Photo: Lauren McCormick

Beer reuse voted Venture Cup’s best idea

Emil Frederik Buhl Krøll won the main prize in the start-up competition regarding the reuse of residual products from beer in food production.

In the largest Nordic start-up competition, Venture Cup, the main prize of EUR 13,400 (DKK 100,000) went to Emil Frederik Buhl Krøll. He won the prize for his start-up, Brewers Spent Grains, which specializes in the reuse of the residual product ‘mash’ from beer brewing in food production. Emil—a graduate of DTU and the University of Copenhagen—is currently negotiating with DTU Food about a partnership which is to help continue his research.

“I think the presentation went really well, but I was totally overwhelmed and hugely surprised to realize that I’d won the main prize,” says Emil Buhl Krøll.

Emil started investigating how mash could be reused in food production when he began to write his master's thesis a year ago. He has now brought this experience with him to his business, Brewers Spent Grains.

"The time is just right for a business like Brewers Spent Grains."
Emil Buhl Krøll

His previous thesis supervisor and two of her friends have helped him set up a solid business plan which—according to Emil—was one of the reasons he won the DKK 100,000.

“I will spend the money taking my business into its second phase, where I must prove it viable. So, it’s all about improving the technology and finding customers who are interested in using the mash in their foods,” says Emil Buhl Krøll.

Today, mash is used to make animal feed for, for example, cattle, but the residual product is wet and warm when leaving the beer producer. The mash therefore often rots before it reaches the stables. With his Brewer Spent Grains business, Emil has specialized in processing the mash using a new technology which prevents the mash from rotting and ensures that it can be used in food production.

“There is much focus on reuse and sustainable production, and with the huge shortage of food resources experienced in some places in the world, the time is just right for a business like Brewers Spent Grains,” says Emil Buhl Krøll.

Emil also has an Master's in Food Innovation from the University of Copenhagen, where he submitted his master's thesis last year.