Just Go Grind #214: Daniel Kurzrock, Co-Founder & CEO at ReGrained, on Building an Innovative Mission-Driven Ingredient Platform that Leverages Technology and Culinary Science to Transform Beer Waste Into Food
Dan is the Co-Founder and Chief Grain Officer of ReGrained, a mission-driven ingredient platform that leverages technology and culinary science to transform beer waste into food.
Dan is an entrepreneurial systems thinker and loves tackling seemingly intractable problems through creative entrepreneurship and cross-sectoral collaboration. Through ReGrained, he has become a thought-leader about food waste business models, "edible upcycling" and the circular economy for food.
ReGrained has:-Forbes 30 under 30: Food and Beverage (2018) -Won Slow Money NorCal's Food Funded Pitch Competition (2017) -Finalist at FoodBytes! (2016) -Finalist at SXSW Eco-Reuse and Recycling Sector (2016) -Burt's Bees Natural Launchpad (2016) -Won a sustainable innovation award at Sustainable Brands 2016 and was selected for Burt's Bees Natural Product Launchpad.
Dan holds an MBA in Sustainable Business from Presidio Graduate School and a BA in Economics from UCLA.
More on ReGrained:
ReGrained better aligns the food we eat with the planet we love.
They are an ingredient platform created to promote an innovative model of food production that they've coined as “Edible Upcycling.” Powered by patent-pending technology, they reimagine perceived ends as beginnings by finding nutritious food streams that are currently being treated as inedible and render them into delicious and healthy food. They rescue these overlooked but awesome ingredients and put them back to work.
Their goal: To improve the way we value food and the resources that support all life
Their initial focus: Upcycling the nutritious grain created every time that beer is brewed.
In the U.S. alone, billions of pounds of this latent supply chain are available every year. Brewing beer processes the sugar out of the grain. This gives them optimal access to protein, fiber, and micronutrients. They upcycle this grain into ReGrained flour. They incorporate this sustainable, delicious, and nutritious ingredient into every ReGrained product, starting with SuperGrain+ Bars wrapped in innovative 100% backyard compostable packaging.
Their mission doesn’t stop at waste ─ they are a Certified B Corp and support environmental conservation and social impact through 1% for the Planet.
About Our Partner
This episode is also brought to you by Hawke Media. Hawke Media is a full-service Outsourced CMO based in Santa Monica, CA, providing guidance, planning, and execution to grow brands of all sizes, industries, and business models.
Hawke Media was recognized by Inc. as the country’s fastest-growing marketing consultancy and is proudly one of Glassdoor’s “Best Places to Work”, 2019 #893 on the Forbes 5000 list, UpCity Top Los Angeles Digital Marketing Agency. Hawke’s collaborative process, à la carte offering, and month-to-month fee structure give clients the flexibility they need to boost digital revenues and marketing ROI.
Hawke Media The company has serviced over 1500 brands of all sizes, ranging from startups like Tamara Mellon, SiO Beauty and Bottlekeeper to household names like Red Bull, Verizon Wireless and Alibaba.
Listen to our interview with Erik Huberman, Founder and CEO of Hawke Media, in episode 23 of the Just Go Grind Podcast.
Connect with Daniel Kurzrock and ReGrained
- ReGrained - https://www.regrained.com/
- Invest in ReGrained - https://wefunder.com/regrained
- Wefunder discount through Just Go Grind - https://wefunder.com/raisemoney/justgogrind
Some of the Topics Covered by Daniel Kurzrock in this Episode
- What ReGrained is doing to build a more sustainable food system
- Why Dan decided to tackle this problem
- How Dan turned his idea into a real business
- Why Dan didn't drop everything to go all-in on ReGrained right away
- How ReGrained was acquiring customers early on
- Why Dan wanted to be an ingredient company
- The insights gleamed along the way when trying to market ReGrained and the problem with their early slogan of "Eat Beer"
- How ReGrained Supergrain+ came about
- What upcycling is and why it's important
- The Upcycled Food Association and why Dan helped create it
- Doing research with the USDA
- Dan's experience raising capital for ReGrained and why they chose to do equity crowdfunding through Wefunder
- How Dan has gone about building his team at ReGrained
- Books that have been impactful for Dan
- How Dan recharges outside of work
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