ST. LOUIS — AB InBev, the global brewing giant behind Anheuser-Busch, topped Fast Company’s list of Most Innovative Companies in North America this week. AB InBev also sits at No. 12 on Fast Company’s list of worldwide innovation leaders.
The company is being recognized for its expansion into supplying upcycled ingredients for the baking industry and beyond. EverGrain, the impact-driven ingredient business AB InBev launched at the beginning of 2021, turns “trash into treasure” by rescuing spent barley from the beer brewing process and transforms it into sustainable, nutritious protein and fiber ingredients.
“This ingenuity has led to a busy year for AB InBev … introducing its flour into a Birds Eye frozen pot pie and partnering with a subsidiary of the consumer-packaged goods company Post Holdings to make barley flour-based snacks,” reported April Mokwa and David Lidsky, journalists at Fast Company.
The momentum around upcycling is growing, as top bakery leaders collaborate with tech platforms to push the industry’s ingredient imagination to new heights.
Just last month, EverGrain announced that its entire portfolio of upcycled barley protein and fiber ingredients has received the Upcycled Food Association’s (UFA) certification. The Upcycled Certified mark, which UFA launched last year, will enable food and beverage manufacturers that use EverGrain’s ingredients to place the claim on its packaging.
Upcycling is having a big moment across the baking industry. As baked goods and snack manufacturers get creative with meeting consumers’ demands for more sustainable and better-for-you products, upcycling offers the best of both worlds in a single solution. The momentum around upcycling is growing, as top bakery leaders collaborate with tech platforms to push the industry’s ingredient imagination to new heights. Earlier this year, the 100-year-old bakery ingredient giant Puratos teamed up with ReGrained, an upcycled ingredient supplier, with an exclusive supply agreement.
These partnerships underscore the viability of upcycling for mitigating the impacts of climate change and building a more circular economy.
