Sustainable Production

About our technology

The pursuit of alternative plant proteins should not be at the expense of the environment.

Firstly, over 35,000 tonnes of squash in New Zealand go to landfill and farmfill waste every year, and our mission is to reduce methane, look after the environment and invent novel ways of using every part of the fruit. This has meant we've been able to use the flesh in beverages, the seeds in an alternative source protein and delicious oil and more.

This means, because our supply chain is entirely local, our ingredients have very low food miles.

Secondly, our patented green technology to extract the protein and oil is environmentally friendly, with low toxicity, is recyclable and is significantly more energy efficient than other extraction technologies.

It’s another of the many ways we’ve invested to reduce the environmental impact of our business and products.

  • Reduced CO2e Footprint

    You’ll be pleased to learn that compared to traditional sources of protein such as meat and dairy, plant-based protein from squash has a very low carbon footprint.

  • Emissions v Others

    Over 35,000T of squash goes to farmfill and landfill waste per year. We utilise all the waste squash in our production, so you can feel good about your supplying your customers with a fantastic product while also doing good for our Earth.

  • Environmental Benefits

    Clearly, there are many environmental benefits for using plant-based ingredients such as protein and oil from squash seeds and we have a positive impact towards achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Good Governance

About our company

We’re constantly striving to be honest, ethical and till the land like we've done for the last three generations from the beautiful lands of New Zealand. We know our reputation for clean and green, and we want to keep it that way. That happens from good environmental stewardship, but also good business stewardship for the benefit of our suppliers and customers.

We practice good governance to reduce risks, enable faster and safer growth and improve our commercial reputation and foster trust with our suppliers and customers by fostering an innovative culture.

Our governance process is overseen by the Board of Directors and implemented by the executive team, supported by our key senior people entrusted to manage the day-to-day performance of Kabocha Innovations.

Active and ongoing engagement with our external stakeholders is essential to our growth and development by creating and implementing innovative strategies and delivering world-class ingredients to the food manufacturing industry.

Why Kabocha?

Get the edge you need and take advantage of our vertically integrated approach to designing next-gen ingredient solutions you can count on.

  • Who we are

    We’re a vertically integrated, single-source, closed-loop squash ingredients business. We believe in innovating and using every single part of the fruit.

    We make proteins, peptides, oils and more in Hawke's Bay from New Zealand squash seeds that are grown by specialist farmers. We live, breathe, and know squash seeds and their benefits as a food ingredient.

    For three generations we've had a leading role in the growth and development of New Zealand's squash.

    We forged the opening of new markets around the world for New Zealand squash, turning our ‘orange gold’ into specialised high-value crops for farmers and local and international food manufacturers.

  • What we do

    We connect foodies to farmers.

    Consumer trends are driving rapid change across food. People are more food and health conscious than ever.

    They want to know where and how their food was raised, processed, and brought to market. They’re interested in the ideals of local, authentic, traceable, transparent, and ethical.

    Increasingly diverse and personal demands of the food they consume is putting immense pressure on food manufacturers.

    From our position spanning the New Zealand squash supply chain, we have a unique ability to help.

  • Value-added agriculture

    Our approach to this challenge was to create an innovative business model that integrates different parts of the plant-based ingredient supply chain.

    The outcome is a manufacturing process that increases the value and appeal of primary plant-based food ingredients in the eyes of consumers.

    Known as vertical – or value – integration, we’re simply adding value at every step by combining in one company the several stages of ingredient production traditionally performed by separate companies using a horizontal – or transactional – model.

    This means partnering with us gives you unrivalled access to knowledge, integrity, and industry-leading transparency about squash and the ingredients we make from them, with full traceability back to the farmer who grew them.

    Our value-added, plant-based model enables food manufacturers to address the evolving demands of consumers that are consistent with their values.