One of my favorite parts of serving as CEO of Upcycled Food
Association (UFA) is getting to know our
Members and Associate Members — savvy, food system vets meet charismatic,
likeable entrepreneurs in this emerging industry. Last month, we got to know our
Membership a lot better via a first-of-its-kind upcycled food industry survey.
After all, there is still a lot to learn about the fledgling industry, which
creates new, valuable food products out of the overlooked nutrients falling
through the cracks in our food system. The survey revealed several interesting
findings, which I think demonstrates the scale of the upcycled food
opportunity.
Finding #1: Upcycled products are sold in at least 9,000 grocery stores
across 10 countries. By comparison, organic items are sold in about 20,000
natural food stores, equal to about half of the 40,000 total food stores in the
US. Wait, you mean upcycled food products are sold in almost half the number
of US stores that carry organic products? Keep in mind, the organic category
has been gaining momentum for decades, and the upcycled category hasn’t even
been officially defined yet (UFA and its research partners will be releasing the
first official definition of ‘upcycled food’ later this month). With such
significant grocery store reach, why hasn’t upcycled food achieved the
proportional level of ubiquity as organic food?
The answer is right on the labels of the food we buy while perusing the aisles:
the USDA Organic seal. When you buy something organic, you know it.
Companies spend a lot of money to make sure you know it, enduring the rigorous
process of organic product
certification.
Grocery stores spend a lot to ensure you know it, installing permanent organic
kiosks in stores. This is all because products labeled as organic can be sold
for more — up to 300 percent more — according to Consumer Reports. This
increased price is possible because of consumer preference.
Consumers increasingly want to align their food purchases with their social and
environmental values. 95 percent of consumers want to reduce food waste in
their lives, so there’s a strong argument that they deserve to know which
products help to achieve this. UFA plans to make that a reality later this year
through a product certification program.
Multiple recent studies, such as this one from the University of Otago, have
shown that more than half of consumers want to buy more upcycled foods. But how
can the average person do this without knowing which products contain upcycled
ingredients? They are hiding in plain sight! This is the premise of the
Certified Upcycled Program, which will be launched later in the year, giving
the 400-and-growing upcycled products currently on the market (Finding #2)
the ability to shine. A 2017 study from Drexel University showed that
consumers assign even greater positive environmental impact with upcycled food
than organic. The certified upcycled label will put this evidence to the test.
Unlike organic, the upcycled certification will be based on outcome, rather than
activity. In other words, we envision a food package that is able to explicitly
say to the consumer, “Here’s how much food waste you’re reducing by purchasing
this product.” What better way to allow food shoppers to vote with their
dollars! I predict the certification program will greatly increase the
prominence of upcycled food as a category. At UFA, we envision a grocery store
of the future, in which upcycled alternatives exist alongside their organic and
conventional counterparts. Upcycled food is the choice for consumers who want to
participate in what could be the greatest solution to climate change every time
they visit the grocery store.
I’ve said the following on a few podcasts recently, and I’m dying for someone to
prove me wrong: “In light of a capitalistic food system, reducing food waste is
the only place where the values of the environment and the values of business
inherently overlap.” Someone, please prove me wrong. Until you do, I’ll
continue touting upcycled food as the best place for any impact investor to
invest in food; or at least the investors who agree with the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change — which says that we have basically one decade to stop
the most devastating effects of climate change; or the investor who believes
Project
Drawdown,
the world leader on ranking climate change solutions — which ranks reducing
food waste as the
number one solution to the climate crisis.
And apparently, the upcycled food industry is ripe for investment. Finding
#3: Most upcycled food businesses are in the startup phase, and many are
actively fundraising in the next year. Last year, Future Market Insights
produced a report in which it estimated that the value of the upcycled food
economy
was more than $46 billion, and predicted a five percent compound annual growth
rate over the next decade. The UFA postulates that this growth could be
accelerated by unifying the upcycled food industry under one tent.
As demand grows alongside the ubiquity of the upcycled product certification,
these businesses are poised to provide a healthy economic return; though, the
biggest return of all may be in the environmental benefit. Finding #4:
Upcycled food businesses are preventing at least eight million pounds of food
waste per year, equivalent to millions of pounds of CO2 emissions prevented,
and millions of gallons of water saved. Imagine the impact when larger,
established brands begin to include even small amounts of upcycled ingredients
in their recognizable products. I predict that within the decade, upcycled food
will prevent at least one billion pounds of food waste per year.
Finally, the survey revealed something we already knew. Finding #5: There’s
still a lot to learn. The larger food waste movement is still in its
adolescent wild west phase of disorganization and fragmentation. The upcycled
food industry needs to do its part by unifying under one tent. That means using
a singular, collaborative lexicon — co-creating our messaging strategy, and
implementing better systems to track environmental impacts. It was to serve this
purpose that upcycled food businesses co-founded the Upcycled Food Association
late last year, and with these tools that we’ll build a world-class sustainable
food category.
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Turner Wyatt is an award-winning social entrepreneur focused on reducing food waste. He is co-founder and CEO of the Upcycled Food Association, as well as the co-founder and former Executive Director of Denver Food Rescue. In 2015, he was appointed by the Mayor of Denver to serve on the Denver Sustainable Food Policy Council, and also serves as Board President of Fresh Food Connect.
Published May 5, 2020 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST