From Pits To Products - Kern Tec

Food Meets Climate Podcast with Simon Newstead

Luca Fichtinger, one of the founders of Kern Tec, an Austrian-based upcycling food tech company, discusses their journey of turning fruit pits into new ingredients for the food and beverage industry. They have developed technologies to extract healthy fats and proteins from fruit pits and have created products such as food oils, chocolate spreads, and dairy alternatives. Luca emphasizes the importance of upcycling in reducing food waste and the environmental impact of the food industry. He also discusses the challenges of supply chains, the need for new technologies, and the importance of developing final products to showcase to consumers. Luca shares their plans to scale production, expand into new markets, and continue developing technologies for other side streams.

Takeaways

• Upcycling food waste, such as fruit pits, is an important step in reducing the environmental impact of the food industry.

• Developing new supply chains and technologies is crucial for upcycling side streams into valuable ingredients.

• Creating final products and showcasing them to consumers is essential for market adoption.

• Kern Tec plans to scale production, expand into new markets, and continue developing technologies for other side streams.

Sound bites

Luca: “Upcycling is still a very niche trend, but there are many opportunities to reduce food waste and turn side streams into valuable ingredients.”

Luca: “Developing final products and showcasing them to consumers is essential for market adoption”

Alan: “Kern Tec plans to upcycle as many side streams as possible and expand into new markets”

Timestamps

00:00

Introduction

04:30

Genesis of Kern Tec: Discovering the Potential of Fruit Pits

08:12

Product Development: From Oils to Chocolate Spreads and Dairy Alternatives

12:14

Building the Team: Bringing on Technical Co-Founders

16:23

Prototyping and Developing Technologies for Upcycling

20:53

Funding and Financing: Bootstrapping and Grants

23:22

Product Strategy: B2B vs. Consumer Play

27:44

Educating Consumers and Positioning Upcycled Products

30:26

The Upcycling Market: Challenges and Lessons Learned

35:11

Sustainability and Environmental Impact of Upcycled Ingredients

39:13

Future Plans: Scaling Production and Expanding into New Markets