Circular Food Solutions awarded for innovation

The company Circular Food Solutions Switzerland from Uzwil in the canton of St.Gallen has been named the region's 2023 Innovation Champion at the WPO Impulse 2023 event hosted by the Wirtschaftsportal Ost (WPO) business portal. This is the first time a food product innovation has emerged top at the annual event, according to a statement. The WPO acts as a link between business and politics in the Wil region in the canton of St.Gallen.

The joint venture was founded in July 2022 by the Uzwil-based technology group Bühler and CN & Partners from Lenzburg in the canton of Aargau. It won the public vote by a narrow margin, coming in ahead of the distance learning program Class Unlimited developed by Bühler and the Wil-Uzwil Vocational and Continuing Education Center, and Kemaro AG with its industrial cleaning robot.

Circular Food Solutions produces a meat alternative from recycled brewer's grains from Switzerland. “For decades, brewer's grains were used as animal feed,” commented Johannes Wick, CEO of Bühler's Grains & Food business unit in a statement from his employer. Now it is being recycled “to produce healthy and tasty meat alternatives”. Circular Food Solutions' products are reportedly naturally rich in fiber, protein and trace elements.

The partners have demonstrated a “commitment to a sustainable way of life” through their actions, according to Swiss entrepreneur Christoph Nyfeler, founder and owner of CN & Partners. The idea to use brewer's grains in this way was conceived through an innovation competition at Bühler. The start-up subsequently spun off from the Bühler Group. ce/mm