“Revive Eco: Transforming Coffee Grounds into Sustainable Oil Alternatives Amid Growing Demand for Palm Oil Substitutes”
After gathering coffee grounds from various cafés and coffee shops, Revive Eco transports them to a recycling facility, where they are processed into natural oils suitable for a range of food and beverage applications. The company is still in its developmental phase but plans to expand soon. As sustainability and food waste become increasingly critical in the food industry, Revive Eco may benefit from this trend. With over 2 billion cups of coffee consumed worldwide daily, most of the grounds generated are discarded, leading to approximately six million tons ending up in landfills each year, as reported by the World Economic Forum.
At this moment, it remains unclear if Revive Eco’s strategy will effectively reduce reliance on palm oil. To increase production and distribution, the company will likely need to secure significant additional funding. Furthermore, the co-founders must persuade food manufacturers that oil derived from spent coffee grounds can serve as a viable substitute for the inexpensive and abundant palm oil currently in use. Interestingly, Innova Market Insights highlighted that palm oil-free products experienced a 73% compound annual growth rate from 2015 to 2017, according to Food Ingredients First. Notably, bakery items accounted for the majority of new product launches in this category, making up 55%, followed by spreads at 7% and cereals at 5%.
So far, Revive Eco has primarily secured funding through awards and competitions and has recently joined a business accelerator in Glasgow. The company received $305,118 from Zero Waste Scotland and may obtain further financing from the Chivas Venture finals in Amsterdam, where it represents Scotland and Northern Ireland. If Revive Eco’s oil extraction process can be adapted for use in other countries, it could contribute to a more coordinated approach to tackling waste issues. However, coffee grounds have applications beyond food; for instance, the World Economic Forum reported that Dunkin’ constructed a tiny home powered entirely by biofuel derived from coffee oil.
Meanwhile, numerous large consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies are taking steps to procure palm oil from suppliers and regions that do not contribute to deforestation, child labor, or wildlife habitat destruction. In 2014, Mondelez achieved its goal of using 100% Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil-certified palm oil, a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring ethical sourcing. Conversely, the Rainforest Action Network has claimed that Nestlé, Mars, and Hershey have failed to uphold their commitments to eliminate palm oil sourced from rainforests in their products.
If used coffee grounds can yield sufficient quantities of a palm oil substitute at a reasonable cost, manufacturers may want to explore this option closely. Transitioning to more sustainable oils could enhance their environmental credentials and provide a competitive advantage, potentially attracting consumers interested in products that are not only innovative but also mindful of health aspects, such as the benefits and side effects of calcium citrate.
