One man’s trash: Practical Innovation targets upcycled food waste to drive sustainable NPD

18 Mar 2019 --- Upcycling food waste creates innovative food and beverage products, according to Israel-based Practical Innovation Ltd. The company calls on food and beverage manufacturers to make use of food fractions that are traditionally discarded and has disclosed its system of developing novel products from food waste. As food shortage is increasingly becoming an industry-wide concern, utilizing every single part of raw materials is becoming a viable option towards more sustainable practices. Practical Innovation is supporting companies in making the most of their materials.

“Every food manufacturer must find an innovative and profitable way to reuse its cast-offs, and turn them into profitable new products,” explains Tal Leizer, Practical Innovation CEO. “The company initiates and accelerates new products for food and food ingredient companies. This approach is not just practical for companies in terms of getting rid of waste, conserving resources and reducing costs, but it also minimizes the eco-footprint while decreasing true waste.”

The food industry’s trash is Practical Innovation’s treasure, as the company analyzes waste to develop new food and beverage categories and generate income for manufacturers.

According to the company, nearly every food manufacturing system is discarding usable food cast-offs, which is costing manufacturers money and resources. “Precious peels and seeds rich in fiber, nutrients and nutraceuticals are abandoned rather than exploited.” From canned vegetables to jams, frozen vegetables and baby food to baked goods and wine industries, waste varies depending on the field of focus.

Leizer explains the company’s method as a multi-step approach. “If our research yields hidden functionality and other benefits, we will dive into the current food trends, learn the category, study the latest technologies and drive the innovation process to develop new, healthy products that will stand out in a crowded marketplace. Surprisingly, the result can even be a premium product that defines a new strategy for the company and can become its key growth engine.

The Practical Innovation approach in repurposing wasted materials is three-fold: 

• Identify all sources of wasted materials
• Evaluate and estimate the annual extent of the waste such as what is currently being done with it, what economic value can be gained from it, and the current cost for not utilizing it.
• Create innovative products based on waste and leverage profits.

The company supports that to minimize food waste and make the most out of the food available, every manufacturer has to look out of their own field’s confines and examine parallel industries. 

“Company heads must think differently, and especially understand that waste can be, at least symbolically, worth its weight in gold. They need only know how to approach waste with a constructive innovation process that is broad enough and correct enough for their success,” the company says.

Examples of NPD
To prove the company’s ability to redirect wasted materials into innovative products with a good market positioning, Leizer mentions O.Vine spring water infused with “spirit of wine.” O.Vine utilized leftovers from winemaking into a beverage that touts “an intoxicating aroma and refreshing taste.”

“A large winery approached us with a clear directive: How to leverage 1,500 tons per year of grape waste from wine production to create a new product line,” explains Leizer. “Following a long process of research, we realized that most of the antioxidants of the wine grapes were found in the grape waste, meaning skins and seeds.”

“Armed with insight on global food and beverage trends based on years of experience, Practical Innovation created O.Vine, thus shaping a new near water category that was inspired by the world’s two oldest beverages: water and wine. The premium beverage has no sugar or alcohol and set up to market to restaurants in the US,” he says.

Food waste has been an industry concern for some time and there are a multitude of ingredients available that manufacturers can use to both extend shelf-life and fulfill consumer expectations for quality, safety and experience. The European Commission (EC) recently released a study investigating the relationship between date marking on food labels and food waste and according to the International Food Additives Council chief, Robert Rankin, ingredients are often the unsung hero.

Speaking to FoodIngredientsFirst, Toine Timmermans, Director of the United Against Food Waste Foundation and Co-Ordinator of EU project Refresh, stressed that a complete rethink of future food systems and supply chains is necessary. Focusing on the notion of a circular rather than the more traditional linear economy will be the only way to make significant strides in countering food waste, he has said.