COMPANY NAME Biova
COUNTRY Italy
SECTOR Agri-food
CIRCULAR BUSINESS MODEL Product life extension, Circular supply chain
CHALLENGE
Industrial bakery lines generate massive amounts of surplus bread, such as sandwich bread crusts and off-cuts, which are currently under-valorised or discarded despite their consistent quality. This creates significant food waste and forces manufacturers to rely entirely on virgin wheat flour, leading to high raw material costs and a large environmental footprint. The primary challenge was validating whether these surplus streams could be safely and economically reintegrated into the human food chain at an industrial scale.
SOLUTION
Biova developed a circular business model based on an “internal recovery” system for food manufacturers. The solution involves a dedicated technical process—including industrial-scale drying and micronization—to transform bread crusts into a functional food-grade flour (Ri-Flour). This flour is then reintroduced directly into the production lines as a raw material. The feasibility study, conducted in collaboration with primary Italian Corporate, validated that an on-site plant processing 50 tons of surplus per day can produce over 16,000 tons of circular flour annually, ensuring food safety and process stability.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY STRATEGIES/BUSINESS MODEL IMPLEMENTED
The project implemented a “Closing the Loop” strategy by enabling a circular supply chain where waste from one production phase becomes the raw material for the next.
- Resource Recovery: Transforming food waste (surplus bread) into high-value ingredients.
- Circular Input: Replacing virgin wheat flour with upcycled flour (achieving a 30% circular input rate).
- Waste Prevention: Avoiding approximately 18,000 tons of food waste per year
IMPACT
The project demonstrated significant impact across environmental and economic dimensions:
- Carbon Footprint: An estimated reduction of CO2emissions by 30% to 50% compared to conventional wheat flour.
- Waste Prevention: Avoidance of approximately 18,000 tons of food waste per year by repurposing industrial bakery surplus.
- Economic Efficiency: Direct savings on raw material procurement
- Financial Viability: Validation of a circular business model with a projected return on investment (ROI) within five years.
KEY TAKEAWAY
The Ri-Flour project provided critical insights into industrial circularity:
- Technical Viability: Surplus bread crusts can be successfully transformed into a functional, food-grade ingredient that meets industrial standards.
- Strategic Advantage: Implementing a circular model is more profitable for manufacturers than traditional downcycling; the value of recycled flour outweighs the revenue from selling scraps for animal feed.
- System Dynamics: A key learning outcome was identifying the potential long-term criticality of material accumulation within a continuous production loop, which serves as a foundation for future research.
- Market Readiness: Strong interest from major players confirms that the solution is scalable and aligns with the demand for resilient, circular ingredients in the European food industry.