable bottle at Woolworths (instore and online) and selected independents grocers.

Restaurants can buy commercial quantities from Plenty Foods online