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Global Opportunity Explorer2019 Insights

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Supergrain+ is a flour made from ‘spent grain’, a byproduct of brewing beers. This fibre and protein rich flour is converted into nutritious snack bars wrapped in biodegradable packaging.

ReGrained was founded by two friends with a hobby for home-brewing beer. Upon realising the vast amount of grain that is wasted in the brewing process, referred to as ‘spent grain’, they set out to develop a way to create value from this nutritious byproduct. The result is Supergrain+, an alternative to flour that is produced using spent grain from local craft breweries around San Francisco.

In the brewing process, grains such as barley, wheat and rye are mixed with hot water to extract most of their sugars and create alcohol. Without these starches, the remaining byproduct is packed with insoluble fibre, protein and micronutrients. In fact, Supergrain+ contains 20g of protein and 27g of fibre per 100g, compared to 12g and three grams respectively in plain white flour. It is also a good source of prebiotics, the nutrients that feed probiotics in the gut and promote digestive health. Supergrain+ is currently sold in the form of flavoured snack bars, but ReGrained is experimenting with other products such as chips and bread. To date, they’ve upcycled over 20,000 kg of grain.

ReGrained has partnered with packaging industry experts to develop a wrapper that is biodegradable and compostable, in keeping with their no-waste philosophy. Their solution is part of a growing trend of what the founders call ‘edible upcycling’, whereby the byproducts from food production are transformed into new food products. They are a certified B-Corp organisation, meaning they have been independently verified as an environmentally and socially responsible company. In addition, they are a member of the 1% For the Planet movement and donate 1% of their profits to non-profit organisations. 

Why you should care

Traditionally, spent grain has been collected by farmers and fed to livestock. However the growth of urban craft breweries means that this valuable byproduct is not conveniently available to farmers, meaning it is disposed of using municipal waste services. ReGrained has discovered a use to recover further value from this nutritious byproduct and cut food waste.

How the Global Goals are addressed

Responsible consumption and production

ReGrained has already captured value from 20,000kg of waste byproduct, significantly cutting waste generation. Their biodegradable packaging is also helping to prevent waste.