The Spare Food Co.

What The Spare Food Co. does

The Spare Food Co. is a New York-based food manufacturer founded in 2018 that produces a two-SKU product line branded "Spare Beef," consisting of Spare Burger (pre-formed patties) and Spare Ground (a versatile bulk format). Its core technology is a proprietary chef-led process that blends 70% responsibly raised, grass-fed beef with 30% roasted surplus vegetables, with the roasting step positioned as the source of a beef-forward flavor profile, improved nutrition, lower saturated fat, and reduced environmental footprint relative to conventional ground beef. Both SKUs are formulated as one-for-one drop-in replacements for 100% ground beef, requiring no new kitchen techniques, and are clean-label, allergen-free, soy-free, gluten-free, and Halal certified.

The company sells exclusively into U.S. B2B foodservice. Its primary go-to-market is multi-distributor: it holds sell-sheet relationships with the three largest broadline foodservice distributors in the U.S. (Sysco, US Foods, and Performance Food Group) and has been awarded a national contract with Premier, Inc. — one of the largest healthcare group purchasing organizations — to supply Spare Burger and Spare Ground to Premier's member network effective March 1, 2026. Spare complements this with a direct enterprise-sales motion (a dedicated [email protected] inbox and inquiry form) and a secondary direct-to-consumer listing via Misfits Market. Documented institutional adopters include Princeton University and Syracuse University through published case studies.

Commercially, The Spare Food Co. is a privately held, founder-controlled company co-founded by Adam Kaye (former chef and culinary director at Blue Hill at Stone Barns with over two decades of tenure) and Jeremy Kaye. It has raised two disclosed rounds of financing from ANIMO Ventures (2021 and 2022), with amounts undisclosed, and currently operates with a 1–10 person team. Revenue is not publicly disclosed and pricing is quote-based with multi-year contracts available; the Premier contract — not yet effective as of this analysis — represents the most significant near-term revenue catalyst alongside ongoing broadline distributor volume.

Name

The Spare Food Co.

Legal name

THE SPARE FOOD CO.

Website

https://sparefood.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Spare Food Co. is a New York-based B2B food manufacturer that produces "Spare Beef" — pre-formed burger patties and ground beef blended 70/30 with roasted surplus vegetables — and sells them as one-for-one replacements for ground beef to U.S. institutional foodservice operators via broadline distributors, a Premier, Inc. GPO contract, and Misfits Market.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Upcycled Food Manufacturing

NAICS

Meat Processed from Carcasses (311612), Animal Slaughtering and Processing (3116)

SIC

Meat Packing Plants (2011), Sausages & Other Prepared Meat Products (2013)

akta.pro primary industry

Hybrid Meat Products (Blended Plant-Based + Cultivated/Conventional) (AFANAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Finished Meat-Alternative Prepared Foods (Nuggets, Burgers, Sausages, Ready Meals) (AFANAKAO)

Keywords

• Upcycled food manufacturing
• Blended beef products
• Foodservice meat products
• Sustainable beef alternatives
• Institutional food supply

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. B2B Foodservice Product Sales: Spare Food generates revenue through the direct sale of its Spare Beef product lines (Spare Burger pre-formed patties and Spare Ground) to foodservice operators including colleges, universities, corporate dining, healthcare facilities, and other institutional settings. Products are sold as a one-for-one replacement for conventional ground beef, positioning Spare as a direct substitute in existing procurement and menu workflows.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Spare Food manufactures and sells the "Spare Beef" product line — Spare Burger pre-formed patties and Spare Ground — which blend responsibly raised, grass-fed beef with 30% roasted surplus vegetables. Both products are designed as a one-for-one drop-in replacement for 100% ground beef across burgers, meatballs, tacos, sauces, and other recipes, sold primarily to institutional and commercial foodservice operators across the United States.

Product overview

The Spare Food Co. offers a unified product line centered on 'Spare Beef' — better beef products that blend responsibly raised, grass-fed beef with roasted surplus vegetables. The portfolio consists of two core SKUs: Spare Burger (pre-formed patties) and Spare Ground (versatile bulk format), both using the same proprietary formula of 70% beef and 30% vegetables. Both products serve as direct one-for-one replacements for traditional beef in foodservice settings, targeting institutional buyers across colleges, healthcare, corporate dining, and K-12.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Spare Beef: Product line consisting of Spare Burger (pre-formed patties) and Spare Ground (versatile ready-to-use replacement for ground beef), made from responsibly raised grass-fed beef blended with 30% roasted surplus vegetables.

Products and services

• Spare Burger Pre-formed burger patties made from responsibly raised, grass-fed beef blended with 30% roasted surplus vegetables, designed as a direct one-for-one replacement for traditional beef burgers that cooks on grills, flat tops, or open flame without special techniques. Sold to foodservice operators across colleges, healthcare, corporate dining, hospitality, QSR, K-12, and event venues.
• Spare Ground Versatile ready-to-use ground beef alternative made from responsibly raised, grass-fed beef blended with 30% roasted surplus vegetables, serving as a one-for-one replacement for ground beef in any recipe including meatballs, tacos, and sauces. Prepped vegetables are already included, reducing labor, prep time, and trim waste. Sold primarily to foodservice operators across colleges, healthcare, corporate dining, hospitality, QSR, K-12, and event venues.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30% reduction in beef content per pound with no loss of beef-forward flavor or familiar eating experience
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Premier, Inc.flagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 March 2026Premier, Inc. is one of the largest healthcare group purchasing organizations in the United States. Spare Food was awarded a national contract to supply its Spare Burger and Spare Ground products to Premier's member network. Effective March 1, 2026, these products will be available to healthcare accounts, higher education institutions, K-12 schools, senior living communities, corporate kitchens, and regional dining groups across Premier's national network.
• SyscocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSysco is a major broadline foodservice distributor in the United States. Spare Food has a dedicated sell sheet on its website for Sysco distribution, indicating a formal distribution relationship for Spare Beef products in the foodservice channel.
• US FoodscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUS Foods is a major broadline foodservice distributor in the United States. Spare Food has a dedicated sell sheet on its website for US Foods distribution, indicating a formal distribution relationship for Spare Beef products in the foodservice channel.
• PFG (Performance Food Group)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPerformance Food Group (PFG) is a foodservice distribution company. Spare Food has a dedicated sell sheet on its website for PFG distribution, indicating a formal distribution relationship for Spare Beef products in the foodservice channel.
• Misfits MarketminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMisfits Market is an online grocery platform specializing in surplus and imperfect foods. Spare products are available for consumer purchase through this channel, providing a direct-to-consumer retail path alongside the primary B2B foodservice motion.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Beyond Meat: Beyond Meat is a leading plant-based meat alternative brand with deep penetration across U.S. foodservice distributors (Sysco, US Foods) and institutional GPO contracts. It is the primary alternative Spare must displace when institutional buyers want to reduce conventional beef.
• Impossible Foods: Impossible Foods sells plant-based ground beef and other analogs through broadline distributors and foodservice accounts, including universities and corporate dining. As an established incumbent in the same 'better-than-beef' institutional conversation, it competes for Spare's target buyer's attention and shelf space.
• ButcherBox: ButcherBox is a subscription-based DTC brand specializing in grass-fed beef, organic chicken, and other pasture-raised proteins. While primarily a consumer brand rather than foodservice, it competes for the same consumer mindshare around 'better beef' and demonstrates scale in the grass-fed category.
• Applegate Farms: Applegate is a national clean-label natural and organic meat brand with broad foodservice distribution and a roster of higher-ed, healthcare, and K-12 customers. It competes in the same 'better-for-you' meat narrative as Spare, but from a clean-label conventional-meat angle rather than a vegetable-blend angle.

Direct peers

• ReGrained: ReGrained is an upcycled food company that turns spent grain from brewing into snack bars and ingredients, sharing Spare's upcycled-food positioning and Upcycled Certified branding. Both target sustainability-conscious buyers with products that monetize surplus food streams.
• Belcampo Meat Co. Belcampo is a chef-driven, vertically integrated meat company selling premium grass-fed and pasture-raised beef, pork, and poultry through retail, foodservice, and DTC. Like Spare, it builds a premium, sustainability-credentialed brand around higher-welfare beef for discerning buyers, including restaurants and institutions.
• Cooks Venture: Cooks Venture produces pasture-raised, slow-growth poultry and meat with a regenerative-agriculture narrative aimed at chefs, retailers, and foodservice. It mirrors Spare's mission of repositioning commodity animal protein as a more sustainable, premium ingredient for institutional kitchens.
• Verde Farms: Verde Farms supplies 100% grass-fed beef and other pasture-raised proteins to foodservice distributors and operators, including schools, universities, and healthcare. It competes for the same sustainability-minded institutional ground-beef dollars that Spare targets with its blended product.
• Matriark Foods: Matriark Foods upcycles surplus vegetables and farm byproducts into shelf-stable sauces, broths, and meal components for foodservice, K-12, and food bank channels. It is a fellow upcycled-ingredient CPG targeting the same institutional 'less waste, better nutrition' buyers that Spare addresses.
• Tender Food (formerly Tebra): Tender Food develops hybrid meat products that combine cultivated meat with conventional plant or animal protein, directly paralleling Spare's blended approach to create a differentiated ground-beef substitute for foodservice. Both target institutional and QSR customers seeking a third option between plant-based and commodity beef.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/spare-food
• Instagraminstagram.com/sparefoodco

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors2 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 The Spare Food Co.