[WEBINAR RECAP] The Future of Upcycled Food

Every year during June, the Upcycled Food Association (UFA) hosts Upcycled Food Month to highlight the benefits and opportunities that come from transforming food waste and byproducts into high-quality, nutritious goods. Upcycling continues to be a fast-growing, scalable solution to the massive economic and environmental problem of food waste. To help celebrate the month in 2025, ReFED hosted the webinar Upcycling Food Waste: Trends and Predictions, bringing together leaders from Upcycled Food Association (UFA), Where Food Comes From, and UpSnack Brands (makers of Pip’s Heirloom Snacks and Spudsy sweet potato snacks).

Here’s a recap of the trends and predictions for the upcycled food movement covered during the discussion.

1. Upcycling Food is a Systemic Solution—Not a Fad

The panelists emphasized that maximizing food is an ancient practice that is here to stay. Food waste is an inherent byproduct of our current agricultural system, and upcycling is a permanent food waste solution for today’s supply chains.

Justin Lindenmayer, Vice President of Supply Chain for UpSnack Brands, said:

"Unlike health fads where science can come in and contradict a fad and therefore it goes away... food waste is a fixed part of the food system. So, I personally... I am not concerned about it being a fad."

2. Certification Drives Trust

As the movement grows, so does the risk of vague marketing terms. To overcome this, the verification sector has introduced stricter rules. The launch of Version 3 of the Upcycled Certified Standard introduced metrics to track secondary waste. That means audits now account for waste generated during the final manufacturing stage, not just at the original source.

Such transparency is vital. Third-party validation de-risks investments for financial backers and encourages retailers to feel confident in carrying upcycled food products.

Kathryn Britton, Executive Vice President of Customer Experience at Where Food Comes From, noted:

"Without meaningful standards, you can have misleading or vague statements... The standard provides transparency and accountability, so trust and confidence are inherent."

The data proves that this framework is working. Last year, the industry celebrated a major milestone: five million tons of food waste diverted through the Upcycled Certified program since its inception in 2021.

3. Product Innovation Hits Unexpected Categories

Products with upcycled food are showing up throughout grocery store aisles. Rather than just relying on rescued fruits and vegetables, brands are using advanced technology to stabilize and isolate nutrients through processing food byproducts.

Amanda Oenbring, CEO of the Upcycled Food Association, highlighted several category shifts to watch:

• Alternative Protein Bases: Companies like Seven Sundays are rescuing the nutrient-dense pulp left over from nut milk production and turning it into breakfast cereal protein.

• Climate-Constrained Crop Solutions: Innovations like using cascara (the discarded coffee cherry fruit) to create powders are helping replace ingredients threatened by volatile weather patterns.

• Blended Foodservice Items: The Spare Food Company is rescuing surplus vegetables to create blended veggie-and-meat burgers tailored specifically for high-volume cafeteria and restaurant settings.

4. Circularity by Design

Historically, food companies dealt with byproducts reactively instead of designing waste out of the process from the start. The panel predicted products will be engineered from the outset to prevent waste.

For example, instead of selling byproducts for animal feed, companies are building closed-loop systems. Justin Lindenmayer shared how UpSnack successfully shifted its internal design strategy:

"We capture 100% of our heirloom corn flour from the milling process and use it as the base for our corn twists. So not only is it saving a ton of otherwise wasted costs in our supply chain, but it's going into delicious snacks for human consumption instead."

5. Consumer Education Gap

While the business case for upcycling is clear, brands still face a significant hurdle when communicating these benefits to shoppers. Consumer data shows that everyday purchasing decisions (e.g., taste, cost) outweigh perceptions of negative environmental impacts. Brands must carefully navigate the language they use to describe their sourcing, so they don't trigger a negative reaction from shoppers who are uncomfortable with the concept of “food waste.”

Justin Lindenmayer addressed this challenge during the discussion:

"How do we make sure consumers don't view upcycling as inferior or gross because they came from waste, which can be a scary term. It's really more on the education and exposure side for me in terms of where we need to focus as opposed to being concerned that it's going to go away."

Watch the Full Discussion

Hungry for more insights on the future of food waste solutions? Watch the full recording of the webinar, Upcycling Food Waste: Trends and Predictions.