New breed of tomato is the sauce of youth for Abundant Produce

Forget avocado, rosehip or coconut oils – the latest miracle ingredient to fight ageing might just be sitting in the bottom of your crisper.

Tomatoes are the key ingredient in a new skin care range by plant breeder Abundant Produce (ASX:ABT), including the latest release of lip balm, Tomato Infusion Lips Alive but the nutraceutical maker isn’t stopping there when it comes to turning salad ingredients into beauty products.

Sun-conscious Aussie investors were impressed, pushing ABT shares up 10 per cent to 40c.

Abundant’s Sydney-based seed breeding program has found success with other vegetables such as cucumbers, but the company remain tight lipped about just how far their vegetable horizons extend.

“We are a science-based business and do more than just pulping fruit,” chief executive Tony Crimmins said.

“The special tomato that we have bred is extremely high in lycopene and is proven to reduce inflammation.”

Commonly found in not just tomatoes but other red vegetables, the chemical compound lycopene is extracted from tomatoes and according to ABT “naturally helps the skin to defend itself against sun damage… and to reduce roughness, wrinkles and other visible signs of ageing”.

The product is the second from the Sydney-based company, who launched their Tomato Infusion Lycopene Active daily face cream in April with a significant target towards the Chinese market.

“We built Abundant from the ground up to become one of Australia’s new breed of export‐driven businesses,” Mr Crimmins said.

“We integrate local scientific excellence with global distribution powerhouses to deliver Australian innovation to the world.”

The products have been developed in conjunction with the University of NSW and the University of Sydney, in a specialised seed breeding program which breeds plants for the natural health products as well as seeds for producers.

In the past financial year, the company made $191,318 in sales.

Shares in ABT have traded between 32c and 93c in the past year.

Production of the lip balm is scheduled to commence later this month, with release in early November, and further tomato-based products in the pipeline for release later this year.

The company have also received grant money from the Federal Government to continue their seed breeding, which has already seen the success of several cherry tomato varieties.

“The precise details of the project are confidential but the results are expected to be very beneficial for ABT shareholders and users of our products alike,” CEO of the company’s health care subsidiary ANH Shanan Birkin said.