Waste Through Food Upcycling: A Profitable Opportunity

🍏 Grocers generate a significant amount of waste, most of which ends up in landfills and incinerators. Recycling is the answer to this problem, but only 75-80% of the waste generated is recyclable and compostable. The United Nations Environment Programme’s “UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021,” states that 17% of globally produced food is wasted, with households, retailers, and food service accounting for 931 million tons of wasted food. To address this problem, some companies have developed innovative ways to upcycle food waste into unique products.

Food upcycling can help eliminate the harmful waste that makes up the largest category of waste, accounting for 24% of material found in landfills and 22% of the material burned in incinerators. Donations, anaerobic digestion, animal feed, and composting have already eliminated one-third of this waste. The remaining two-thirds can be transformed into alternative revenue streams and provide profit to grocers, food service, and retailers alike.

Food upcycling is a booming industry, worth $55.1 billion in 2023 and expected to grow at a CAGR of 5% by 2033. Grocers, CPG, and food service industries can benefit from upcycled consumables, beverages, pet treats, and fertilizer and manure for the agriculture ecosystem. Innovative companies like Matriark Foods and Renewal Mill are already using food remnants to create new food products, and such companies are disrupting the space with sustainable options that can be revenue producers for grocers.

By Grocerydoppio


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