BioNetZero, one week later: three things we're thinking about
Last week, part of our team headed to Denmark as participants in the BioNetZero programme, an innovation and acceleration programme supporting SMEs and start-ups developing biotechnological solutions for the agri-food sector.
We came back with new contacts, new ideas and a lot of conversations to keep thinking about.
But one week later, three things in particular are still on our minds.
1. Does upcycled food need to say that it is upcycled?
We arrived in Copenhagen on a sunny Sunday. Since we knew that Banana CPH, a company turning wasted bananas into food products, had recently been listed at Lidl, we obviously had to go and try it for ourselves.
And yes, the banana bread was good.
What caught our attention was something else: nowhere on the packaging did it mention that the product was made from upcycled bananas.
For a company whose story is built around upcycling, it initially felt like a missed opportunity. But the more we thought about it, the more interesting the question became.
Across the upcycled food space, we're seeing more brands putting the product first, focusing on taste, convenience and overall appeal rather than making the sustainability story the main selling point.
And perhaps that is exactly what the category needs to reach a wider audience.
If consumers choose an upcycled product because it tastes great, looks appealing and fits naturally into their everyday lives, does the word “upcycled” still need to be front and centre?
Or, on the other hand, if we want upcycling to become more than just a production method and grow into something consumers recognise, understand and actively value, don't we need to make that story visible?
For us, this is where the conversation gets particularly interesting. We believe there is real value in showcasing when a product is upcycled. Not only because it gives consumers a reason to feel good about their choice, but because every visible upcycled product helps make the concept more familiar and builds recognition around the category.
Perhaps the challenge is not choosing between great products and a strong upcycling story, but finding the right way to communicate both.
2. Upcycling is much bigger than food
One of the most exciting parts of BioNetZero was seeing how many different approaches exist within the wider circular bioeconomy.
We met Francesco from Nada, working with upcycled side streams to create cosmetic ingredients. Antonio and Isabel from BURP, a beverage startup turning fruit side streams into gut-friendly drinks through microbial fermentation. We also met Therese from Luvi Bio, who is transforming agricultural side streams such as coffee cherry pulp into functional ingredients for the beverage industry.
And then there was Sicloo Circular Ventures, based in Seville, transforming organic waste from the HORECA sector into high-value products for regenerative agriculture and the bioindustry.
Different materials. Different technologies. Different end markets. Different business models.
But the underlying idea is remarkably similar: how can we turn something that would otherwise lose its value into something useful?
This is one of the things we love most about working in this space. The more you look, the bigger the ecosystem becomes.
3. The biggest opportunity might be the community
We also travelled to Odense for Ignite Odense, where we had the chance to showcase SECONTASTE products to a new audience and, importantly, talk about what we at TransFoodMission are building to help scale the upcycled food market.
We used the opportunity to show different elements of our work, including the SECONTASTE products and our platform mock-ups, and to explain how we are already working on different ways to grow the category and help more upcycled ingredients make it into products on supermarket shelves.
Those moments are a good reminder that innovation only matters if we can ultimately connect it with people.
But perhaps the most valuable part of the week wasn't a particular technology, product or presentation. It was the opportunity to connect with people working on different parts of the same challenge.
We met people asking many of the same questions we are:
How do we scale?
How do we communicate upcycling without overcomplicating it?
How do we make sustainable innovation commercially viable?
And how do we bring more people into the conversation?
Scaling upcycled food requires connections across the whole value chain. It means connecting innovative ingredient and product solutions with manufacturers and retailers, while also making sure the final products make sense for consumers.
That is why the conversations we had throughout the programme were so valuable. Beyond exchanging ideas, we identified several potential synergies that could lead to future collaborations and help make upcycling solutions more accessible to retailers, manufacturers and consumers.
Looking ahead
A week in Denmark obviously doesn't give us all the answers.
But it gave us new perspectives, new questions and a much stronger sense of the people and ideas shaping this space.
That's what we are taking forward from BioNetZero.
We are looking forward to the next steps of the programme, to continuing the conversations we started in Denmark and to sharing more of what we learn along the way.
Because the more we connect, the more we can learn from each other.
And hopefully, the easier it becomes to turn good ideas into real change.
