It's Kakadu Plum Harvest Time: From the Outback to the Beauty Counter
Ingredient transparency - We’ve all heard so much about Kakadu Plum.
We thought you’d like to see where it is harvested from, and meet the growers behind the beauty industries favourite Vitamin-C source.
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Endemic to the regions across the top of Australia, and predominantly harvested from Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
The Kakadu Plum harvesting season in the Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia, is fast coming to an end, and it is an opportunity to celebrate the heroes on the ground that harvest it, collect and sort it in pristine remote locations, often in temperatures in the high 30s and low 40 degrees heat, often wild harvested over kilometres and hectares, endure challenges with extreme weather patterns such as high winds and rainfall, even cyclones some years, and limited logistics. It's hard work in a short window in the wet season from late December to the end of January.
Over the last decade, the Kakadu Plum (Gubinge) has led the Australian native botanical and A-Beauty trend because of its global recognition as the world’s highest natural source of Vitamin C (biological ascorbic acid). And we all know how much the cosmetic world is in love with the pursuit of Vitamin C for decades, featuring in serums, creams, masks, body products, treatments - you name it!
The Kakadu Plum really put Australian mega-diversity on the map, and the world has embraced it!
Vitamin C is an essential nutrient and plays a vital role in human health, from keeping your skin, bones, and connective tissue healthy, helping your body absorb iron, and playing an important role in immune function. For a natural source, this botanical is the hero!
As transparency of source is becoming more important for Skincare brands than ever, as their customers are drilling down on how much they know about their ingredients and what responsible ingredient choices they are making, we are seeing a rise in ethical brands that want to engage and explore ways they can connect with the growers and build meaningful relationships that go beyond the ingredient, support infrastructure, and not just as a mention in their backstories.
For nearly a decade, we have been transparent about where we source our Kakadu Plum, from the Dampier Peninsula in Western Australia, starting with the Lombadina Aboriginal Corporation, with the objective to promote our supply chain beyond our work. Today we have expanded our supply partners with a number of other groups in the region and are excited to see the growth on the ground due to the quality fruit and harvesting.
We are seeing more brands starting to ask how they can support the growers on the ground. In the natural ingredient arena, we realize the vital role of growers in sustaining the supply chain, and that brands need growers and growers need brands. Here at NATIVE EXTRACTS we're connecting brands and consumers to First Nations growers.
For us to supply ingredients, someone has to grow and harvest a botanical, store it, and maintain a consistent supply annually. We want to celebrate the amazing work being done and create new opportunities for growers to achieve visibility on platforms not normally within their reach.
Do you know where your ingredient starts? Are you supporting the inclusion of First Nations growers represented in the supply chain, which is currently at less than 2%? Is your Kakadu Plum grown and harvested in Australia?
Harvesting the Australian native hero – Kakadu Plum:
The Kakadu Plum, scientifically known as Terminalia ferdinandiana, thrives in the pristine landscapes of the Northern Territory, Western Australia, and Queensland. The harvest in the Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia, usually aligns with the Wet Season, occurring between December and the end of January. The extreme tropical climate creates the perfect conditions for this superfood to flourish. Meet some of the growers we work with – Darrell and Bud Sibosado, Lombadina Aboriginal Corporation, Bard Country, Dampier Peninsula, WA.
Kakadu Plum – harnessing natural Vitamin C:
NATIVE EXTRACTS first announced our breakthrough in harnessing the natural Vitamin C in an aqueous format back in 2013. Since 2016 we have further innovated our hydrophilic Cellular extraction process, and in 2018 expanded our R&D with additional protocols leading to a new breakthrough in our nutrient dense Kakadu Plum EssenXce achieving 15 – 16,000mg/100g of natural Vitamin C. Request the paper Dr Evan Stephens, Lead Biotechnologist at NATIVE EXTRACTS. While the Kakadu Plum is the champion of natural Vitamin C (aka biological ascorbic acid) our work illustrates other valuable compounds in its hydrophilic entourage such as Gallic acid, and more recently encouraging results in our pre-clinical trials for anti-inflammatory activity which we plan to share in a published paper later in the year.
Access the "Harness Vitamin C" paper by NATIVE EXTRACTS lead bio chemist Dr. Even Stephens email enquiries@nativeextracts.com to request the paper.