Just as Rumpelstiltskin spun gold from straw, scores of new companies are trying to spin profits out of food waste.
Several start-ups are chasing ways to use food waste to make other edibles. Some are aiming to quickly distribute food that is about to be thrown out. And yet others are working to use every last ounce of ingredients.
Food waste, in other words, is now a platform for commerce. “I’m convinced there’s a business that’s a kind of Uber for refrigerated trucks,” said Jesse Fink, a founder of the travel site Priceline who now calls himself a food waste evangelist.

The businesses have a lot to work with. As much as 40 percent of the American food supply goes in the trash. Most of the waste comes from consumers and retailers, the government estimates, and in recent years, the issue has resonated, particularly with younger consumers.

The business of food waste is not well tracked; most data available now is on funding for individual companies. But Back to the Roots, which is based in Oakland, Calif., and sells products like a mushroom-growing kit that uses coffee grounds, recently raised $5.8 million from individual investors like Michael Pollan and Blake Mycoskie. EcoScraps, which is based in Utah, and turns food waste into gardening products, has raised $13 million from Peterson Ventures and others, according to CB Insights, a research firm.

“Over the last year, we’ve seen investors put millions of dollars into early-stage brands that appeal to consumers based on their sustainability and transparency,” said Rory Eakin, chief operating officer of CircleUp, a marketplace for investors and early-stage consumer brands.

He cited examples like the Forager Project, Misfit and Back to the Roots. “Many of these emerging brands incorporate food waste and upcycling products” — using once-discarded materials as components of new products — “as part of their brand portfolio.” Others, he said, are working to solve the unusual distribution and logistics challenges posed in using food scraps.

To read the full story, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/26/business/energy-environment/new-crop-of-companies-reaping-profits-from-wasted-food.html?_r=0.

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