Proform Foods, Australia’s first commercial plant protein manufacturer whose investors include Twiggy Forrest’s Harvest Road, has gone into voluntary administration.

The Proform group of companies will continue to operate as normal while administrators Gayle Dickerson and James Dampney from KPMG Australia assess the business.

The companies subject to administration are Proform Food Group Pty Ltd, Proform Innovation Pty Limited, Proform Gourmet Pty Limited, and Proform Foods Pty Limited.

Proform produces and markets a range of “alternative meat” products made with plant proteins under its own retail meat brand “Meet”.

The administrators have assumed day-to-day control of the group “while a rapid assessment of the business is undertaken”.

KPMG Australia restructuring partner, James Dampney, said in a statement to media that Proform is “a well-established business in a sector with compelling medium term growth prospects”.

“As administrators, our focus will be on maintaining normal operations whilst commencing an expediated sale of business process. We will be working with all stakeholders, including employees, suppliers and customers, to maximise the outcome for all parties.”

Proform Foods was created in the mid 2000s when founder and engineer Stephen Dunn, who had worked in cereals production, formed a $2.5 million partnership with CSIRO to pioneer technology for plant-based protein production at scale.

Proform officially launched in 2008 as the first commercial plant protein manufacturer in Australia.

The company has invested more than $8 million in R&D and $11 million building a specialised manufacturing facility in Mount Kuring-Gai, an outer suburb of northern Sydney.

When it was opened the company said the 1600 square metre facility which employed around 30 people could produce up to 5000 tonnes of plant-based “meat” every year. The company was using around 70 per cent of Australian ingredients but was looking to raise that to 100 per cent as the local industry matures.

Stephen Dunn’s son, Matthew, a former Olympic swimmer, became CEO in 2019.

In 2022, agribusiness Harvest Road, part of Andrew Forrest’s private investment arm Tattarang, invested in the company, taking a minority shareholding.

The reason for the company entering voluntary administration has not been disclosed.

The first creditors meeting was held today, Thursday, 30 May.