Veratin upcycles wool into fertiliser and other sustainable products
Veratin is finding new ways to transform wool waste into high end value products.
Innovative manufacturing company Veratin (NSX: VTN) is on track to gain from the growing consumer demand for sustainable and environmentally-friendly products as it has found a way to ‘upcycle’ wool waste using green technology.
Through green chemistry processes, the research and development company develops high-end value products from low-grade wool including its flagship product Verigrow, an all-purpose fertiliser and soil improver.
Veratin floated on the National Stock Exchange of Australia (NSX) a month ago after raising $800,000 with plans to upgrade the production capacity of Verigrow, increase marketing activities to grow sales revenue, and add to its product suite including Verigrow-based potting mixes and foliar sprays as well as new products outside of the Verigrow range.
The company said “consumer awareness and the push for sustainable, biodegradable and green raw materials” has been the driving force to find alternative and more benign approaches to developing products from natural sources.
While Veratin currently operates in the agricultural market, it is seeking to develop products that will be applicable in a broader range of industries including the cosmetic, health foods and materials sectors.
“The company believes that its intellectual property can be used to be a part of solutions for all of these markets as it continues to grow its product portfolio from its existing Verigrow product to using its intellectual property for the development of new products associated with the creation of liquid keratin and amino acids from waste wool taken from sheep, and the potential development of new polymers,” it stated.
Products in development
Veratin was incorporated in 2016 by current chairman Dr Ramiz Boulos based on research he conducted on upcycling low-grade wool using green chemistry processes involving the extraction of keratin.
The company claims the “simple, efficient and cost-effective” technology rapidly turns solid wool into liquid keratin, which can then be further processed to produce fertilisers and soil improvers.
Alongside the production of Verigrow, Veratin is currently working on using the same technology to develop products including liquid keratin, keratin-based gels, drug carriers, amino acids and peptides and biodegradable polymers.
The company aims to market these products for use in natural sunscreens, skin and hair products, gels, drug delivery products, peptide supplements, and as a replacement for plastic in several products.
Veratin also plans to dry and pellet any residual material for on-sale to the poultry industry as feed supplement.
Current market share
Veratin’s Verigrow product is available for purchase in 40 stores and nurseries in Western Australia and a handful in the eastern states.
There are an estimated 2,100 fertiliser stockists in Australia with more than 200 in WA alone, providing Veratin with ample opportunity to increase its market share in the country.
According to data presented in the company’s prospectus, the Australian fertiliser manufacturing industry is worth about $4 billion.
Part of Veratin’s plan following its public offer was to increase its distribution of Verigrow around the country.
Additional market opportunities
Market research presented by Veratin has given the global cosmetic industry a value of more than US$250 billion (A$348 billion) with a forecasted annual growth rate of 3.4%. Shampoos, conditioners, soaps and sunscreens form a large portion of this market.
The global food supplement industry has been valued in excess of US$200 billion (A$278 billion) with protein and peptide supplements making up a significant part of this, while the biodegradable polymer market is estimated at over US$3.5 billion (A$4.8 billion) and growing at a compound annual growth rate of 15%.
Biodegradable polymers are ones which breakdown into natural by-products with the help of naturally occurring microbes such as algae, bacteria and fungi.
They have a range of applications including controlled drug and gene delivery, tissue engineering, medical implants and devices, surgical sutures and wound dressings.