Go Food, No Compost

ㆍBrewer Spent Grain(BSG) market is growing with beer market. Asian beer market is growing.

ㆍFood upcycling is To kill two birds with one stone : to reduce carbon footprint and to solve the global food imbalance issue.

ㆍMoonbeam Co. RE:HAVEST, Prefer Coffee has similar way to prepare new grain-age.

BSG Market? Is it big?

“I was wondering to get recycling beer?” Can you imagine to order recylcling food? Some food upcycling startup create food recycling tech to reduce food waste. They usually take a way to upcycling spent grain after brewing beer.

The beer market in the United States is one of the largest in the world. In 2020, it was valued at approximately $116 billion. The US beer market is dominated by several major brewing companies that produce popular brands. Some of these include Anheuser-Busch InBev (which owns Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois), Molson Coors Beverage Company (which owns Coors, Miller, and Blue Moon), and Heineken USA (which imports Heineken and owns other brands like Dos Equis). In recent years, there has been a significant growth in craft breweries across the country. Craft breweries are small-scale independent operations that focus on producing unique and high-quality beers with an emphasis on traditional brewing methods and innovative flavors.

The beer market in the United States is a significant and thriving industry. US brewer’s spent grain market is $267.2M, global market size is $1.60 billion. Spent grain market size is growing until 2030 from ‘grandviewresearch’ report. In 2020, the global annual beer production was estimated at 1.82 billion hL. North and South America is leading as 615.28 million hL. Followed big market is Asia, that product 550.88 million hL. In addition, some Asia countries prohibit the sale of alcohol. It’s a Big market to grow brewer’s spent grain(BSG) market.

Traditionally, spent grains have been composted or used as animal feed after brewing beer. However, this innovative startup saw an opportunity to take it one step further by transforming these grains into delectable granola. By doing so, they are diverting waste from landfills while creating a delicious product that is both healthy and environmentally friendly.

Could you upcycle for us?

Moonbeam Co. is producing granola using brewer’s spent grain with three co-founders: Wong Liyang, Kong Qi Herng, and Varden Thoh. In 2022, they initially focused on repurposing unserved cooked rice for brewing beer. However, they discovered the upcycling potential of rice. For every 2 kilograms of rice upcycled, they obtain 1 kilogram of spent grain rich in protein and fiber. While they initially focused on brewing beer, they shifted their spotlight to granola production using upcycled spent grain. In 2023, they emerged as one of the five winners of the DBS Foundation X NEA Hungry for Change Challenge.

Trying to solve similar problems in South Korea, RE:HAVEST is making upcycled spent grain and creating Re;nergy powder. The company was started in 2018 with the goal of upcycling millions of tons of Brewer’s Spent Grain. They not only focus on BSG but also on other spent grains from Sikhye (a traditional Korean rice punch). Their vision is to rebalance the worldwide food problem. Barley after brewing has enough nutrition to be used as fodder for several years, but it still contains nutrition beneficial for human health. RE:HAVEST has developed a new technological process to convert BSG into material suitable for eating and cooking legally. Nowadays, RE:HAVEST is collaborating with South Korea’s Big Brew Enterprise OB Beer, finding significant opportunities for spent grain.

This wave is also coming to coffee. A Singapore-based foodtech startup, Prefer Coffee, founded by two co-founders Tan Ding Jie and Jake Berber, has created bean-free coffee. It’s a new way to enjoy coffee with no carbon footprint. They make bean-free coffee using bean pulp, day-old bread, and barley grains from local breweries. They are developing coffee taste based on customer feedback, with their latest coffee bean being version 2.0. One of their strengths is customizable caffeine levels, achieved by adding caffeine after making the bean-free coffee. In February 2022, they raised funds from Forge Ventures, leading the round with participation from 500 Global, A*ccelerate, Better Bite Ventures, Sopoong Ventures, SEEDS Capital, Entrepreneur First, and Pickup Coffee.

Drink Recycling beer

Before long, we might be able to drink recycled beer. Currently, we are making granola, coffee, and baking ingredients from beer by-products. However, soon we might be able to drink beer made from old bread. The joke that beer is bread made from water is becoming a reality. give me a recycled beer, please.