Circular Economy Circular Economy Innovation & Technology

Anheuser-Busch Revitalizes St. Louis Community, Spent Barley with New Production Facility

As part of a recently announced $1B planned investment across the US, a new production facility that repurposes spent grain will create jobs and further the brewer’s commitments to sustainability and the St. Louis Community.

Published 3 years ago | About a 4 minute read

Image: An historic photo of Anheuser Busch's Stockhouse 10 brewery | St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Anheuser-Busch, the country’s leading brewer and a top US manufacturer, has announced St. Louis as the primary site for EverGrain’s US production operations. The company will renovate the historic Stockhouse 10 brewery, on the Anheuser-Busch St. Louis Brewery Campus, into EverGrain’s headquarters.

EverGrain is a sustainable ingredient company backed by AB InBev that upcycles high-quality spent grains from the beer-brewing process into nutritious, tasty barley-based ingredients that can be used in a variety of food and beverage products. Anheuser-Busch sources 98 percent of its ingredients from US farmers, and EverGrain will leverage the company’s multi-generational relationships with many of its growers to secure its supply chain and deliver its transformative barley products at scale.

This nearly $100 million investment in the St. Louis community — which Anheuser-Busch has called home for more than 160 years and continues to be its hub for innovation — is part of the company’s recently announced plan to invest more than $1 billion over the next two years in its facilities to help accelerate the recovery and drive economic prosperity in communities across the US.

“This investment in our hometown of St. Louis brings together two critical priorities for Anheuser-Busch: playing a leading role in the country’s economic recovery and leveraging our world class innovation capabilities to create a more sustainable future,” said Michel Doukeris, CEO of Anheuser-Busch. “From finding more sustainable ways to produce and deliver our brands, to adapting our portfolio to meet changing tastes, we are always challenging ourselves to dream bigger and find innovative solutions to bring high-quality products to our consumers.”

The upcycled food industry is projected to grow 5 percent in the next eight years, and more and more forward-thinking companies are staking their claim — EverGrain joins a rapidly growing cast of innovators including Agricycle, Misadventure Vodka, ReGrained, Renewal Mill, Rubies in the Rubble, Treasure8 and many more that are turning previously wasted food ingredients into delicious, value-added products.

In 2018, Anheuser-Busch began giving its spent grains a second life through a partnership with another company-backed venture called Canvas — a sustainable, plant-based barley beverage startup that used the “saved grains” in its line of fiber and protein shakes.

EverGrain's Evervita™ is a nutritionally dense flour perfect for use in pasta, bread and other baked goods. | Image credit: EverGrain

Now, with backing from Anheuser-Busch, EverGrain has worked to commercialize its first generation of nutrient-rich, ancient-grain products, EverPro™ and EverVita™. Both product lines are highly versatile and can be used across a wide range of food products. EverGrain ingredients are currently available in products such as Take Two, a plant-based barley milk line. The company also has multiple product launches with commercial partners planned that will reach shelves in both the United States and Europe in the first half of fiscal year 2021.

“This announcement is a key milestone in EverGrain’s journey to realize the full potential of barley. As we grow our operations in St. Louis, we will be able to deliver new options to consumers who seek a healthier and more sustainable future,” said Gregory Belt, founder and CEO of EverGrain and former sustainability chief at Anheuser-Busch. “With Anheuser-Busch's support, we are uniquely positioned to deliver high-quality plant-based ingredients that don’t require additional land, save water, and lower the overall carbon footprint of our products – making them better for people and for the planet.”

As consumers increasingly demand more sustainable, plant-based options, EverGrain is prepared to lead the industry with this investment. The company is currently making its products at their $15 million small-scale production facility at Anheuser-Busch's Newark, New Jersey brewery which will continue to be utilized for small batch production and testing once the St. Louis facility comes online.

The new facility will be the first major production site for EverGrain globally and is a critical part of Anheuser-Busch’s $1 billion planned investment, which spans 26 states. These investments will stimulate local economies in communities across the country, support ongoing industry job creation, and foster continued sustainability innovations.