“How can food businesses maintain a focus on sustainability while also scaling?” was our SSUP tour’s guiding question. We combined our pre-INSEAD professional journeys through the realms of purchasing, production, and sales, and our deep-rooted passion for sustainable ingredients and systems, to answer it in conversations with innovative Start-Up founders. In this blog post, we delve into the critical nexus of agriculture, upstream sustainability, and the pressing need to optimize the utilization of raw ingredients in transformed food production. Our focal point: the ever-present challenge of food waste and the burgeoning business opportunities that arise in its mitigation.
The Global Food Waste Crisis: An Alarming Scenario
A staggering one-third of the world’s food production goes to waste at various stages of its lifecycle, spanning production, handling, storage, processing, distribution, and consumption. This colossal wastage amounts to a mind-boggling 1.3 billion tons of food, with an estimated value exceeding USD$1 trillion. Shockingly, this rampant food waste is responsible for a staggering 10% of global Greenhouse Gas Emissions, equivalent to 4.4 gigatons of GHG. A quarter of our precious water supply is squandered in the production of this discarded food. It’s evident that food waste is a phenomenon predominantly afflicting modern, affluent economies. Contrastingly, many traditional cuisines have historically thrived on extracting every ounce of utility from their ingredients, be it vegetables, meat, or grains. The convenience-driven consumption patterns in contemporary society have paved the way for wasteful habits. This is a problem that arose post-war in the last century.
Three Approaches to Tackle Food Waste
Our exploration led us to three distinct approaches in the realm of food waste management:
AI-Powered Consumer Waste Reduction:
We encountered Kikleo, a forward-thinking company during our visit to ChangeNOW in Paris in May 2023, focusing on leveraging artificial intelligence to combat consumer food waste.
Addressing Industrial By-Product Waste:
Hubcycle, originally conceived as a platform to connect industrial players, stepped in to bridge the gap between major food producers, repurposing by-products such as citrus rinds into valuable resources, like essential oils for cosmetics.
Creating Nutritional Value from By-Products:
Yeasty, our third discovery, revolutionizes food waste by extracting palatable, umami-flavored, meatless protein from brewer’s yeast, which can be integrated into both B2B and B2C food preparations.
A Common Thread: Tackling Inefficiencies
Throughout our journey, we discerned a prevailing theme: inefficiencies within the food industry. Many companies we engaged with were actively addressing these inefficiencies, not only as responsible stewards of the planet but also for their own profitability. It’s a symbiotic win-win relationship.
Technology as the Beacon of Hope
Technology, whether harnessed through artificial intelligence or advanced biochemistry, emerges as the beacon of hope in our struggle against food waste. As regulatory measures to curb food waste lag behind in many countries, businesses are stepping up to make a meaningful impact.
The Power of Sustainable Business Practices
Businesses that champion sustainability by minimizing food waste, valorizing by-products, and conveying impactful messages wield immense influence. In a consumerist society that prizes efficiency and convenience, making the most of available resources can often be the most cost-effective and efficient approach for businesses. Consumers, in turn, stand to benefit from both familiar and novel products born from these endeavors. Yeasty and other innovative solutions are paving the way for a more sustainable and efficient future, proving that thinking smartly about what we produce is not just a moral imperative but also a sound business strategy. By embracing sustainable practices and technology, we can address the pressing issue of food waste, pre- post- and during production, while nourishing both our planet and our economies.
— Zoé Toulouse & Wade Newville
INSEAD SUMMER STARTUP TOUR 
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