Moutai Group, AB InBev, Santonanda and a half, Mondelēz. Are they all on the bar with "garbage"?
There is an old Chinese saying, "Take the essence and discard the dross." Now there are companies that are doing this "dross".
oatly, three-and-a-half, pulp pantry
"Garbage" can also get rich? No kidding.
In 2023, Moutai Recycling Production and Investment Co., Ltd. will use distiller's grains and other liquor by-products to achieve an annual output value of more than 800 million yuan, with a tax revenue of 3300 million yuan, absorbing more than 1,200 people, and achieving 100% resource utilization of liquor by-products [1].
Not only Moutai, this year's food and beverage companies are playing a very new kind of "turning waste into treasure".
Kerry makes protein chips from distiller's grains, three-and-a-half uses coffee grounds to make ping-pong rackets, AB InBev makes detergent from alcohol brewed alcohol-free beer, and Oatly uses leftover oat residue to make boxes, mobile phone cases, and cup sleeves.
Upcycled Foods, AB InBev, Three and a Half Meals.
In addition, food "junk" can be used to make pizza, flour, drinks, and even a piece of clothing.
Nowadays, more and more brands are participating in the "waste to treasure" team. From 2017 to 2021, the compound annual growth rate of new food and beverage products with "upcycling" claims has reached 69% [2].
Today, let's explore the innovations that the global food and beverage industry is making in the field of "turning waste into value". How did food "garbage" such as distiller's grains, coffee grounds, bean dregs, and fruit pomace turn into "fragrant and sweet" in the hands of food companies?
When you think of Moutai, what comes to mind?
In 2023, Moutai Group will achieve the goal of "double 100 billion" in revenue and profit for the first time[3].
Ranked first in the FBIF 2023 China Top 100 Food and Beverage List.
Behind Moutai's revenue of more than 100 billion yuan, it is necessary to produce more than 100,000 tons of Moutai base liquor + series of liquor-based liquor[4], producing hundreds of thousands of tons of distiller's grains.
As the main waste produced in the brewing process, distiller's grains are rich in nutrients, high moisture content, and easy to spoil, and discarded or unscientifically treated will cause environmental pollution and waste of resources.
Since 2013, Moutai has been working on this: establishing a recycling production and investment company to recycle the by-products of winemaking. In the past ten years, Moutai has invested nearly 2.7 billion yuan in the recycling of waste resources. [1]
In 2023, Moutai Recycling Production and Investment Company will have an annual output value of more than 800 million yuan, producing 120,000 tons of organic fertilizer, 20,000 tons of organic feed, 10 million cubic meters of biomass biogas, and a tax of 33.3 billion yuan, absorbing more than 1,200 jobs. [1]
What did Moutai do with sake lees?
Reference**[5].
For example, Moutai uses feed made from distiller's grains to feed its cattle. It is reported that beef cattle that grow up eating Moutai distiller's lees will have more tender meat and stronger flavor. [6]
Natural gas, the energy required in the brewing process, also comes from fermentation of distiller's grains.
Have you ever heard of brands such as Daqianmen, Haofengtan, and Xinjun Wine? All of them are the brands of liquor produced by Moutai Group after re-adding koji and grain to the sake lees after seven times of distillation, fermentation and re-roasting.
In the Moutai Industrial Park, there is also a rare "aerial vegetable garden", which is cultivated without soil, using sake lees as organic fertilizer to harvest fresh vegetables.
In addition, Moutai has obtained a number of patented technologies in the field of cosmetics, and has cooperated with leading cosmetics companies in academic and scientific research for many times.
It can be said that Moutai has managed to "eat and squeeze out" the distiller's lees.
State Intellectual Property Office.
Moutai Group has not only solved the problem of "losing bads" that plagued the industry, but also become a representative enterprise in the liquor industry for 100% resource utilization of liquor by-products through continuous R&D and innovation.
Food companies are starting to get back to work.
In addition to Moutai, in recent years, food and beverage industry giants such as beer tycoon Budweiser have also entered the game to "blast" the lees, and the sake lees that no one wanted have become "fragrant and sweet" in a blink of an eye.
In addition, we found that in addition to being used in the food industry, sake lees are also entering other fields across borders, entering the market as "garbage", but being made into practical new products such as cup sleeves, mobile phone cases, and clothes.
1. Distiller's lees, transformed into drinks, biscuits, and pizza
How distiller's grains can help global food and beverage innovation, let's first take a look at the beer giant Budweiser's "sample".
As early as 2016, ZX Ventures, the investment arm of Budweiser's innovation, began to invest in the snack brand Protes to try it outBrewing waste is used to make savory popcorn products.
In 2017, ZX Ventures invested in a Canvas start-up beverage companyAttempts were made to develop barley milk beverages using beer to produce the remaining malt grains. The drinks are available in five flavours: Original, Matcha, Turmeric Chili, Cold Brew Latte and Cocoa.
Budweiser ZX Ventures and Canvas to launch barley milk drink; **drinkcanvas official website.
In 2021, Budweiser's Evergrain subsidiary partnered with Bright Future Foods, a subsidiary of American food manufacturer PostLaunched biscuit snacks made from brewing waste. The product is made with Evergrain**'s brewing barley protein and fiber, as well as oats from Bright Future. There are four flavors: Cheddar Cheese, Chocolate, Salted Caramel, and Sea Salt.
Evergrain's two main product lines; **Evergrain official website
Biscuit snacks launched by Evergrain and Bright Future; **Evergrain official website
In addition, amazake is a household name in Japan. Morinaga amazake, which is a perennial hit, isIt is made using sake lees (sake lee) as a base, diluted with water, and seasoned with sugar, with an alcohol content of less than 1%. It also contains a variety of fermented metabolites, essential amino acids and vitamin B group, folic acid, niacin and other components.
Xiaohongshu users are foraging @aki.
Upcycled Foods has joined forces with Ireland's leading food ingredient company, Ireland's Kerry GroupLaunched a protein chip made from upcycled grain waste, which is made from distiller's grains.
***upcycled foods
American snack brand regrained willBrewer's grains are made into "flour" and three flavors of cereal bars are made from it, including Chocolate Coffee Stout Energy Bars, Honey Cinnamon IPA Beer Energy Bars, Blueberry Sunflower Season Beer Antioxidant Bars.
regrained brewer's grains into cereal bars and other products; **regrained official website.
Rise Products from New York collects grains (a type of distiller's grains) from local breweries, after drying, grinding, and siftingTwo flours were introduced: light flour from the Al and Pilsner lees and dark flour from the Porter & Stout lees. The well-defined flavors of different wines give the flour its unique color, texture, mouthfeel and aroma.
Rise Products makes barley flour from malting grains; **Rise Products official website.
Upgrain, a start-up from Switzerland, extracts protein and dietary fiber from distiller's grainsProtein powder, fiber powder, and flour rich in protein and dietary fiberIt is used in the production of cereals, baked goods and pasta.
In addition, Upgrain has partnered with Brauerei Locher, a local Swiss brewery, to produce around 2,500 tonnes of protein and fibre powder per year. Founder Vincent Vida said that after the completion of the future factory,It will be the largest upgrade** plant in the European food sector.
Upgrain upgraded protein powder raw materials; **Upgrain official website.
Brewery Brauerei Locher is also focusing on the circular economy with the launch of the food brand Brewbee, which aims to reuse beer processing by-productsPizza, potato chips, cereals and other products have been developed.
Brewbee is a pizza made from beer brewing byproducts; **brewbee
Surprisingly, pet food company Doggie Beer Bones also launched it for the shovelersMade of brewer's grains**,Flavors include malt, peanut butter, egg, and barley flour.
doggie beer bones made from brewer's grains**; doggie beer bones
With the continuous improvement of the demand for modern health products, distiller's grains are still entering a deeper field and becoming the best treasure trove of functional ingredients.
In September 2023, the European Union's Research Group on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens issued a report on "From:partially hydrolysed protein from spent barley and riceSafety as a Novel Food", and after evaluation, the expert panel concluded that, in addition to possible allergies, it is safe as a novel food at the recommended level of use. The fermented products of distiller's grains are mainly protein, of which the protein content is as high as 78%-90%, which is a very good protein**. 7]
2. Sake lees, turning into a cup sleeve, mobile phone case, ......
Snow Beer Brave the End of the World SuperX and Synmetabio Yiru Bio,Microbial fibers are cultivated using waste sake lees and synthetic biology.
After the bacteria are added to the sake lees, it only takes 5 days to grow the finished leather. Compared to animal leather and other artificial leather, NARO-grown leather, which is made from sake lees, greatly improves production efficiency. [8]
It is precisely because it is environmentally friendly and practical that it is superior to animal leather and traditional artificial leather, and the SuperX team has taken the lead in introducing NARO leather into the design and production of innovative peripheral products.
Snow Beer Shanghai***
3. Distiller's lees can be used to make clothes
Can sake lees make clothes?
Budweiser has released the world's first modelClothing fabric made from brewer's grains – "barley-based water-based leather". This is a sustainable and innovative fabric jointly developed by Budweiser China, Dow and Vegatex, with distiller's grains as its main bio-based material**, accounting for up to 30% of the ingredients, and replacing traditional petroleum-based chemicals without pollution.
RISE Sustainable Consumption***
4. Distiller's lees, the adhesive on the canvas
The period from 1800 to 1850 was the "** era" of Danish painting. Beer, a common drink in Denmark in the 19th century. The work of Axberg, the "father of Danish painting", was identified as containing a mixture of yeast, wheat, barley, rye and buckwheat proteins. In the Danish literature, there are alsoUse brewer's grains as a binderrelated reports.
Exberg and one of his masterpieces, Bella and Hanna; **c. w. eckersberg
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, one-third of the food produced globally for human consumption is lost or wasted, totaling about 1.3 billion tonnes per year. These foods are enough to feed nearly 92.5 billion people are hungry. [9]
Population growth, climate crisis. As a result of a series of problems, the world is experiencing an unprecedented food crisis. There is an urgent need to reduce food waste.
For this reason, many brands are using various food "garbage" to tell new stories. In order to achieve sustainability, how are food companies "showing their talents" to turn waste into treasure?
For example, Oatly and Peelsphere made the remaining oat dregs after the production of oat milk into screens, vests, and tabletop shelves.
oat bio-based materials; **oatly
The wind is getting stronger for non-alcoholic beerAlcohol taken out of beerWhat to do? Maybe one day, you can use it to wash dishes?
No kidding, the AB InBev and Belgian ecover you are familiar with really make alcohol into dish soap.
AB InBev.
From coffee beans to a cup of coffee, opens up a wide range of flavors, but also 998% is discarded raw materials, which are coffee grounds.
By mixing and proportioning coffee grounds, after formula and mold adjustment, a high-purity coffee grounds material accounting for 65% is produced, and the material is used for boomerang production. [10]
Three and a half on WeChat***
Three-and-a-half makes the coffee grounds into a large-sized board, replacing the ocean board as a supporting countertop.
Flying Force Coffee Grounds Mobile Tables and Chairs; Three and a half on WeChat***
Three and a half meals still use **Coffee groundsI made a set of mini table tennis rackets, which is intended to make it easy for everyone to play, recycling is worth remembering, and returning to life is equally important.
Three and a half on WeChat***
Founded in 1989, Singtex, a wool merchant in Taiwan, China, innovatively willCoffee groundsIncorporate yarn to create an environmentally friendly patented yarn – Scafé, a patented product that has enviable functionality in terms of fast perspiration, quick drying, and UV protection.
***s.café official website.
Green coffee beans ** business olam coffee through **Coffee pulpNatural food additives are produced.
It can be used in food processing such as tea, flour, jam, jelly, dessert toppings, bread fillings, etc.
Olam Coffee's official website.
Cascara uses thrown awayDried coffee fruit shellsBrewed into tea, this tea is rich in caffeine and fruity flavor.
Cascara makes tea from coffee husks; **npr
Coffee grounds can also be used as a clean bioenergy, and Grocycle in the United Kingdom began using coffee grounds to grow oyster mushrooms in 2011, and hundreds of pounds of coffee grounds were collected to grow oyster mushrooms.
Grocycle uses coffee grounds to grow oyster mushrooms; **grocycle
Renewal Mill, a U.S.-based upcycled raw material manufacturer, collects, dehydrates, dries, and grinds "okara", a by-product of soybean milk, oat milk, and other products, into flour and baked desserts.
Renewal Mill's official website.
American pulp pantry putA large amount of pulp (pomace) after the juice of the vegetable has been squeezedThe result is nutritious potato chips with a variety of flavors.
Pulp Pantry official website.
Spare Tonic is usedWhey (a by-product of the dairy industry).Made into a probiotic drink.
make your own probiotic drink from whey (a by-product of the dairy industry); **Spare Tonic official website.
The American beverage company Reveal, willDiscarded avocado pitsMake a drink rich in prebiotics and antioxidants.
Discarded avocado pits are made into prebiotic- and antioxidant-rich beverages; **Reveal official website.
Seconds, an innovative snack company in the United States, said in a statement, "The upgrade is a willCarrot peel and pulpThe perfect process for transforming into delicious food. ”
carrot peel and pulp transformed into delicious food; **seconds.com.
Dutch peelpioneer company, putDiscarded peels after fruit juice has been extractedIt is made into raw materials such as adhesives, oils, and dietary fibers.
Peelpioneers dietary fibre made from orange peels; **peelpioneer official website.
70% of the chicken in U.S. supermarkets** is skinless, which Flock Foods utilizesChicken skin, which is processed into a keto-friendly, low-carb, high-protein new snack - chicken chips.
a new type of ketogenic friendly, low-carb and high-protein snack – chicken chips; **Flock Foods website.
Food waste is happening, but the anti-waste story continues every day. Upcycled food is an endless treasure trove waiting to be tapped by the food and beverage industry.
Turning food "garbage" and "waste into treasure" not only allows enterprises to find a new breakthrough point to increase revenue generation and promote marketing. It also shows us that human beings and food achieve each other.
Although there are still many challenges to "turning waste into treasure", such as technology, raw materials, cognition, etc., especially in China, it is still in its infancy. In the future, "sustainability" may be one of the magic weapons for food companies to maintain their long-term vitality.
Reference**:1] Yuwang, "Creating a Green Model in the Industry: Moutai Shows the "Distiller's Grains +" Transcript to Achieve 100% Resource Utilization of Brewing By-Products", December 24, 2023, Moutai Time and Space.
2] Yao An'an, "Upcycled food has a positive role in saving food and environmental protection!" April 18, 2023, Food Safety Times.
3] "Moutai Group Achieves "Double 100 Billion" in Revenue and Profit for the First Time, and Major Economic Indicators Maintain Double-Digit Growth", January 31, 2024, Moutai Time and Space.
4] "Kweichow Moutai once again exceeded the 2023 business target: the revenue of the series of liquor exceeded 20 billion yuan for the first time, the competitive advantage was extended, and the cycle was changed", December 29, 2023, Moutai Time and Space.
5] Tao Xue, Lv Jiashun, Xu Huajie, et al. Research Progress on Comprehensive Utilization of Distiller's Grains and Practice of Moutai [J] China Brewing, 2023 vol42 no.6
6] "What is the beef cattle that grew up eating Moutai sake lees? Look at this, March 4, 2023, Moutai Time and Space.
7] Mu Mu, "Turning Waste into Treasure, **The Functional Road of Distiller's Grains", December 21, 2023, Food Processing and Packaging**.
8] "5 Days, Turning Waste Distiller's Grains into a Global Pioneer "Environmental Protection Black Technology"", July 20, 2023, Snow Beer Shanghai.
9] Food Loss and Food Waste, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
10] "Afteresso, a new coffee grounds recycling system", October 11, 2023, three and a half meals.
This article is the original of FBIF Food & Beverage Innovation, Author: April, Editor: Bobo, Proofreader: Potato Potato, **Please contact for authorization.