Renewal Mill

Renewal Mill is a food and ingredients company that upcycles byproducts of food manufacturing — including soybean (okara), oat and almond pulp left over from plant-based milk and tofu production — into flours, protein and fiber ingredients, baking mixes and cookies. The company produces six distinct upcycled ingredients across protein, flour and fiber categories, positioning them for use both in its own consumer products and by other manufacturers developing plant-based or sustainability-oriented foods.

Its consumer line consists of baking mixes and flours that are free from gluten and dairy, with some products free from all top allergens; the mixes are formulated to require only oil and water. Recipes and products are developed with a five-time James Beard award-winning cookbook author who specializes in alternative flours and chocolate. The company also maintains a recipe resource and a retail store locator for shoppers.

The company was founded in 2016 and operated out of Oakland, California, where its first tofu-manufacturing partner was located; it later relocated nearby. Its website states it is now headquartered in Canandaigua, New York.

Founding story

Co-founder Claire Schlemme co-founded Boston's first organic juice company and was confronted daily with large volumes of leftover nutritious produce pulp. After a meeting with the owner of one of the country's largest tofu companies, who described thousands of pounds of soybean pulp generated weekly, she learned about okara — the byproduct of soymilk production — and saw an opportunity to turn it into an affordable, nutritious ingredient. Caroline Cotto, whose background spans nutrition work in Washington, D.C. food deserts, an internship with Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative and rice fortification work for the UN World Food Programme in Cambodia, met Schlemme at a startup accelerator where the Renewal Mill idea was being developed; the two joined forces and raised a first round of capital.

Business model

Renewal Mill operates in two linked channels: it sells branded consumer pantry products (baking mixes, flours, cookies) through retail and direct online ordering, and it supplies upcycled ingredients to other food manufacturers for use in their own products. Ingredient production uses a co-location model, installing dehydrating and milling technology inside partner manufacturing facilities so byproducts can be processed on site before they spoil.

Revenue comes from sales of consumer baking mixes, flours and cookies via retail distribution and the company's own online store, plus sales of upcycled ingredients to food manufacturers, where the ingredient sales cycle runs roughly two to three years.

Traction

By June 2023, a year after entering Whole Foods Market nationwide with three baking mixes and three flours, product sales at Whole Foods alone were reported to have diverted more than 66,000 pounds of food waste. The company had built multiple partnerships with Bay Area companies, and in 2023 introduced an upcycled corn flour and debuted an upcycled flour replacement blend at IFT FIRST.

Latest developments

In June 2023 Renewal Mill announced the closing of the first portion of its Series A round, led by Beyond Impact Advisors with participation from existing investor ICA Fund, with proceeds earmarked for expanding retail distribution and introducing new products; the company said it would raise the remainder over the following 90 days. In the same month it launched an upcycled corn flour and debuted in Seven Sundays' new protein cereal, and in July 2023 it introduced an upcycled flour replacement blend at IFT FIRST.