Europe's First Upcycled Retail Category Has Room on the Shelf. Does Your Product Fit?

Rohlik and TransFoodMission built something that didn't exist anywhere else in Europe: a dedicated retail category just for upcycled food. Not a scattered handful of "eco" products buried across the store: one shelf, one destination, built specifically so consumers didn't have to hunt for sustainable choices.

It worked. Since launch, the category has repurposed 150 tonnes of surplus food and prevented 578 tonnes of CO₂ emissions across all five markets it’s working with. The range has grown from an initial 40 to more than 200 products, now supplied by over 55 producers. The collaboration has been recognized with the Sustainability Star Award in the Czech Republic and the BizSustainability Awards in Romania; recognition that, as Júlia Dalmadi, founder of TransFoodMission, put it, upcycling "isn't a niche trend, it's a practical solution for the future of food systems. The model works on shelves, in homes, and economically."

That's the proof of what a dedicated upcycled category can do, and it's the model we're building out with retailers across Europe. Rohlik is where it started, not where it stops. We're now looking for the next wave of manufacturers to work with, across our growing retail network.

Why this matters if you make food

If your product uses a byproduct, surplus stream, or ingredient that would otherwise be discarded, downgraded, or landfilled, you're sitting on something retailers increasingly want and don't know how to source. Global demand backs this up: 62% of consumers say they're willing to pay more for products that fight food waste (Innova Market Insights). 

The problem most manufacturers face isn't whether to build an upcycled product. It's getting it onto a shelf that already has consumer trust, foot traffic, and a category built around it, rather than starting from zero in a generic "speciality" aisle where nobody thinks to look. That's the gap this category closes.

What it takes to be considered

The bar is lower than most manufacturers assume:

• At least 10% of the product's ingredients must be upcycled — a byproduct, surplus item, or otherwise recovered input. That's the core requirement.

• Any food category is eligible. The current range spans granola, savoury snacks, drinks, frozen product, and more; there's no restriction on what kind of product you bring. 

• You don't need to already be in one of our partner retailers' markets to have this conversation. Some categories, like drinks, do depend on local distribution being in place, but even if that's not the case for you yet, it's worth reaching out. Part of what we do is figure out whether a path exists and what it would take to build one. 

• Our support goes beyond getting you on shelf. We work with you on formulation and ingredient sourcing, on the story that sells your product to shoppers, and on the practical details - volume, certification, labelling - that depend on what you're bringing to the table. 

What happens next

TransFoodMission handles the part most manufacturers don't have in-house: the retail relationship, the category positioning, and the logistics of getting a product from "we make this" to "this is on a shelf, in a category built for it." We've done it before, at scale, with Rohlik, and we're building it out further with new retailers across Europe, which means new shelves and new markets opening up regularly.

If your product uses recovered ingredients and you've been wondering how to get it in front of retail buyers who are already looking for exactly that, this is the door in. 

Wherever you're based today.

Tell us about your product and we'll flag the right retail opportunity when it comes up. 

Contact us here