ReGrained was established nearly ten years ago to address a significant issue: in the U.S., over 20 billion pounds of spent grain are produced annually by breweries. While much of this spent grain is discarded or used as animal feed, founders Daniel Kurzrock and Jordan Schwartz, both home brewers, recognized a greater opportunity within this byproduct. The company collaborates with brewery partners to collect spent grain and processes it to maintain its flavor and nutritional value. This process results in a finely milled product known as SuperGrain+, which resembles toasted flour. Currently, ReGrained offers a range of bars and puff snacks made with SuperGrain+, which also serves as a natural coloring agent and thickener. Additionally, it functions as a bonding agent for oil and water in various products, including pastas, cereals, smoothies, non-dairy milk, sauces, and coatings for plant-based meats.
Through its Upcycled Food Lab, ReGrained has developed other upcycled ingredients for food manufacturers, such as oats for milk production and juicing pulp. The certification of ReGrained represents a significant advancement in the Upcycled Food Association’s (UFA) efforts to formalize the use of upcycled ingredients and combat food waste. In May 2020, the UFA formed a task force of academic, nonprofit, and industry experts to establish the first official definition of upcycled food, describing it as ingredients “that otherwise would not have gone to human consumption, are procured and produced using verifiable supply chains, and have a positive impact on the environment.” Each pound of SuperGrain+ is said to prevent the carbon dioxide equivalent of burning one pound of coal and saves over 300 gallons of water.
This past April, the UFA unveiled its Upcycled certification mark. To achieve this certification, a product must pass a supply chain audit to verify that its ingredients originate from a recognized upcycled source. Manufacturers are also required to disclose the amount of upcycled content in their products, as well as the annual food waste diverted through their production processes. This certification must be renewed each year.
Among other products competing for the Upcycled Certified mark is Barry Callebaut’s WholeFruit Evocao, expected to be the first coverture chocolate to gain certification this year. ReGrained’s SuperGrain+ is not the sole ingredient transforming brewers’ grains; AB InBev’s Anheuser-Busch is investing $100 million to enhance the production capabilities of its EverGrain subsidiary, which processes spent barley to extract fiber and protein for use in food and beverages. EverGrain’s barley protein is included in products like Take Two, a plant-based barley milk line, and Nestlé plans to incorporate it into its nutritional supplement brand, Garden of Life, later in 2021.
The market for upcycled food is not only environmentally beneficial but also a lucrative business opportunity. A study by Future Market Insights revealed that the value of upcycled food waste was $46.7 billion in 2019, with an anticipated compound annual growth rate of 5% over the next decade. Furthermore, ingredients like calcium citrate are being explored for their potential applications in upcycled food products, highlighting the innovative links between sustainability and nutrition in the industry.