International Collaborations for Food Upcycling: What We Learn from the Food Upcycling & PLENTY Projects  

On 12 February 2026, members of The Upcycling Community came together online for a special Meet the New Partners × Acceleration Session. Designed to connect newcomers and accelerate collaborative innovation, the session showcased how diverse efforts across Europe are turning food side streams and losses into valuable new ingredients for food and business opportunities.

In this Acceleration Session, two projects, Food Upcycling and PLENTY, were spotlighted to inspire new collaborations, share concrete tools, and connect theory with practice.

European wide opportunities for upcycling side streams: What We Heard 

Food Upcycling — Practical Pathways from Side Streams to Food Products

The Food Upcycling project brings a hands-on, business-oriented focus to the food loss & waste challenge: how can underutilised side streams from food production become valuable products? Rather than viewing these streams as waste or not optimally valorising those, the project treats them as resources to be valorised, creating economic opportunities for companies while reducing environmental impact.

The project is coordinated by a Danish consortium, bringing together expertise and companies from across Denmark. Foodvalley, together with The Upcycling Community, acts as an international bridge, enabling these Danish companies to connect with partners not only across Europe but also globally, fostering cross-border collaboration and opening new markets for upcycled products.

Core elements include:

• Matchmaking between side stream producers and potential users of upcycled ingredients in Denmark, even across borders
• Workshops, pilots, and collaborative development projects
• Tools like the Global Food Upcycling Map to help partners find suppliers, technology providers, and customers globally

Coaching and advise for bringing products from concept to market Examples covered include brewers spent grains, vegetable and fruit cut-offs, dairy residues, coffee grounds, and other by-products — each with the potential to become ingredients for food, feed, cosmetics, fertilisers, or other applications. The emphasis is on turning what was once a cost into new revenue streams and sustainable products.

PLENTY — Research and Systemic Thinking to Support Circular Food Futures 

Where Food Upcycling is rooted in practical company collaboration, PLENTY, a Swedish national research centre, brings a system-wide, academic perspective to the same challenge. Its work shows how circularity must be built into the entire food ecosystem to reap long-term value and resilience. 
Key aspects of PLENTY’s approach include:

• Mapping residual material and energy flows across sectors in Sweden 
• Developing and analysing technology pathways for converting side streams into inputs for food and other products 
• Assessing environmental, economic, and social impacts using tools like life-cycle assessment and resilience analysis 
• Understanding consumer acceptance, ethics, and societal implications of circular food systems 
• Supporting innovation management and business model development to help circular concepts scale 

Rather than focusing only on individual product opportunities, PLENTY’s work helps partners see the bigger picture. How flows of materials and knowledge connect across the system, how regulations and economics play out, and how circular food systems can become profitable, safe, accepted, and resilient.  

Four Shared Insights from Food Upcycling and PLENTY 

Though different in emphasis, one being practical and product focused and the other systemic and analytical, both projects highlighted a shared direction that strongly resonates with Foodvalley’s mission and the mission of the partners of The Upcycling Community of Foodvalley. 

1. Upcycling is about value creation, not only waste reduction. 
Both presentations framed upcycling as a way to create new value, new business models, and more resilient food systems, rather than simply a tool to reduce food waste. 

2. Collaboration across sectors and borders is essential. 
A recurring message was that no single company or research organisation can build circular food systems alone. Progress depends on collaboration across value chains, sectors, disciplines and country borders. 

3. Shared tools and knowledge accelerate progress. 
Both initiatives showed how common tools, structured collaboration, and shared knowledge, from global mapping platforms to research frameworks, help companies move faster from ideas to implementation. 

4. Mainstream adoption requires alignment of supply and demand. 
Scaling up upcycled products depends on engaging producers, manufacturers, retailers, and consumers together, ensuring that circular solutions are not only sustainable but also accepted, market ready, and competitive. 

Explore and Connect with The Upcycling Community 
Looking to discover innovative ways to transform food waste into valuable products? Check out the Global Food Upcycling Map, a comprehensive tool highlighting organizations and initiatives worldwide driving the upcycling movement. 

Don’t miss the chance to connect with like-minded innovators at our upcoming Innovation Insights event on 25 March 2026. Join the Upcycling Community Breakout to engage, share ideas, and explore collaborative opportunities that can make a real impact. 

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