“Next-generation of food ingredients”: Renewal Mill secures US$2.5m investment from HG Ventures

29 Jan 2019 --- Renewal Mill, a company seeking to tackle food waste by transforming byproducts into nutritious and functional ingredients, has received a US$2.5 million investment from HG Ventures. Renewal Mill produces okara flour, a versatile, high-fiber, gluten-free flour harvested from the pulp left over from soy milk processing.

As part of the investment, Kip Frey, Managing Director of HG Ventures, is also set to join Renewal Mill’s Board of Directors, reports the company. 

In addition to providing manufacturers with a comprehensive solution to their production waste, Renewal Mill has pioneered technology that returns valuable nutrition to the supply chain and reclaims a wide variety of nutritionally useful byproducts. These novel ingredients allow food companies to respond to changing consumer demands for healthier food, cleaner labels and increased transparency, says the company. 

“We created Renewal Mill to provide large-scale food manufacturers a sustainable, scalable, and reliable solution for their production waste,” notes Claire Schlemme, CEO of Renewal Mill. 

“Renewal Mill is proud to partner with HG Ventures as they have the expertise and experience to help us expand our current operations and product offerings,” she adds. 

Renewal Mill is the next generation ingredients company that
upcycles byproducts from food manufacturing
into high-quality ingredients and products. Caroline Cotto, Chief Operating Officer at Renewal Mill, tells FoodIngredientsFirst: “The investment is really about allowing us to scale up. We've proven the model works and now it is just about replicating and growing it.”

“We will be bringing on additional okara facilities, and introducing our second byproduct-derived ingredient,” she says, highlighting that the company is also on track to grow their team.

“Renewal Mill is at the forefront of providing innovative and widely available enhancements to the food production value chain,” comments Kip Frey, who also serves as EVP of HG Ventures’ parent company, The Heritage Group. 

“We look forward to supporting the company’s efforts in pursuit of a more sustainable and healthful food production ecosystem,” he concludes. 

In 2018, Renewal Mill received an equity investment from Techstars Farm to Fork Accelerator and secured a joint research and development project with Cargill. Fast Company also named Renewal Mill a “World Changing Idea” for 2019. 

Renewal Mill recently showcased its okara flour ingredient at the Winter Fancy Food Show, held earlier this month, in San Francisco.

Renewal Mill was also one of the nominees for the HiE 2018 Startup Innovation Challenge. You can read more on this here.