demi

What demi does

Demi Composting Corp. (doing business as demi) is a private, Chicago-based urban composting service founded in 2022. The company addresses the structural absence of composting access for apartment and condo residents by delivering an integrated three-component solution: (1) sleek, 9"x7"x4" stainless steel countertop bins with airtight, odor-blocking seals; (2) building-level Demi Pod collection stations installed in common areas and serviced on a regular pickup cadence; and (3) a mobile application (iOS and Android) that provides a searchable compostable-items database, tracks food-waste diversion and greenhouse-gas metrics, and ranks users against peers. Demi partners with Green Era Chicago, an anaerobic digester on Chicago's south side, and Urban Canopy, a 2-acre farm, to process collected material into clean energy and compost, closing a local circular-economy loop.

The company's revenue model is primarily B2B subscription-based: property managers and building owners (including Greystar, Willow Bridge, Hines, Lincoln/Lendlease, FirstService, and Magellan) pay for Demi as a resident amenity that supports ESG goals, tenant differentiation, and potential additional revenue. Residents participate on an opt-in basis through the mobile app. A secondary consumer revenue stream comes from a direct-to-consumer e-commerce merchandise shop selling sustainably sourced apparel and accessories ($22–$30 per item). Go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales with self-serve website lead forms. Operations are currently concentrated in the Chicago metropolitan area, with a 2025 expansion signal via the NYC EDC Founder Fellowship.

The company is early-stage, with 1–10 employees, a single disclosed $800K funding round (April 2023, led by gener8tor with participation from Gold House, Great Circle Ventures, Meliorate Partners, Obama Foundation, Polsky Center, and Right Side Capital Management), and founder-controlled ownership led by co-founders Lily Wang (CEO), Andrew Lee (CTO), and Kristina Choo (COO). Recognition includes Forbes 30 Under 30 Chicago (CTO, 2024), Obama Scholar designation (CEO), the Polsky Center Entrepreneurship Award, and inclusion in Global Venturing's Recycling Tech Startups to Watch 2025.

Name

demi

Legal name

Demi Composting Corp.

Website

https://demicomposting.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Demi Composting Corp. is a Chicago-based urban composting service that equips apartment buildings with stainless steel countertop bins, building-level collection pods, and a mobile app. It sells a subscription service to property managers—including Greystar, Hines, and Lincoln—as a resident amenity supporting ESG goals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Urban Composting and Waste Diversion Services

NAICS

Remediation and Other Waste Management Services (5629)

SIC

Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

Organics & Composting Programs (Food Waste, Green Waste) (BPABALAC)

Keywords

• Urban composting services
• Apartment composting solutions
• Food waste diversion
• Multifamily resident amenities
• Building sustainability services

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Composting Subscription Service: Building/property managers pay for composting service as a resident amenity. Generates additional revenue for buildings and helps them meet ESG goals. Residents participate through opt-in model.
2. Merchandise Sales: E-commerce store selling sustainably sourced merchandise including caps, sweatshirts, and tote bags. All merchandise is sustainably sourced with free domestic shipping.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

demi provides an end-to-end urban composting service for apartment buildings, supplying residents with sleek stainless steel countertop food scrap bins, installing Demi Pod collection stations in building common areas, and arranging scheduled pickup that routes material to industrial composting partners. The service is paired with a mobile app that tracks environmental impact and educates users on compostable items, and the company also sells branded sustainably sourced merchandise through its own e-commerce store.

Product overview

Demi is a composting service company that offers a unified platform for urban apartment dwellers to compost effortlessly. The core offering consists of three integrated components: (1) Demi Food Scrap Bins - sleek, stainless steel countertop bins with odor-blocking design; (2) Demi Pod - building-wide collection stations for convenient food scrap drop-off; and (3) Demi Mobile App - for tracking environmental impact and educating users on compostable items. Demi also operates a merchandise sub-brand (Demi Merchandise Shop) selling sustainably sourced apparel and accessories including caps, sweatshirts, and tote bags. The company targets both building managers (offering ESG benefits and revenue generation) and individual residents (offering rewards and impact tracking).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Compost Club: A community-focused sub-brand associated with the composting service, featured on merchandise such as caps and sweatshirts

Products and services

• Demi Composting Service End-to-end urban composting service for multi-family residential buildings, supplying countertop bins, installing building-level Demi Pod collection stations in common areas, and arranging scheduled pickup routed to industrial composting partners (Green Era Chicago anaerobic digester and Urban Canopy farm). Sold to property managers as a recurring building amenity and used by residents through an opt-in model.
• Demi for Buildings B2B offering for property managers and apartment building owners that installs Demi Pod systems in building common areas and generates additional revenue through amenity pricing, helps meet ESG goals, differentiates the property in tenant attraction, and reduces waste management and pest issues.
• Demi for Residents Resident-facing portion of the composting program offering effortless composting without mess, lifestyle rewards, and impact tracking through the Demi mobile app, available to urban dwellers in buildings enrolled in Demi for Buildings.
• Demi Food Scrap Bin Countertop food scrap bin made of infinitely recyclable stainless steel with airtight seal to block odors; dimensions 9"x7"x4" designed to fit easily on apartment countertops. Provided to residents as part of the Demi Composting Service for household food scrap collection.
• Demi Pod Collection Station Building-wide collection station installed in common areas where residents drop off their full Demi bins; demi picks up material on a regular cadence for transport to industrial composting partners, preventing odor and pest issues at the building.
• Demi Mobile App Dedicated mobile application for residents that tracks environmental impact metrics (food waste diverted, greenhouse gas reduction), educates users through a searchable database of compostable items, and benchmarks user performance against peers. Available on iOS App Store and Google Play.
• Demi Merchandise Shop Direct-to-consumer e-commerce store selling sustainably sourced apparel and accessories including organic cotton caps ($22-$27), unisex sweatshirts ($30), and eco tote bags ($25-$27); all merchandise is sustainably sourced with free domestic shipping, and digital gift cards are available in $25, $50, $75, and $100 denominations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 73% of downtown Chicago residents willing to spend more on rent for sustainable buildings with composting
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Green Era ChicagocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDemi partners with Green Era Chicago, an anaerobic digester on Chicago's south side. Food waste is turned into clean energy that powers the local community of Auburn Gresham and creates a vibrant and self-sustaining circular economy.
• Urban CanopycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDemi works with Urban Canopy, a 2-acre farm on Chicago's south side, to produce compost. The farm makes healthy produce accessible to all, reduces miles fresh food travels, keeps food waste out of landfills, and creates and maintains local jobs.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• CompostNow: Residential and commercial food scrap collection subscription service operating in the Southeast US. Closely comparable subscription model, residential focus, and bucket-based collection approach, though serves single-family homes more heavily than apartments.
• Bonded Dirt: Chicago-based urban composting and soil amendment company. Same geography, similar building-level and residential collection services, and uses a comparable pod-based drop-off model.
• Bootstrap Compost: Residential and commercial food scrap pickup service in the Boston area. Closely comparable subscription-based organics collection for households and small businesses.
• Garbage to Garden: Maine-based residential curbside composting subscription service. Comparable subscription model, residential focus, and use of buckets for food scrap collection.

Emerging players

• Mill: Tech-enabled kitchen food waste service with in-home dehydrating bin. Different mechanism (dehydration vs. composting) but adjacent category targeting urban household food waste reduction.

Broad incumbents

• TerraCycle: Large-scale recycling and waste diversion company with Loop and organics initiatives. Overlaps in food waste and circular economy themes at much larger scale and broader scope.
• Waste Management (WM): Largest North American waste hauler with growing organics recycling services including residential and commercial food waste collection. Operates nationally and could easily enter urban apartment composting at scale.
• Republic Services: Major US waste and recycling company with organics processing capabilities through RecycleBC and similar programs. Represents a potential competitor or acquirer for Demi's apartment-building segment.
• Casella Waste Systems: Northeast US-focused waste and recycling company with established organics division. Comparable in building/organics services but at much larger scale and broader regional footprint.

Others

• NYC Department of Sanitation (Organics Program): Municipal curbside organics collection program. NYC's expansion of mandatory organics collection to all residents by 2025 represents both a potential customer partnership opportunity and a free competing service for apartment buildings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/demicomposting
• Facebookfacebook.com/demicomposting

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors7 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about demi