Vegan Superfood Company Is Loopy For Lupin

A new plant-based superfood has been launched on the UK market. Lupin Protein Flakes is the first offering from The Lupin Company, the brainchild of serial environmental and vegan entrepreneur, Dr Jonathan Straight. The company aims to introduce various products made from this Australian-grown wonder-bean. 

The Lupin Company is a London-based superfood business founded in 2019. It specialises in the distribution of premium lupin products. All lupin flakes sold by The Lupin Company are produced and packed in Western Australia.

Dr Jonathan Straight is the Yorkshire entrepreneur behind Straight plc which he exited in 2014. That business remains the UK’s biggest supplier of recycling containers, compost bins and water butts. Vegetarian since his teens and vegan for the past several years, he has a longstanding interest in the vegan food market. 

Lupin is a protein-rich legume - it belongs to the same plant family as peanuts. Lupins have been eaten for thousands of years for their impressive nutritional and health benefits, but it is only in the last few years or so that a new strain, Lupinus Angustifolius, has been sustainably farmed. This has none of the bitter taste generally associated with lupin beans and consequently needs no boiling or salting before use. In fact, the flakes are so mild and digestible, that they can even be eaten raw - for example, sprinkled on salads or added to smoothies.

Jonathan Straight, the founder of The Lupin Company told TheVeganKind: “Farming lupin requires little or no added water or chemical fertilisers. We take the GMO-free beans, dehull them and then mill them into a coarse flour. That’s it – totally natural, with nothing added.” 

“Our lupin flakes are vegan, gluten-free and low GI. They contain a whopping 40% protein with all nine essential amino acids and are high in fibre (38%) too. Yet the lupin flakes have only 4% carbohydrate, making them ideal for keto diets as well.” 

With three times the iron of kale, treble the potassium in bananas and more antioxidants than red berries (all bioavailable) the health benefits of lupin flakes begin to add up. Backed up by significant nutritional and scientific research, lupin has a raft of proven health benefits too, such as keeping you fuller for longer (which makes it great for weight loss) or helping with high blood pressure. The flakes include natural prebiotic fibre which aids good gut health. 

Lupin flakes are one of the most versatile ingredients available for vegans and plant-based foodies. Suggested uses are to toast as a topping, mix with oats for protein-boosted porridge, boil for just three minutes and use in place or rice or quinoa, or mix into to stews and casseroles to add lupin goodness and to thicken the sauce. Bread baked with 20% lupin flakes in place of wheat flour has 60% more protein and three times the fibre than the usual recipe, and lupin can be used in cakes and cookies too.

Recommended intake is 40g per day. These four tablespoons contain 16g of protein and half the suggested consumption of fibre. Most people in the UK do not get enough fibre and lupin offers a simple of tasty way of addressing the balance. 

TLC Lupin Protein Flakes are initially being sold in 400g bags: available loose (outers of 36 bags) or in shelf-ready boxes of six-packs. 5kg bulk bags are also stocked.