Circular Food
Circular Food is an Italian innovative startup that uses patented upcycling technology to convert by-products from brewing, distillation, and fermentation into high-fiber, high-protein food flours, selling its flagship Ley beer flour direct-to-consumer and partnering with food and beverage companies.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersVeneto, Italy
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
Circular Food firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Circular Food
- Legal name
- Circular Food Srl
- Website
- https://circularfood.it
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Circular Food is an Italian innovative startup that uses patented upcycling technology to convert by-products from brewing, distillation, and fermentation into high-fiber, high-protein food flours, selling its flagship Ley beer flour direct-to-consumer and partnering with food and beverage companies.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Circular Food is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Veneto
- HQ country
- Italy
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Circular Food business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Food Ingredient Sales: Sale of upcycled food products, specifically their Ley beer flour brand, to consumers and potentially food manufacturers. The flour (52% fiber, 20% protein) serves as an ingredient for recipes and food production.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels2 records
Circular Food product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Circular Food transforms by-products from industrial distillation and fermentation processes (whisky, gin, soy sauce, vodka, beer) into food-grade flours using its patented upcycling technology. Its first branded product, Ley – Farina di birra, is a flour made from brewers' spent grain with 52% fiber and 20% protein, sold directly to consumers via the ley.beer e-commerce store.
Product overview
Circular Food Srl is an innovative Italian startup that transforms raw materials destined for disposal into healthy and tasty food products. The company operates with two core offerings: a proprietary patented technology that converts by-products from distillation and fermentation processes into flour, and its first branded product 'Ley – Farina di birra' (beer flour) made from brewers' spent grain. The technology is initially focused on beer spent grain processing but the company plans to expand to other distillation and fermentation by-products.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Ley: First brand and first product - a flour made from spent grain (beer trebbia) with 52% fiber and 20% protein content. Marketed at ley.beer/
Products and services
- Ley – Farina di birra (Beer Flour) A high-fiber (52%), high-protein (20%) flour produced from brewers' spent grain (trebbia di birra) using Circular Food's patented upcycling process. Sold directly to consumers as the base ingredient for recipes and home cooking, positioned as a healthy and sustainable food ingredient.
Quantifiable outcome
- Ley beer flour contains 52% fiber and 20% protein
Companies that use Circular Food
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Circular Food technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Circular Food partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- University College Dublin (UCD)coreUCD leads the TRANSFORM project, a €5 million EU Just Transition Fund initiative (50% of total €10M funding) that demonstrates upcycling of food waste and agri-food by-products through Circular Food Company in Tullamore. The partnership aims to support communities in the Just Transition Fund Territory as the region moves away from peat production toward low-carbon biobased value chains.
- University of LimerickminorUniversity leads the separate BIOCHAR project under the same €10M EU Just Transition Fund. Both projects are part of the Irish government's bioeconomy demonstration initiatives in the Midlands region, with Circular Food involved in the TRANSFORM project component.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Circular Food competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Outcast Foods: Canadian upcycled food company that dehydrates surplus and misshapen produce into nutrient-dense ingredients. Comparable to Circular Food as a small upcycled ingredient maker turning food waste into B2B food inputs, though focused on produce rather than fermentation by-products.
- Toast Ale: UK brewery that brews beer from surplus bread, using a circular-economy model. Comparable to Circular Food as an upcycled food business tackling food waste through fermentation, though it outputs beer rather than flour — illustrating the broader category dynamics Circular Food operates in.
- Crust Brewing Co. UK brewery that turns unsold bakery bread into beer. Similar to Toast Ale and adjacent to Circular Food as a small, mission-driven operator converting one food industry's waste stream into a branded consumer product via fermentation.
Others
- Misfits Market: US online grocer focused on surplus and 'imperfect' food. Adjacent to Circular Food in the broader food-waste / sustainability consumer category, though it distributes produce rather than manufacturing upcycled ingredients.
- Imperfect Foods: US online grocer selling surplus and imperfect food to consumers. Comparable to Circular Food primarily on consumer-facing sustainability messaging and direct-to-consumer distribution of food waste–adjacent products.
Broad incumbents
- Bob's Red Mill: Large US specialty flour and grain products brand. Comparable to Circular Food as a flour manufacturer targeting health-conscious consumers, but operating at incumbent scale and with conventional grain sourcing rather than upcycled by-products.
- Simple Mills: US brand of better-for-you baking flours, crackers, and snack bars positioned around natural and nutrient-dense ingredients. Comparable to Circular Food as a branded alternative-flour player, but at significantly larger scale and broader distribution.
Direct peers
- Hungry Harvest: US subscription service that rescues surplus and 'ugly' produce and delivers it to consumers. Comparable to Circular Food as a circular-economy food brand selling a sustainability-led product proposition direct to consumers.
- Renewal Mill: US-based upcycled food company that produces plant-based flours and ingredients from food manufacturing by-products (e.g., okara from soy milk production). Closely comparable to Circular Food in taking industrial food waste streams and converting them into branded flour-style ingredients for retail and B2B customers.
- ReGrained: US-based food company that upcycles brewers' spent grain into snack bars and baking flour. Directly comparable to Circular Food because both transform the same brewery by-product into consumer food ingredients using a similar upcycling model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Circular Food financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Circular Food leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Circular Food funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Circular Food M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Circular Food
What does Circular Food do?
Circular Food transforms by-products from industrial distillation and fermentation processes (whisky, gin, soy sauce, vodka, beer) into food-grade flours using its patented upcycling technology. Its first branded product, Ley – Farina di birra, is a flour made from brewers' spent grain with 52% fiber and 20% protein, sold directly to consumers via the ley.beer e-commerce store.
Is Circular Food a public or private company?
Circular Food is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Circular Food founded?
Circular Food was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Circular Food based?
Circular Food is headquartered in Veneto, Italy, in the Europe region.
How does Circular Food make money?
One revenue line is on record: food Ingredient Sales.
Who are Circular Food's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Outcast Foods, Toast Ale and Crust Brewing Co.. Others are Misfits Market and Imperfect Foods. Broad incumbents are Bob's Red Mill and Simple Mills. Direct peers are Hungry Harvest, Renewal Mill and ReGrained.
Does Circular Food have an API?
No public API is recorded for Circular Food.