About Us

Location:

709 Nobbs Rd, Chinchilla, Queensland, 4413, Australia
(60km North East of Chinchilla)

ABN: 56 100 898 093

Pumpkin Seed Oil - Australian Story

Australian Pumpkin Seed Company is a family owned and operated company, founded by the West family consisting of John, Helen, Viki and Sharan (Viki has since left the company to pursue other interests, however she still offers input wherever possible).

In 1998 trials were started on the family property for growing the Cucurbita Pepo var Styrica pumpkin and in 2000 after great results, we decided to start a rural industry completely new to the State and nation – production of the Styrian cucurbita pepo pumpkin seed.  In 2002 the Australian Pumpkin Seed Company was conceived and has been continuously growing, developing and strengthening ever since.

The company’s expansion has enabled it to employ extra staff from the local district to assist in the operation of the packaging and processing areas. To assure the continued quality and safety of the products is well managed for customers both nationally and internationally, the company is undertaking the HACCP accreditation system.

While it began as a way to support our family, we believe that it offers great potential benefits to many farmers both in Queensland and in other Australian states. With this in mind Australian Pumpkin Seed Company is instrumental in developing a strategy to make this a reality. The New South Wales Department of Agriculture and a number of other leading businesses are currently involved in trials of the crop in a number of areas. Interest has been shown by a number of growers in Queensland and in New South Wales. The Australian Pumpkin Seed Company is collaborating with a leading organic grower in the Lockyer Valley in Queensland.

The Australian Pumpkin Seed Company is supporting research by two biochemists in Brisbane into the many health benefits that have been reported. It is hoped that this research will help to raise the profile of the product and assist in the establishment of the Australian pumpkin seed industry.

History

John and Helen West moved with their 2 daughters Viki and Sharan to the 1056 acre property known as 'Jo-Len" in 1982. The property is situated 65km north east of Chinchilla in Queensland.

The West family have 23 years experience as organic cattle and small crop farmers. Due to the limited availability of good quality pure pumpkin seed oil in Australia, the family imported in 1998 a small quantity of the famous Styrian pumpkin seeds to grow enough for personal use only. Due to the high interest from friends and neighbours, it was decided in 2002 to start the family company Pepo Pty Ltd, to be able to produce enough oil for sale so that everyone could benefit from this wonderful, nutritious, tasty oil.

The highly valuable properties of Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil has been kept a secret for at least 300 years, so the knowledge of pumpkin seed oils existence has been very limited outside of Austria and Slovenia. To let the Australian public know of the first pumpkin seed oil produced here in Australia, Pepo started marketing The Green Oil at farmers markets in Brisbane and on the Sunshine Coast, in April 2004. The response was fantastic! In 18 months The Green Oil has been made available in 50+ Gourmet Deli's, Health Food Stores and Natural Therapy Centres throughout Qld, NSW and Vic.

With the ongoing development of other pumpkin seed products besides pumpkin seed oil, the directors deceided to change the company name to the more fitting 'Australian Pumpkin Seed Company' at the end of 2006. The name change helps to signify the companies new direction into becoming the major pumpkin seed product dealer in Australia.

Our gently roasted dark green pumpkin seeds are the biggest, greenest and best pumpkin seeds you will ever taste!

The Founding Members - How it all began...

A frequent question we get asked is "how did you get into this business?"... John West grew up on a farm in Slovenia (yes he changed his name) where they grew special pumpkins, extracted the seed by hand and took them to the local factory to have the oil extracted. Little did he know that all the knowledge he gained would help him become the first producer of traditionally made Australian pumpkin seed oil, with his own family, some 40 years later.