Using advanced processing methods, Swiss startup ProSeed has created a technology to transform brewer’s spent grain, a wet byproduct of beer brewing, into dry and nutritionally-rich ingredients for the food industry.
ProSeed is looking to change how byproducts from the food and beverage industry are used, breathing new life and applications into these often discarded and disregarded byproducts.
The startup’s current focus is on repurposing brewer's spent grain (BSG), the insoluble residue of malted barley. Leveraging innovative drying technology via its ProSeed unit, the company transforms the wet byproduct into three ingredients: BSG flakes, flour, and concentrates.
Fi Global Insights sat down with Aurélien Ducrey, ProSeed’s co-founder to learn more about the company, its technology, circular business model, and vision for the future.
ProSeed, founded in 2023, originated from a master's thesis project at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Switzerland in 2021. Co-founders Aurélien Ducrey and Mateo Aerny frequently witnessed trucks collecting BSG from the brewery next door to their university.
After talking to these brewers and subsequently visiting other breweries across Switzerland, Ducrey and Aerny identified several key challenges associated with the management and utilisation of BSG.
Day after day, breweries produce a large volume of BSG and struggle to store it. Because BSG is wet, it spoils rapidly if left untreated. In addition, if breweries choose to dispose of the byproduct, it usually comes with high costs.
The duo identified a missed opportunity in the BSG supply chain for beverage processors, the food industry, and the environment.
Here was a highly nutritious byproduct being left to spoil; one that, if ProSeed were able to intervene at the right time, could be turned into into a nutritionally rich, and shelf-stable ingredient. Elaborating on the gap in the supply chain, Ducrey said: “There is a missing link between food processors generating wet byproducts and the food industry that wants to have access to dry, stable ingredients.”
By taking this intervention into their own hands, Ducrey and Aerny believed they could help solve the underutilisation of wet byproducts from beverage processors, while simultaneously providing the food industry with access to sustainable, stable, and dry ingredients.
According to Ducrey, ProSeed offers “a way for beverage processors to generate revenue from their byproducts and enhance their sustainability”.
ProSeed is still in the early stages of developing its ProSeed unit. Once patented, the company hopes to roll out its units, selling them to, and installing them in breweries and other food processing facilities.
The business model ProSeed is working toward is two-sided, Ducrey explained: “We provide [the breweries] with the unit, they do the transformation, and then we buy back the output, and sell it to our network of food manufacturers.”
The ProSeed unit is a machine that turns wet, microbial-active byproducts into dry and stable ingredients.
Beer brewers’ primary business and main activity is beer brewing, not being an ingredient manufacturer, Ducrey explained. Proseed’s business model allows breweries to continue business as usual while providing them with the ProSeed Unit, a technology they can easily install in their breweries.
The key here is that if wet BSG is left untreated for too long, it is at risk of microbiological contamination. ProSeeds technology enables this contamination risk to be reduced significantly as the Unit, provided in-house to the breweries, allows for quick processing.
Ducrey explained that some in the industry are put off by the term “drying”.
“Drying means using energy, and using energy means costly or even sometimes not sustainable production,” he said, adding that the ProSeed unit is optimised to use minimal energy and can even operate using renewable energy.
The unit runs can handle between 200 and 1,000 tonnes of byproduct per cycle. The technology has also been programmed to carefully monitor microbial levels and drying processes, ensuring the final product is food-grade and safe for human consumption. The ProSeed unit patent application is an ongoing process, therefore Ducrey did not provide further details on the technology itself.
As of November 2024, ProSeed transforms BSG into three ingredients: flakes; flour; and concentrates.
The flakes contain 22% protein, and 56% fibre, and have extremely high water absorption capabilities – up to four times their weight. There are, however, textural challenges with these flakes. For example, the flakes often require further processing before they can be used in many food applications as they have large fibres within the mix, often causing an unpleasant mouthfeel. Ducrey explained that there are promising applications for the flakes, such as solid-state fermentation, which once applied to the flakes creates a cacao-like alternative.
ProSeed’s BSG flour contains around 25% protein, and 51% fibre, and has a water absorption rate of around five times its weight. Compared to the flakes, ProSeed states on its website that the flour does not impart a bad taste or mouthfeel, and has more application opportunities, including enhancing the nutritional content of baked goods, pasta, and crackers.
The company's third offering, BSG concentrates, includes both fibre and protein concentrates – the concentrations of which can vary depending on what exactly a food manufacturer is looking for. ProSeed has been able to reach protein contents of around 40%, making it a suitable addition for applications requiring added protein, such as plant-based foods, or protein-based snacks.
