Pioneering the Upcycled Food Movement, Renewal Mill Earns Prestigious Natural Product Industry Award
OAKLAND, California —(March 4, 2022)— Renewal Mill, an upcycled food company and industry leader in plant-based, climate-friendly baking products, has earned the 2022 Natural Products Expo West NEXTY Award for “ Best New Planet-Forward Product” for its upcycled Matcha Chip Cookie Mix. Recognized as one of the food and beverage industry’s most distinguished awards, the NEXTY Awards celebrate the most progressive, impactful and trustworthy products in the natural products industry.
With the mission to elevate impactful brands that inspire a healthy, sustainable future for people and planet, New Hope Network’s NEXTY Awards are given to products that display integrity, innovation and inspiration within the natural products industry, disrupting the status quo and working to provide more health for more people. For nearly a decade, these awards have been recognized as a symbol of excellence among natural industry peers, media, buyers, retailers, suppliers and health practitioners, setting the standard for environmental conservation.
Renewal Mill’s award winning Matcha Chip Cookie Mix is a sustainably sourced, plant-based and gluten-free alternative to traditional flour-based baking mixes. This easy-to-make, “just add water and oil” cookie mix yields artisan cookies with golden edges and soft chewy centers with the delicate flavor of green tea and luxurious matcha white chocolate chips from Vesta Chocolate, a bean-to-bar craft chocolate factory. Handcrafted by a James Beard Award winning chef, Alice Medrich, Renewal Mill’s newly released Matcha Chip Cookie Mix is made with upcycled organic okara flour, which Renewal Mill crafts by upcycling the soybean pulp generated during soymilk production. Okara Flour is a delicious and versatile superfood that provides superior nutrition with a neutral taste, which can be used on its own or in combination with other flours and baking ingredients as an eco-friendly, vegan ingredient option. By upcycling the soybean pulp that would otherwise go to waste and release greenhouse gases which cause global warming, Renewal Mill is fighting climate change and global food loss by converting food manufacturing byproducts into superfood ingredients and innovative, healthy vegan baking staples.
Aiming to create a new circular economy of food that closes the loop in today’s current supply chains, Renewal Mill keeps valuable nutrition from going to waste, and reduces our impact on the environment. Renewal Mill's founders, Caroline Cotto and Claire Schlemme, believe that doing good for the planet should be, well, pretty darn delicious.
“According to leading research, around 1.3 billion tons of food gets wasted each year with much of it ending up in landfills and contributing to climate change,” said Caroline Cotto, co-founder of Renewal Mill. “By improving the efficiency of our food system, Renewal Mill is helping ensure that the next-generation of eaters have a healthy planet and a sustainable future. Upcycling is about respect: respect for all the resources that go into growing and producing our food, and the people who do it. We are honored to receive the NEXTY Award and help not only raise awareness about food loss and climate-friendly food options, but prove that eating sustainably doesn’t sacrifice taste.”
Since launching in 2016, Renewal Mill has upcycled 350,000 pounds of food waste and converted it into premium, high-quality baking products. Their revolutionizing upcycling process has prevented more than one million pounds of CO2e emissions. By using upcycled okara flour versus traditional flour in its baking products, each pound of Renewal Mill’s okara flour used saves 410 gallons of water, 13.45 pounds of CO2e, and 5.45 pounds of food waste. Renewal Mill also uses post-consumer recycled plastic pouches, has certified its products as Certified Plastic Negative through RePurpose Global, is a 1% for the Planet member, offsets all direct to consumer shipping with EcoCart, and is a Climate Neutral committed brand that will achieve full Climate Neutral Certification this year. These demonstrable commitments to sustainable environmental practices have earned Renewal Mill recognition as the “Best New Planet-Forward Product.”
Selected by a judge panel consisting of New Hope Network’s data and insights team and top natural product industry experts, Renewal Mill was one of 100 finalists chosen from nearly 1,100 nominated products and 1,500 entries across 18 categories for the 2022 Natural Products Expo West NEXTY Awards.
“We consider ourselves industry experts on the New Hope Network editorial team. Through extensive debate and deliberation, we have carefully selected 18 outstanding brands that are pushing the natural products industry towards a healthier and more sustainable future for people and planet,” says Adrienne Smith, who manages the NEXTY Awards program at New Hope Network. “To rise above more than a thousand other nominations is an incredible feat. We are incredibly excited about these products and the impact they can have on our food system. The winners of our NEXTY Awards inspire change and integrity in everything from ingredients to packaging.”
Renewal Mill’s line of chef-crafted, upcycled, planet-friendly products include Okara Flour, Oat Milk Flour, 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour, “just add oil and water” baking mixes, and vegan soft-baked, ready-to-eat cookies. To learn more about Renewal Mill, or purchase its award-winning products, including its Matcha Chip Cookie Mix, please visit www.renewalmill.com.
ABOUT RENEWAL MILL:
Named a "World Changing Idea" by FastCompany, Renewal Mill is the first "climate friendly" baking company and upcycled ingredient supplier in the U.S. As a leading upcycled food company, Renewal Mill fights climate change and global food loss by upcycling byproducts from food manufacturing, converting them into superfood ingredients and premium, plant-based pantry staples. Starting with the byproducts of plant-based milk, Renewal Mill has crafted a line of premium, high fiber, gluten-free, vegan and plant-based flours, as well as ready-to-eat soft baked cookies and artisan "just add oil and water" baking mixes. All of Renewal Mill's products are chef-crafted by Alice Medrich, a five-times James Beard Award winning cookbook author. Renewal Mill is women-owned and operated and based in Oakland, California. To learn more about Renewal Mill or purchase its wholesale or consumer products, please visit www.renewalmill.com. Together, we can bake a better future.
ABOUT THE NEXTY AWARDS:
The NEXTY Awards is a biannual awards program connected to New Hope Network's in-person and digital events. They were created to recognize the pinnacle of excellence in the natural products industry, elevating impactful brands and products that inspire a healthy, sustainable future for people and planet. Learn about the NEXTY Awards at nextyawards.com.
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