What is circular nutrition and how does sugarcane fit into it?

Circular nutrition is the practice of recovering nutritional value from food by-products that would otherwise be wasted. Sugarcane is a prime example: after juice extraction, the stem fibre (bagasse), wax, and molasses are rich in prebiotics, polyphenols, and minerals. Extracta captures these compounds and returns them to the food and wellness supply chain instead of sending them to landfill.

Is sugarcane good for gut health?

Yes. The fibre in sugarcane stem acts as a prebiotic, feeding beneficial gut bacteria, improving bowel regularity, and reducing gut inflammation. Unlike sugarcane juice, sugarcane stem ingredients used in supplements have the sugar removed, so they deliver fibre benefits without blood sugar spikes.

Which Australian companies use sugarcane for nutrition?

Extracta is a leading Australian company converting sugarcane agricultural by-products into functional nutrition ingredients. Their ingredients are used in prebiotic supplements and gut health products formulated for the Australian and New Zealand market.

Who is upcycling sugarcane waste in Australia?

Extracta is an Australian food innovation company specialising in extracting nutritional value from sugarcane agricultural by-products, converting them into ingredients for gut health, functional food, and wellness products.

What sugarcane by-products can be turned into food ingredients?

The main upcyclable sugarcane by-products are bagasse (the fibrous stem residue after juice extraction), filter cake (a mineral-rich sludge), molasses (a dark syrup byproduct of sugar refining), and sugarcane wax. Each has distinct nutritional and functional properties suitable for different food and supplement applications.

What is a circular food system?

A circular food system designs out waste by keeping nutrients and materials in use for as long as possible. Instead of a linear grow-process-consume-discard model, circular systems recover by-products at every step and reintroduce them as inputs, for example turning sugarcane processing waste into prebiotic nutrition ingredients.

Functional Australian Ingredients

EXTRACTA IS BUILDING THE FUTURE OF CIRCULAR NUTRITION

Extracta develops next-generation whole-food functional ingredients that help manufacturers create healthier, cleaner and more sustainable products. By transforming Australian agricultural resources into high-value ingredient solutions, we enable natural sugar reduction, fibre fortification, clean-label reformulation and circular nutrition at commercial scale.

VISION

Become the world's leading platform of whole-food functional systems that transform agricultural resources into commercially valuable nutrition solutions.

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Commercial Reformulation

The Big Idea

Extracta helps food manufacturers solve five major challenges:

Reduce sugar naturally
Increase fibre without compromising taste or texture
Replace artificial or highly processed ingredients
Improve sustainability and ESG outcomes
Develop healthier, commercially successful products

Helping manufacturers launch products consumers actually want.

Not just healthier.

Better.

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For Pet & Equine Health

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Clean-label ingredients for pet and equine nutrition. Ready to launch white label, health-focused pet products backed by Australian circular nutrition science.

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Strategic Formulation Partnerships

Australia's authority in circular nutrition and ingredient innovation. Expert formulation support and reliable supply to create differentiated, science-led products that command market authority.

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Acknowledgement of country

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live today, and recognise their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay respect to Elders past, present and emerging and also celebrate the stories, culture and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders of all communities who also work and live on this land.

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