Kaffe Bueno closes EUR 1.1 million seed round for coffee by-product upcycling
Danish Industrial biotech startup Kaffe Bueno received EUR 1.1 million from, PINC (Paulig Group venture capital, FI), Vækstfonden (DK), The Yield Lab (IE), and a Danish business angel. The money will be spent on scaling up production, growing the team, IPR, and further process and product development.
Kaffe Bueno is an ingredients company using green chemistry and biotechnology to upcycle coffee by-products into active and functional ingredients for cosmetics, nutraceuticals, and functional foods. Founded in Denmark in 2016 by three Colombian entrepreneurs, Kaffe Bueno’s mission is to unlock coffee’s health potential where harmful emissions are minimized, and coffee’s by-product usability is maximized.
Products derived from molecules within coffee grounds
So far, their circular business model has yielded three products that are currently on the market: Kaffe Bueno Oil – lipid used in personal care and food products; Kafflour – a gluten-free fibre- and protein-rich functional flour; Kaffibre – upcycled natural exfoliant for cosmetics.
Kaffe Bueno Oil, which is sold as an active ingredient for anti-ageing, moisturizing, and skin-protective skincare due to its richness in antioxidants and essential fatty acids, can be found as an ingredient in cosmetic brands across Denmark, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and the USA.
In June 2020, Kaffe Bueno partnered with Givaudan – the Swiss-based global leader of flavours, fragrances, and beauty ingredients – to globalize their core product: a coffee oil extracted from coffee grounds. Givaudan commercializes Kaffe Bueno’s oil under the tradename “Koffee’Up”.
“The power of coffee is amazing. Growing up in Colombia, coffee is much more than a beverage, we use it for everything: wounds, skincare, desserts, you name it”, says Juan Medina, CEO and one of the three founders of Kaffe Bueno, in a press release. “Our goal is to play an important role in the up-and-coming bio-economy by unlocking the health potential of coffee, using its by-product and upcycle it into health-promoting ingredients.”
Why coffee waste?
Almost 10 billion kilograms of coffee are traded yearly worldwide. More than 30% is consumed in the EU. When brewing a cup of coffee, less than 1% of its health-beneficial compounds end up in your cup, making it also one of the most wasteful beverages. The remaining 99% left remains intact in the coffee grounds, which usually end up in landfills or use for energy production.
Kaffe Bueno’s circular biorefinery model takes advantage of the whole spectrum of bioactive molecules within coffee and commercializes them as ingredients within the WellCare sector. To produce these, they use environmentally friendly technologies that recycle heat, water, and CO2, enabling emissions reductions in coffee’s value chain.
Kaffe Bueno is currently expanding their team. Learn more about the company on their website.
