Corinne Trang has accepted an advisory role with Twin Cities-based NETZRO, SBC. NETZRO, a national leader in sustainability by eliminating food waste and expanding the food supply chain. Trang is currently a global business development and planning consultant for numerous food businesses.

Trang expressed her excitement about joining NETZRO: “The minute I spoke to Sue and her team, I knew I wanted to get involved. I saw how NETZRO’s impact on significantly reducing food waste could bring together different actors across the supply chain to solve a massive problem that requires all hands on deck. When it comes to the environment, we need to think globally, and NETZRO’s state-of-the-art technology is key to covering a lot of ground.”

“We have a critical role to play in creating a more resilient and accessible global food system which includes upcycling food that would otherwise be wasted and the NETZRO team is honored to have Trang join and contribute. Trang brings proven leadership in advising businesses in launching innovative strategic opportunities within the food system that concentrates on sustainability and impact. Her deep understanding of global business dynamics will enable NETZRO to build a strategy that drives growth and improves the environmental challenges we face around the world. I look forward to working with her to expand NETZRO’s technology framework throughout Europe and Asia,” said Sue Marshall, NETZRO’s founder and CEO.

Click to download press release: NETZRO Fills EU Strategy Advisor Position with Food Systems Expert

The post NETZRO Fills EU Strategy Advisor Position with Food Systems Expert appeared first on NETZRO, SBC.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (October 2023) – Danyel Bischof-Forsyth has accepted a board position with Twin Cities-based NETZRO, SBC. NETZRO, a national leader in sustainability by eliminating food waste and expanding the food supply chain. Bischof-Forsyth was the prior CTO at Tyson Foods, and as a board member will provide NETZRO leadership in the areas of technology optimization while advancing impact data innovation. NETZRO was among four national entrepreneurs chosen in July by Tyson Ventures, the venture capital at Tyson Foods Demo Day 2023.

Danyel expressed her excitement about joining NETZRO: “I am truly honored to be a part of NETZRO and its groundbreaking work in the field of food upcycling! Together we will redefine the way we approach food waste and shape the future of sustainability.”

“We have a critical role to play in eliminating food waste while responsibly producing food for a growing world and the NETZRO team is honored to have Danyel join the board. Danyel brings proven technology leadership and I look forward to working with her to build NETZRO’s impact data framework as well as our technology strategy,” said Sue Marshall, NETZRO’s founder and CEO.

Click to download press release: NetZro news release Danyel Bischof-Forsyth board position

The post NETZRO Fills Board Position with Tyson Foods Former CTO appeared first on NETZRO, SBC.

Through NETZRO’s extensive knowledge of the upcycled food industry, its proprietary patent-pending technology and equipment, and its vast network of connections, this story illustrates another perfect example of how collaborative partnering is the key to significant positive impact for our food system, our environment, and for each and every one of us.

Thank you to Institute for Nonprofit News, Planet Detroit and all the other contributors who made this possible.

Read the full original article HERE. 

This story is part of a collaborative series, from the Institute for Nonprofit News, Planet Detroit and four other news partners, examining climate resilience across the Great Lakes. This reporting was made possible with support from the Joyce Foundation.

  author:Eleanore Catolico

Why Avalon International Breads is rescuing spent grains to fight climate change.

The stalwart bakery’s participation in an upcycled grain project boasts environmental and economic benefits

Inside a nearly 50,000-square-foot bakehouse on Detroit’s east side, workers are helping reduce harm to the planet by producing sweet and savory crackers made from leftover brewer’s barley.

It’s an exhilarating time for the team behind Avalon International Breads, whose humble beginnings can be traced to a storefront bakery in the city’s Cass Corridor neighborhood. They’ve built a reputation for artisan baked goods over the course of its 25-year history and have multiple cafes across Michigan. Recently, they opened two new locations, inside Rivertown Market in Detroit and Woodward Corner Market in Royal Oak.

Eco-conscious practices, like composting and recycling, have been an indelible part of the company’s DNA. These actions are embedded within a core philosophy of the “triple bottom line,” which also commits to building community and offering employees fair wages, benefits, and a compassionate workplace. Avalon now plays a key role in a food sustainability initiative called the Upcycled Grain Project, positioning them at the forefront of a movement aligned with their values.

The food waste reduction method doesn’t just elevate Avalon’s sustainability mission to new heights. It’s good for business.

A Minnesota-based company called NETZRO sources the flour for Avalon, which they use to make the final product, the crackers. So far, Avalon gets flour every few months based on demand.

The crackers are bite-sized, charcuterie-like crisps that pair well with jam and come in boxes labeled “Upcycled Grain Project.” Flavors include cranberry coconut, fig cardamom, orange sesame, and the most popular flavor, raisin rosemary.

Eleanore Catolico is a New Voices fellow with Euclid Media group’s Metro Times. She was Planet Detroit x Energy News Network’s 2022 Detroit Energy and Environment Reporting Fellow, and previously worked at Chalkbeat Detroit and WDET. She lives in Detroit.

The post Rescuing spent grain to fight climate change through collaboration. appeared first on NETZRO, SBC.

Find the online article HERE.

We share this excerpt with full credit  and thanks to Voyage Minnesota.

Exploring Life & Business with Sue Marshall of NETZRO, SBC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sue Marshall.

Hi Sue, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
NETZRO was started as an idea out of a venture strategy class at The University of St Thomas. I went back to the university to finish my graduate studies after my last child was in high school. I have always been an entrepreneur, predominately in real estate so I knew when I went back to school that I would start something new. I was passionate about climate change and with my children’s support I was driven to make a difference with food waste. My children’s encouragement to make a difference led me to be interested in B corps. The proprietary technology today was discovered through an introduction to a similar technology used on manure. We began testing various food byproduct streams and realized that similar tech could be built to safely capture and convert industry food byproducts into upcycled ingredients at scale. The idea progressed to research and development of upcycling various byproducts for the first several years with a lab version of the technology. The idea came to fruition in September 2019 when the B corporation, NETZRO SBC was filed in the state of MN and the first commercialized version of the proprietary equipment was delivered March 2020. COVID delated operational deployment until November 2020. Today NETZRO operates in its own food-safe facility in St Paul, MN having commercialized upcycled grains and eggshells. It is now designing the equipment to license to others.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It is never a smooth ride for a start-up and NETZRO has additional hurdles that create a non-traditional way to commercialization. NETZRO is currently still a majority female-owned business, therefore runs up against the fact that minority-owned businesses get less than 5% of the venture funding needed to grow a company past the proof-of-concept stage. In addition to being in the food & agriculture being in a newly formed industry (food upcycling) adds additional hurdles to funding. The most challenging problems we face often need hard technology to provide solutions that can make a difference in a timeline that will change the world. Unfortunately, investment tends to divert toward soft technologies such as apps and online engagement tools. These are important tools but do not alone drive change at speed the world needs.

We’ve been impressed with NETZRO, SBC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
NETZRO is a food upcycling platform that includes proprietary hard technology that safely captures and converts industrial food byproducts in to new upcycled ingredients that are used in new food products for human and animal consumption. With NETZRO’s knowledge, equipment and connections to the upcycled food industry, it is able to connect food and beverage manufacturers that have large quantities of food byproducts (for example, breweries/distilleries with spent grains) to those same types of companies that would like to use the new upcycled ingredients in new food products. The equipment is then deployed to bridge the companies together to divert large amounts of food that would have otherwise been wasted to feed more people better while reducing GHG emissions. I am the founder & CEO and I am most proud of the resilience and patience of the entire NETZRO team. Personally, I am proud to be a founder and executive of the Upcycled Food Association. This organization has been instrumental in raising awareness and providing the collaborations necessary to create a movement into a new industry.

Any big plans?
NETZRO is currently raising a capital round to support growth to deploy its platform to others to divert 20-billion pounds per year of food byproducts from landfill (or other inappropriate methods of disposal) to food the world without growing more food.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/netzro.us/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NETZRO.US
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7GeisrFLbUD5DXhPaeVOaA

The post Voyage Minnesota article with Sue Marshall of NETZRO appeared first on NETZRO, SBC.

Story by BROOKS JOHNSON
Photo illustration by NURI DUCASSI; iStock Star Tribune staff

What happens to all that malted barley after beer is done brewing, or all those oats after being soaked to make oat milk? They are increasingly ending up back in food.

Minnesota’s nascent “upcycled” food industry — which is one part recycling and another part food manufacturing — has gone from nearly non- existent to vibrant in just a few years. The aim of upcycling is to find new uses for otherwise discarded, yet still nutritious, foodstuffs. Repurposed grains are hitting shelves in baking mixes, crackers and even cereal.

“It used to be a movement. Now it’s an industry,” said Sue Marshall, founder and CEO of St. Paul-based upcycling company Netzro.

The practice of redirecting food waste — which the industry calls “byproduct utilization” — has been around since agriculture began, mostly by reusing it in animal feed or compost. But rebranding it as upcycling, and finding ways to commercialize the practice for human food, has helped the industry rapidly take off.

Click here to read the article at StarTribune.com

Click here to download a pdf of the full article.

The post ‘Upcycling’ A Fast-Growing Food Industry In Minnesota appeared first on NETZRO, SBC.