Wide Open Agriculture targeting plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy markets

WOA is now the biggest loser on his portfolio - apart, of course, from Murray River Organics, which he has had to write off completely.

WOA was founded to produce food by regenerative, ethical means. Its Dirty Clean Food is steadily gaining traction in its home state of Western Australia.

It is now targeting the expanding market for plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy.

It has developed protein for human consumption from lupins, and samples of this 'Buntine Protein' are already being tried by food manufacturers around the world. It is ramping up in-house production and looking for partners to scale up the business.

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So why the sudden drop in the share price?

True, there was a slowdown in sales in 2022, and it is chewing through nearly $5 million every three months.

But at the end of September, it still had some $14 million in the kitty, and sales have continued to grow in the three months to December.

Last month, managing director Ben Cole moved to be an executive director with a particular focus on Buntine, while the head of the Dirty Clean Food operation, Jay Albany, has taken over as overall CEO.

Doubling up on a holding that has already lost a packet is always a high-risk strategy.

However, while companies tend to go very quiet when things are not going well, Albany has already invited shareholders to send him questions ahead of an online presentation on the latest quarterly results on January 30.

That's encouraging. So is the fact that the share price seems to have stabilised.

Taking a deep breath, the Punter has doubled his holding, buying 17,000 WOA on Friday at 19.5 cents.