International demand for an apple-based flour, developed at the University of Auckland, has skyrocketed. The flour could be on the local market next year. Consumer appetite for the apple flour, created from fruit pulp normally dumped as waste, has taken its creators by surprise.

Biological scientists at the University of Auckland, Associate Professor Silas Granato Villas-Boas and PhD student Ninna Granucci, entered Ninna’s PhD research under the company name of Green Spot in the university’s Velocity $100K Challenge – finishing runner-up.

A story on their high-protein, low-calorie flour, derived from apple pomace (an apple by-product), appeared in the New Zealand Herald, Brand Insight section. The article was picked up by at least 14 international media organisations and was even translated into French.

Granucci and Villas-Boas received queries from all over the world. With the flour still in the lab, they were unprepared for the outpouring of interest. Supermarkets want to stock it. Vegans and gluten-intolerant people want to buy it. Cafes want to partner with them to make new products. Apple processing companies, who often have to pay to send the pomace to landfill, want to supply pomace. Investors want a piece of the pie.

– NZ Herald