News

Renewal Mill gets $2.5m investment

31 Jan 2019

HG Ventures has announced a $2.5 million seed round investment in Renewal Mill, a food ingredients company that plans to disrupt the food technology industry with sustainable solutions to production and manufacturing waste.

HG Ventures has announced a $2.5 million seed round investment in Renewal Mill, a food ingredients company that plans to disrupt the food technology industry with sustainable solutions to production and manufacturing waste. Renewal Mill will use this round of funding to scale current production and expand into new market opportunities. As part of the investment, Kip Frey, Managing Director of HG Ventures, will join Renewal Mill's Board of Directors

Renewal Mill upcycles the byproducts of food manufacturing into premium ingredients and products. 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 valuable by-products. These novel ingredients allow food companies to respond to changing consumer demands for healthier food, cleaner labels, and increased transparency.

"We created Renewal Mill to provide large-scale food manufacturers a sustainable, scalable, and reliable solution for their production waste," said 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."

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" in 2019.

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

Renewal Mill describes itself as a next-generation ingredients company that upcycles the by-products of food manufacturing into premium ingredients and products, providing manufacturers with a complete solution that offers financial returns, eliminates disposal headaches, and keeps valuable nutrition in the supply chain. Its initial ingredient is okara flour, a so-called superfood harvested from the soybean pulp leftover during soymilk and tofu production. With 20g of fibre and 7g of protein per serving, Renewal Mill's okara is said to be the first gluten-free flour with taste parity with all-purpose flour and price enabling mass market use. Okara, the company says, is only the beginning; its technology is applicable to a wide array of fibrous by-products. The company describes its vision as creating a new circular economy of food that reduces waste and provides nutrition and taste to today's conscious consumer.