Following the eco-friendly trend of the 2010s, when the upcycling trend emerged, it was perceived as a temporary consumer trend. However, as of 2023, the upcycling trend continues to evolve and seems to be firmly positioning itself as a primary business strategy, intertwined with social entrepreneurship, transforming industries and businesses. Upcycling combines the words "upgrade" and "recycling" and implies creating added value from low-value resources, like waste products, by introducing new technologies. This concept expands beyond traditional recycling. As a result, industries focused on fashion, furniture, and accessories have flourished under this movement. Recently, both domestic and international food companies have been intensifying their efforts towards eco-friendly production to reduce food waste, leading to a rapid growth in the upcycling food market.
According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation's food industry statistics system, over 30% of the food produced annually is wasted, leading to food insecurity, financial losses, and negative environmental impacts. Yet, expanding upcycling in the food sector is showing growth among enterprises globally. The global upcycling food market size was estimated to be about 53 billion dollars (approximately 700 trillion KRW) in 2022. If we apply an average annual growth rate of 4.6%, it's projected to reach around 83.3 billion dollars (or roughly 110 trillion KRW) by 2032.
Waste from food manufacturing emits significant amounts of carbon when dumped or incinerated, exacerbating environmental issues. However, this waste has potential to be reused as complete products or as raw materials for general food items. New products utilizing food by-products are continuously being launched. For example, upcycling products made from misshapen agricultural produce (due to color, size, blemishes, etc.) go beyond just circular resources. They are now sold as fruit jellies, dried fruit chips, pickles, and other preserved foods.
A prominent example is CJ CheilJedang's "Eco-Crisp Chips", which incorporates about 30% of food waste like broken rice from rice production and residual soybean pulp from tofu production to make a healthy snack. One packet of these chips reportedly contains the protein of one egg and the dietary fiber of two bananas. These snacks are not only nutritionally excellent, but their packaging, made from recycled PET bottles, has appealed strongly to the MZ generation. Furthermore, ReHarvest utilized the spent grain from beer production to introduce an energy bar called "ReEnergy Bar". Similarly, products like OB Beer's "Hanmac ReEnergy Cracker" and CJ Foodville Tous les Jours's "Good Bread Whole Wheat Bread" have been launched. Joy&Join has strategically launched an upcycled, low-calorie protein product called "Nuldum Chickpea Snack".
These by-products, rich in protein and dietary fiber with low calories, align with the global trend of preferring healthy foods, further elevating the popularity of upcycled food products worldwide. In the U.S., products like cookies, protein snacks, "Organic Whole Wheat Flour", and "Salmon Skin Snacks" have been introduced. Canada utilizes upcycling in products like bagels, muffins, and crackers, while Japan incorporates it in granola mixes.
Upcycling has also transitioned into the pet food market. In Korea, products using less-favored meat cuts and by-products have emerged as feed and homemade snacks for pets. These ingredients, low in fat but rich in protein, like specific cuts of meat and poultry bones, have lower market value but high nutritional content. There are also snacks for pets made from misshapen vegetables and grain by-products and food made from invasive fish species. Products like Lorenz's "Misshapen Vegetable Gum" and Valis's "Universal Oil" are some examples.
The rapid rise in pet food and vegan food markets is leading to the growth of the upcycling food trend. While typical vegan foods use ingredients like oats and soybeans, the distinguishing feature is the utilization of by-products like oat husks and soybean pulp, connecting vegan foods closely with upcycling. Beyond packaging, the food industry's upcycling trend seems to be positioning itself as an ESG management strategy, rooted in eco-friendly production and value-based consumption. Thank you for reading.
Professor Kim Boyoung
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