Renewal Mill receives $2.5m to grow by-product upcycling offer

Renewal Mill, a US-based company that upcycles the by-products of food manufacturing into ingredients, has secured $2.5 million in funding.

HG Ventures, the corporate venture arm of The Heritage Group, has provided the financial backing to help Renewal Mill scale its production and expand into new markets.

Renewal Mill’s initial ingredient is okara flour, a superfood harvested from the soybean pulp leftover during soymilk and tofu production. The firm said its okara “is the first gluten-free flour with taste parity to all-purpose flour and price enabling mass market use”.

In addition to providing manufacturers with a solution to their production waste, Renewal Mill aims to develop technology that returns nutrition to the supply chain and reclaims a variety of nutritionally valuable by-products. These ingredients are said to allow food companies to respond to changing consumer demands for healthier food, cleaner labels and increased transparency.

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

“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.”  

In 2018, Renewal Mill received an equity investment from Techstars Farm to Fork Accelerator and secured a joint research and development project with Cargill. 

As part of the latest funding, Kip Frey, managing director of HG Ventures, will join Renewal Mill’s board of directors.   

“Renewal Mill is at the forefront of providing innovative and widely available enhancements to the food production value chain,” said 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.”