Giving spent coffee grains a new life.
In the last decade, India’s coffee consumption has increased by 40%. The conscious consumer in you may think about the cups you consume your coffee in and the sourcing of the coffee itself. But what about the used coffee grounds? Ever thought about what happens to them?
Used coffee grounds are a rich source of antioxidants and fibres. While coffee grounds are typically used as soil nutrients, researchers have shown that there is scope for repurposing them into a range of products, across industries such as food and cosmetics. Not so much a waste product, is it?
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bysf6lul-kL/
But Fergus Moore and Scott Kennedy of Revive already cracked this code and got a head start on turning used coffee grounds into environment-friendly products. The idea to repurpose coffee grounds came to these high-school friends during their term at the University of Strathclyde, where they majored in Business with a focus on Marketing and Entrepreneurship.
“During the course of our studies, we worked in the hospitality sector. Fergus worked in cafes, and I worked in bars and restaurants. At the end of the shifts, we were the ones throwing out the coffee grounds into the bins. We were in that environment, and that’s how we came up with the idea,” said Scott over a conversation on Skype.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw7KFHKl6__/
This was in 2012, although at that time it was just within the scope of a class project. Both Fergus and Scott realized the potential of their idea and continued to work on it even after they graduated, setting up Revive in 2015.
“We started by collecting small amounts of coffee grounds from cafes nearby to make batches of fertilizers. We quickly realized that this product did not have scalability. The process too was a labour and time-intensive one, and that’s when we thought about extracting oil from the grounds,” said Scott.
Revive is currently focusing on developing the oil product which will serve as a replacement for palm oil. Scott explained that this is Revive’s primary goal at the moment. “We extract the oils from the coffee, but we still have a large amount of material left. We use that to make fertilizer. For the moment, the focus is on the oil extraction process, and all the grounds we collect are primarily used for testing and analysis.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvmPfjRnjKE/
Revive works with about 30 cafes so far in the Glasgow area collecting about a tonne of spent coffee grounds from them on a weekly basis. Scott shared that many cafes are happy to be a part of their mission, knowing that they are putting waste to good use. Revive also shares regular updates with its collaborators on the amount of material collected/processed and the impact generated thereby. “We view them as key partners to the company,” added Scott.
Throughout its product development phase, Revive has been engaging in constant dialogue about repurposing waste. They have also been invited by their university to speak in many of the sustainability classes and talk about their Revive journey as an example of a real-life circular business. Both Scott and Fergus themselves came up with the concept when they were asked to formulate a business which was socially and environmentally impactful, which is why they believe universities are the right places to encourage action. ‘
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm3C4CajpZg/
“Part of the work that we do is to educate people about upcycling, circular economy and reuse. Thirty or forty years ago, circular economy was just the way people did things, and there was no concept of waste. All the resources were utilized. Due to a large shift to unnecessary consumption, we now generate a lot of waste. We at Revive are trying to make sure that poeple are more sustainably-minded and these concepts come across in everything we do,” he said.
Revive hopes to have its oil process up and running by the end of the year to provide samples for businesses to work with. They are aiming to introduce their oil product to the markets in mid-2020. Even without the outbound marketing at the moment, the venture gets calls from three or four cafes every week, requesting them to collect their spent coffee grounds. Revive also made it to the final ten ventures in the World Final of the Chivas Venture – a funding and mentoring competition for social entrepreneurs. Once they have established their coffee process, the team is looking at tackling other waste streams such as distillery and brewery waste.
As we wrap up the call, I asked Scott what he would like to share with other entrepreneurs working in this space. “A big part of what you need to have is that resilience,” comes the immediate response. “If you are really passionate about what you are doing, then be really perseverant. Speak to people about your ideas and your vision. Seek help and build a support network around you that will help you achieve your vision.”
For more information visit Revive.
Featured image courtesy: Revive Eco Facebook Page