How to Communicate about Upcycled Food?

The upcycling of food is ages old, yet in the modern world the concept of turning food waste into value is relatively new.

Indeed, the invention of the term “upcycling” – first coined in an article in 1994 – and its more recent application to food is testament to the fact that using all edible parts of a food source is no longer considered ‘normal’.

Perhaps because consumer behaviour around food and cooking has changed, but also due to changes in the scale and design of food production and consumption: today’s food system is plagued with side streams and ‘waste’ that we’ve only recently begun to see the environmental consequences and value potential of.

This frames a major challenge for producers of upcycled foods:

How to communicate about and convince the food industry and consumers of the value and importance of upcycling?

At Agrain by Circular Food Technology , we're by no means communication experts - but there are a few things we've learnt on our journey towards bringing upcycled food to the mainstream. Read on for our 4 upcycling communication takeaways! ??

1. Clarity is Key ??

Although ‘upcycled’ is becoming a popular buzzword, many people don’t yet fully understand its meaning. We've found that it's important to define or explain the term appropriately to the right audience.

The definition provided by the Upcycled Food Association is a useful reference - especially when presenting upcycling to others in the food industry. However, we find that some of the terms within it can challenging to grasp for the general public.

To improve understanding, it can be a good idea to simplify the definition further. For example, “environmentally friendly foods containing safe ingredients that would otherwise not have gone to human consumption” has been suggested.

We often explain food upcycling as "transforming foods that would have otherwise been discarded into new food products of higher quality or value". This is best accompanied with a concrete example - such as turning leftover grains from beer brewing into a nutritious flour!

We also find it helps to use alternative wording to convey the meaning in another way. For example, the terms ‘repurposed’, ‘rescued’, ‘overlooked’ and ‘waste-to-value’ hint at the meaning of the word 'upcycled' and can be effective for enhancing understanding when used in tandem.

2. Positive Framing ???

It’s easy to fall into the trap of comparing upcycled foods to other foods in order to justify their value. When we started to promote Agrain spent grain flour to bakers and food manufacturers, we were so focused on dissolving misconceptions around upcycled foods that we spent a lot of time explaining what Agrain flour doesn't do: "it doesn't compromise texture" or "it doesn't cause bad taste" in baked goods.

Now we know that acceptance is improved when the emphasis is placed on the upcycled product's own USPs. As a result, our communication is much more positive and inviting: "Agrain flour adds flavour and boosts nutrition, while making a positive impact on sustainability".

In general, using positive, appetising language to describe upcycled foods can help to build positive associations and increase appeal, such as talking about upcycled ingredients as ‘rescued’ instead of ‘rejected’. We normally refer to spent grains as 'leftover' or 'a byproduct' instead of 'waste' which helps to reduce negative associations when customers and consumers are first introduced to our product.

3. Storytelling & Educating ??

Providing customers and consumers with factual and educational information can effectively raise awareness and peak interest in upcycled food. Indeed, studies have found that providing information about health and environmental benefits of upcycled food can increase purchase intention and willingness to pay.

Awareness of the origins and scale of waste in the food industry, especially in relation to sidestreams, is also generally low. We find it can be really impactful to tell and - even better - to show where food waste comes from and how it can be turned into an edible product again. This helps to make a novel food product both more relatable and appealing to consumers.

Here's a reel we made to show how others how we upcycle spent grain into flour ??

4. Label It! ??

Research shows that including certification labels on upcycled food packaging is likely to increase consumer acceptance.

Upcycled Certified ? (verified by Where Food Comes From, Inc. ) is one such label aiming to promote and grow the upcycled food economy. The label provides quality assurance while improving transparency, helping consumers to choose upcycled foods with ease. Upcycled Certified is the first and only third-party certified label for upcycled food.

At Agrain by Circular Food Technology , we feel strongly about the value of a common upcycled certification label for increasing recognition and credibility of upcycled food. Moreover, a visual label or logo can be an effective tool for communicating across different languages and cultural contexts - which has proved challenging for us so far! Becoming Upcycled Certified? has thus been a priority and huge achievement for us in 2024.

Unfortunately, the certification is currently only recognised in the US. While the label has fantastic reach and impact locally, the lack of a shared label in the EU and worldwide is hindering progress in raising awareness about upcycled food elsewhere.

We really hope to see an expansion of these standards to the EU in the near future. For now, our products carry other locally-recognised labels such as EU Organic, Danish Organic and IFS Food Standard to increase product credibility amongst Danish and European customers and consumers.

Overall, communicating about upcycled food has been a considerable challenge in a landscape where the term is widely unknown or not well understood. However, by being vocal about upcycling and emphasising the need for international standards of communication, we hope to build a common language that includes both industry professionals and end-consumers.

Let's not take ourselves too seriously...

Of course, our communication takeaways are not a perfect formula for upcycled food communication - and there are many other upcycled food companies who are doing an excellent job of communicating in their own ways.

For example, by making ‘waste’ core to their branding, bread waste pasta producer Wasted ApS nudges customers to rethink their negative associations with the concept of 'waste' by redefining waste as desirable and cool.

In another example, The Wonky Food Company who make relishes from surplus produce are dispelling the negative connotations of ‘ugly’ or ‘imperfect’ fruit and veg through framing that emphasises their deliciousness.

Do you know of other companies who have a great way of communicating upcycling? Tell us in the comments! ??

Despite different communication styles, what unites us is the common realisation that neglected sidesteams have a lot of potential and are fun to work with - and that is what we want to share with others!

This passion and excitement might just be the most valuable tool we have for bringing attention to the value and potential of upcycled food.

?? Every grain counts

?? Further Reading ??

?? Examining consumer acceptance of upcycled foods (Lu et al, 2024)

?? Challenges for Upcycled Foods: Definition, Inclusion in the Food Waste Management Hierarchy and Public Acceptability (Moshtaghian et al, 2021)

?? PlantPro Project: Danish consumer awareness of upcycled food

To learn more about upcycled food and ingredients, visit:

?? Upcycled Food Association | Upcycled Food Association

?? Agrain Products | Agrain by Circular Food Technology

Or get in touch directly at [email protected]

Do you have insights from your experience or observations of upcycled food communication? Share your thoughts in the comments! ??