: Upcycling is entering a new phase.
Startups are developing technology that can capture more nutrition, functionality, and economic value out of materials typically destined for compost, animal feed or landfills.
The term “upcycling” gained traction within the food industry during the 2010s, as it was seen as an effective way to fight climate change, and to feed the growing population.
The Upcycled Food Association launched its Upcycled Certified Program and formalized the definition of upcycled food during this pandemic. They also sought to differentiate between real innovation and greenwashing.
Early commercial applications focused on simple solutions, like incorporating used brewers grain into snack foods or reusing cosmetically flawed produce in sauces, soups, and other prepared food.
Startups demonstrated at IFT First in Chicago, last week, how the emphasis is shifting from waste prevention towards engineering premium ingredients that have targeted functionality. The expo showcased technologies and ingredients that transformed everything from wool and sheep skins to pomace, bakery scraps, and pomace into high-quality ingredients. These ingredients include specialty proteins, bioactives, and functional fibers.
Business case for upcycling in the future
Each company presented a unique solution, and each addressed a specific end market.
However, all companies shared the same goal: to extract more value out of agriculture before valuable compounds or nutrients are lost.
The prize is huge for startup companies, ingredient manufacturers, CPGs, and investors who work together to overcome common challenges. This includes upcycling, says Elliott Notricia. He founded Symbio Bioculinary which builds turnkey fermentation systems that, he claims, enable circularity by converting disposal costs into income streams.
Notricia, who presented during an IFT FIRST pitch slam at the main stage, estimated that the annual opportunity was $137 billion.
Notricia explained how many byproducts are lost due to production excess and the ag industry.
These include husks shells and any other products that, “despite established academic research, promising innovations and years of establishment”, have not been commercialized.
Why? He said that the lack of infrastructure was to blame.
Upcycling can be profitable by building the right infrastructure
He acknowledged that the idea of building machines is “the least sexy” and “not the most interesting,” but he said it was “the key to unlocking scientific potential for enzymatic technology and upcycling.”
The company has a vertically integrated stack, he said. It includes an AI-powered biorefinery and “high performance fungal strains.” [that] For “stable and high-titer performances in industrial applications,” these products are designed for specific side-stream enzymatic secretion profile.
Symbio Bioculinary, as a proof-of-concept, has developed a system that converts excess product and trimmings, uncooked or baked, into sugar.
By doing this pilot we show that upcycling unlocks the economics behind food waste valorisation because 80% is perishable.
He said that we have only a few hours between the moment the food waste leaves the production line and the point where it is no longer edible or usable. By capturing the value of this waste on-site before it is thrown away, we can create human edible sugars, antioxidants, and lipids.
He said that even if the company did not use the product, it could still generate a return on investment because the hauling and associated emissions, as well as the challenges of disposal were eliminated.
One waste stream can be turned into many ingredients
While Symbio is rethinking where valuable ingredients can be recovered from, Hyfe and other startups are thinking about what compounds could be upcycled.
Megan McEvoy is the chief staff of Hyfe. She said that Hyfe created a proprietary solvent-free refinement process to convert waste products from nut and produce processors such as skins, seeds and pits into functional ingredients with high value, like soluble fibre and bioactives.
She said that the company had explored developing soluble fibres which are more easily digestible, stable in high pH levels and temperatures, and can be added to shelf-stable products.
She said that “on the bioactive end, we have antimicrobials, antioxidants, and polyphenols which could be used to preserve food”, including as a substitute for BHA or BHT.
Hyfe is just getting started, but the company is already planning to create a complete supply chain. They are in discussions with partners who have fruit and vegetable scraps and with downstream partners such as CPG firms that might use these ingredients.
Hyfe is one of a growing group of companies at IFT FIRST that use new technologies to convert agricultural by-products into ingredients with higher value. (E Crawford/E Crawford)
The consistency of supply is one of the greatest challenges in upcycling. If you have a waste stream with different volumes and qualities, it is important to manage the upstream supply for downstream partners.
The downstream partners don’t like to be limited by a certain number of months or if the product is available only this year. McEvoy added that this is Hyfe’s top priority.
Hyfe is a company in the seed-stage. It does not yet have a commercial product, but it operates a small pilot plant and runs benchtop tests. The company is looking for partners from both ends of the value-chain.
Uncovering the hidden potential of materials that you may have overlooked
Other startups have identified new ingredients hidden in overlooked materials.
Tertiary extracts Otautahi is one example.
It transforms a low-value by-product of animal origin into an Ovitage, a bioactive product designed specifically for women’s wellbeing.
“Ovitage” is a new peptide that’s been upcycled using sheepskins and wool, but most importantly the follicles between. We get the protein we need from the sheepskin, the 95%-protein wool, as well as the powerful, signaling peptides we obtain from the hair follicles.
He said that Ovitage is “a collagen but not what you think.”
He said that signaling peptides differ from other peptides because they have a repeated impact, while other peptides only offer an impact one-on-1 before being assimilated.
It is difficult to separate them because we have over 100 different types of peptides. Our extraction process retains the signaling molecules. There aren’t many companies that can extract these signaling molecules and integrate them into their products. We are excited to use that as a differentiation,” said he.
Everee Women’s Ovitage is made by upcycling wool, hides and hair follicles to bioactive peptides that support women’s wellbeing. (E Crawford/E Crawford)
According to Ovitage, it is rich in cystine (a nutrient), tyrosine (a metabolite) and glutamic acids. This combination has a positive impact on the gut, muscles, joint, cognitive function, and mood. The protein is clear, highly bioactive and very soluble.
Both the ingredient and company stand out from their competitors because they are aimed at women’s healthcare.
We all know only 2% of the research done is on women. We’ve been working hard to locate a laboratory that has female cells.
Sapsford said that we’ve performed in vitro research with the cells and have also used them for all our clinical trials with humans.
Ovitage and its impact on gut health is included in the targeted research.
Seventy-five percent of women have digestive problems at one time or another in their life, but this is most common during the perimenopause. The gut lining is often damaged.
Sapsford said, “We’ve demonstrated that our material is able to support and repair the gut lining. This includes the mucosal layer through the basement membrane as well as the tight junctions.
He said that the ingredient can also strengthen the hair follicle structure. The company has shown it anchors hair stronger to reduce hair loss. This is a problem for 40 percent of women.
Sapsford said that Ovitage is GRAS-certified and it can be used as an ingredient or supplement in foods. Sapsford said that the product is now available because the company owns a New Zealand factory, an American warehouse, and “a few big commercial leases in the coming quarter.”
Takeaway
These companies collectively show that upcycling food has moved beyond the first phase, where success was defined by the amount of waste diverted away from landfills, to a new phase, which is more about the ability recover high-value, nutritious and functional ingredients.
The most important food ingredients of tomorrow may not be derived from new crops but from sidestreams in agriculture that have been overlooked by processors or are difficult to reach.