ValueGrain has secured seed funding, bringing in fresh capital up to 3.3 million euros. The food tech startup is receiving the money for its upcycling solution for spent grains, which provides breweries with an additional source of income. The round is led by Bernhard Schadeberg, managing partner of the Krombacher Brewery.
Tim Gräsing (CEO ValueGrain), Bernhard Schadeberg (managing partner Krombacher) and Janosch Thomsen (CCO ValueGrain) © ValueGrain
Strong support for ValueGrain from the brewing industry
Bernhard Schadeberg is joining ValueGrain as a strategic partner with a multi-stage investment package of up to 3 million euros. A further 300,000 euros comes from existing investor Joachim Friedsch, owner of the global pump manufacturer Fristam (headquartered in Hamburg-Bergedorf). ValueGrain’s post-money valuation now stands at 10.3 million euros. ValueGrain regards the involvement of industry expert Schadeberg as confirmation of its technological approach: it transforms spent grains, a by-product of the brewing process, into a high-quality ingredient for food production. This can be used in various sectors, such as the bakery industry, as well as in the field of hybrid meat and meat alternatives.
ValueGrain will use the fresh capital to further drive forward product development and gradually expand its team. The aim is to qualify the ingredient for further food applications and to establish scalable logistics solutions. A future milestone has already been set through the partnership with the Krombacher Brewery, which produces just under 100,000 tonnes of spent grain annually. In future, this is set to be channelled back into human food production as a ValueGrain ingredient. Combined with the spent grain output from the brewery sites of existing investor Jeff Maisel, this secures the Hamburg-based startup access to just under 10 per cent of all spent grain produced in Germany.
The ValueGrain team has previously received funding through the InnoRampUp programme run by Innovationsstarter GmbH.
“The fact that the managing partner of what is arguably Germany’s best-known beer brand is enthusiastic about our approach confirms the work we have done over recent years. The brewing industry now needs pragmatic, innovative solutions that generate real value. In Bernhard Schadeberg, we are not only gaining an investor, but also one of the industry’s most successful entrepreneurs as a mentor. Together, we will take the upcycling of spent grain to a new, industrial level.”
Tim Gräsing, Co-founder & CEO of ValueGrain
