Celebrate Earth Day With Upcycled Foods

Earth Day inspires consumers around the world to look at their footprint on the earth and make an effort to improve this beautiful planet.  In the food industry, Upcycled Foods inspires consumers to novel ways to use food scraps that would have ended up as waste.

Did you know . . . 

• “In the U.S., more than 6 billion pounds of produce is unharvested or unsold for aesthetic reasons.” (Source:  Food and Beverage Insider)
  

• “1.3 billion tonnes of food that get wasted every year, representing about 30 percent of all food produced globally (Food and Agriculture Organization) and studies show that aesthetic shortcomings cost farmers 20 percent of their crop each year.” (Source:  Forbes) 
  

• “Food Network Magazine and Whole Foodshas  listed upcycled foods as one of the biggest trends in 2021 and Future Market revealed they estimate the upcycled foods industry to be worth $46.7 billion.” (Source:  Forbes) 
  

Allen Marketing Communications, Inc. a boutique food and beverage public relations agency, showcases how upcycled foods helps with food conservation and recycling.
 

What is it?
Upcycled foods are essentially food that is completely fine to be consumed, it may be excess of vegetable or fruit products, or produce which simply is not visually appealing but is still safe to be consumed.   “The upcycled food movement sees a place for misshapen, soft or bruised fruits and vegetables, edible stems and leaves, leftover pulp from juicing.”  (Source:  Forbes)

One example of an upcycled food product is Noon’s Chocolate  – this company uses the pulp and remainder of the fruit once done using the seeds and they reuse the remainder of the Cacao plant to make the new form of chocolate. 

Benefits?
Upcycled foods reduce food waste by finding unique ways to use disfigured foods.  Roughly “28 percent of agricultural land goes to food that is never eaten, whilst food waste and loss generate four percent of greenhouse gasses in the U.S. alone.” (Food and Beverage Insider)

One emerging company making use of this new phenomenon is The Ugly Company. They upcycle “imperfect” fruit into dried fruit. The Ugly Company saved 142,866 of “ugly fruit” from becoming waste last year and aims to save 4.6 million pounds from becoming waste this year. 

The powerhouse fruit and vegetable company Del Monte is one company which just invested into their own upcycled food branch of their company. With this new installment into their massive corporation, through using upcycled fruits to make juices, as well as dried fruit products, the company predicts they will take approximately 25 million pounds of food waste from landfills. 

Trends
Upcycled foods are growing in popularity as more consumers discover the benefits of minimizing food waste.  “Key focuses for companies wanting to meet consumer expectations are carbon reduction, packaging commitments, and targets relating to food waste reduction, the circular economy, and UN Sustainable Development Goals.” (Source:  Upcycled Food Association)

Speaking of “imperfect” comes an upcycled weekly grocery subscription company named “Imperfect Foods.” Imperfect Foods  does exactly what is in the name by taking imperfect fruits and vegetables as well as other food products and selling them for a marked down price. 

Several companies have introduced “upcycled snacks using the by-product of plant-based products that would have otherwise gone to waste.”  (Source:  Upcycled Food Association) Upcycled snacks are creating new markets in the food industry, as well as healthy snacks.

Our talented team of food and beverage professionals are here to help companies navigate the innovative upcycled food industry.  Give us a call.

By Robert Goldsmith at Allen Marketing Communications, Inc.

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