In a world where food waste has reached staggering levels, with about one-third of all food wasted every year, a growing movement is challenging the status quo: upcycling. Once considered a niche trend, food upcycling has the potential to transform how we view waste, turning surplus or overlooked ingredients into high-quality products.
From bruised fruits to discarded grains, upcycling not only helps reduce environmental impact but also addresses a crucial need in feeding the growing global population. Could this innovative approach be the key to solving our massive food waste problem?
Redesigning our food system
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation had this question in mind when it recently challenged food and drink brands to redesign existing items or create entirely new ones using circular economy principles that help regenerate nature. From pasta made with wrinkled peas to granola that repurposes spent beer grains, the products featured through the Big Food Redesign Challenge are all about promoting upcycling and other sustainable practices.
“By rethinking the ingredients and their production, participants demonstrated that through intentional design choices, we can produce food that helps nature to thrive—unlike today’s current food system which tends to make nature fit our needs,” Jonquil Hackenberg, Chief Executive Officer of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, said.
Adobe
A total of 57 pioneering companies responded to the call, creating products that outperform the industry average in terms of climate impact, biodiversity, and soil health. These products, now branded with a “Nature in Mind” logo, could soon be stocked in leading British supermarkets, including Waitrose, Abel & Cole, and Fortnum & Mason.
“Now [that] we’ve shown what is possible, it’s time to take bold steps and build a new food system that is better for people, nature, and [the] climate,” Hackenberg said.
Upcycling is key to sustainable eating
According to ProVeg International, one of the top food trends for 2025 is the rise of sustainability, traceability, and food tech. As consumers become more eco-conscious, they’re demanding food and drink options that prioritize eco-friendly production and transparent sourcing. This shift in mindset will push for more innovative production methods like upcycling, alternative proteins, and precision fermentation, which are aligning perfectly with sustainability goals and gaining traction as more consumers look for smarter, greener choices.
Vegan upcycled snacks
Ready to snack smarter and greener? A growing number of companies are turning surplus ingredients and food waste into delicious, sustainable treats. From crunchy chips to chewy bars, here’s a roundup of upcycled vegan snacks that are packed with flavor, nutrients, and eco-friendly goodness.
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Rind
1Rind Fruit Snacks
Rind is on a mission to tackle food waste, one fruit snack at a time. This eco-friendly brand turns whole fruits—including their skins—into tasty treats. The best part? Those peels and rinds are bursting with extra vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. With snacks like chewy dried kiwi, crispy coconut chips, apple chips, and more, these zero-waste goodies are totally addictive. We can’t stop munching.
FIND IT HERE
Spudsy
2 Spudsy Sweet Potato Puffs
Every year, a whopping 150 million pounds of sweet potatoes get tossed into landfills just because they’re “imperfect” in shape, size, or color. But not on Spudsy’s watch—they’re turning those so-called flawed taters into delicious, sustainable puffs by upcycling them into sweet potato flour. They say they don’t judge a spud by its lumps. With flavors like Cinnamon Churro and Vegan Cheezy Cheddar, these allergy-friendly snacks prove that even imperfect spuds can be perfectly tasty.
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Renewal Mill
3Renewal Mill Cookie Mixes
Renewal Mill is turning food scraps into culinary gold. From carrot pulp to vanilla bean remnants, this eco-friendly brand upcycles all kinds of product leftovers. After harvesting, they dry and mill these ingredients into fine powders that aim to satisfy your fresh-out-of-the-oven snack fix—like the Oat Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, which features upcycled oat milk flour and pea starch. Spoiler alert: this mix makes cookies so good, you’ll be baking batch after batch.
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Kazoo
4Kazoo Tortilla Chips
Kazoo is crunching the numbers on water conservation, upcycling corn germ that would otherwise be sent to animal feed. By using 40 percent upcycled corn germ in each bag of tortilla chips, Kazoo helps save a whopping 20 gallons of water per bag compared to regular corn. Available in sea salt and lime zest flavors, Kazoo is on a mission to conserve one billion gallons of freshwater by this year. Go ahead and crunch away on these tasty chips knowing they’re saving the planet, one bite at a time.
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The Ugly Co.
5The Ugly Company Dried Fruit
This company is all about giving “ugly” produce a second chance, and we think they picked the perfect name for it. But here’s the twist—those so-called imperfect fruits are just as tasty and totally good to eat, scuffs and all. The Ugly Company turns these gems into chewy dried cherries, nectarines, and kiwis. Who says imperfect can’t be beautiful?
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Blue Stripes
6Blue Stripes Whole Cacao Chocolate Bars
Did you know the chocolate industry tosses out a lot of the cacao plant? Blue Stripes is flipping the script by using every bit of the cacao fruit to make snacks, drinks, and treats. From crunchy granola to whole cacao chocolate bars, plus chocolate-covered cacao beans and trail mix, Blue Stripes is serving up nutrient-packed goodies that are as good for the planet as they are for your taste buds.
FIND IT HERE
Confetti
7Confetti Chips
Confetti is turning unwanted produce into mouthwatering veggie-packed chips that are anything but undesirable. These veggies may look quirky, but they’ve got a whole lot of flavor and nutrients to offer, all seasoned with a medley of spices. From summer truffle veggie chips to green curry mushroom chips, Confetti has a flavor for every craving. Crunch away, because these imperfect beauties taste twice as good.
FIND IT HERE
Act Bar
8Act Protein Bars
Act Bar is serving up protein bars in irresistible flavors like pecan s’mores, peanut butter cacao nib, and cashew coconut while helping to make the world a better place. Each bar is made from spent grains from beer production, which means they’re saving three gallons of water for every bar produced. They’re transforming what would’ve been wasted into a high-protein, high-fiber superfood snack. Plus, 10 cents from every bar sold goes to Brighter Bites, which provides fresh produce to communities in need.
FIND IT HERE
Barnana
9Barnana Plantain Chips
These aren’t your average plantain chips; they’re made from upcycled plantains, packed with bold flavors like Himalayan pink sea salt, Acapulco Lime, and sea salt and vinegar. Barnana, famous for their Organic Banana Bites and Banana Brittle, is now saving plantains (or “cooking bananas”) from going to waste, turning the imperfect fruits into irresistible chips. They also offer Plantain Scoops for all your dipping needs. By upcycling bananas and plantains that would otherwise be tossed, Barnana is on a mission to end food waste and make snacking both delicious and sustainable.
FIND IT HERE
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Nicole Axworthy is a Digital Editor at VegNews and author of the cookbook DIY Vegan.
Here at VegNews, we live and breathe the plant-based lifestyle, and only recommend products we feel make our lives amazing. Occasionally, articles may include shopping links where we might earn a small commission, but in no way does this effect the editorial integrity of VegNews.
