Marc
- Health nut and cookie enthusiast
- Circular Economy Expert
- Avid soccer player
- Yoga enthusiast
- Volunteer Board Member - Grow Local Society & Kidsport Vancouver
Most surprising fact:
Marc doesn’t bake, but he loves our cookies...
Upcycled Barley Flour & Baking Mixes
The Susgrainable Story
Did you know that 450,000 tons of spent grain are disposed in Canada every year?
Arguably, breweries have been throwing away the healthiest part of the grain for years. Spent grain is packed full of fibre, protein, and minerals.
That’s where we step in...
At the heart of it, we rescue spent grain from breweries before it reaches landfills, and transform it into delicious baking mixes your whole family can enjoy. Our Upcycled Barley flour is at the root of our high-fibre, low sugar treats.
Established to combat food waste and champion healthier diets, our vision is to create a way for people to benefit from the “whole” grain- in a healthy and delicious way.
Watch our Kickstarter video to learn more!
Meet The Susgrainable Co-Founders
Clinton
- Lover of all things policy
- The Industrial Grain Farmer
- Amateur curler and golfer
- Former Mayor of Barons, Alberta
- Volunteer Board Member – Squamish Farmers’ Market & VFM Vendor Advisory Committee
Most Surprising fact:
Clinton is an operational wizard & food safety nut!
Why Choose Susgrainable’s Upcycled Barley Flour?
With 58% of all food produced in Canada being wasted (35.5M metric tons annually), and the healthier half of beer being thrown away, we saw an opportunity.
By rescuing beer waste and turning it into tasty, easy-to-make baking mixes and treats, Susgrainable is participating in the fight against low fibre diets and recoverable food waste.
Is Barley Flour Healthy?
The worst part is…spent grain is packed full of dietary fibre, prebiotics, plant based protein, and minerals. That’s a whole lot of goodness tossed into landfills year over year.
Through upcycling, we transform spent grains into high fibre, low sugar, guilt-free treats.
The Benefits of Barley Flour
Some call it brewery waste; we call it upcycled barley flour.
Upcycled barley flour is environmentally friendly, versatile, and economical, making it perfect for personal or commercial use.
Used in all of our baking mixes, it’s a healthy and delicious way to impact the planet and your health, one Susgrainable bite at a time.
Our Mission, Vision, & Values
Mission
Reducing food waste and promoting healthier diets by developing a scalable circular economy model for urban centers.
Vision
To build healthier communities, healthier people, and a healthier planet!
Values
Our recipe for success means staying true to our core values of Health, Collaboration, Empowerment, Accountability, and Fun.
Where It All Took Off
After sampling spent grain cookies at our first Vancouver Farmers’ Market in 2018, we knew we were onto something.
Six weeks later, we were hiring a baker to keep up with demand.
The World Shuts Down
From cookie clubs to servicing businesses with baked goods, all was going well until foodservice was hit with regulations and safety precautions in 2020.
So we pivoted to shelf-stable baking mixes.
The Retail Experiment
Whole Foods, Sobeys, FreshPrep, among other retailers we’re all picking us up. Fast forward, we’re in 78 stores and made an appearance on CBC’s Dragons’ Den in 2024.
But with operational partners shutting down, we shifted our focus away from retail.
Following The Impact
Now we’re doubling down on where we make our impact, producing upcycled barley flour, with plans to operationalize a facility and build out the ecosystem in 2025.
In the meantime, we’re launching a pretzel cracker through foodservice to satisfy your appetite for our flour.
Susgrainable's Production Process
How do we get from beer waste to banana bread?
1. Extraction
Malted barley in the brewing industry is steeped in water to extract all the sugars but the rest of the grain is left behind.
2. Collection
As soon as brewing is complete, we collect the brewer's spent grain (BSG) and send them for processing.
3. Processing
We process the grains into a nutritious, versatile, and low gluten flour, the key ingredient in our baking mixes.
4. Our Susgrainable Products
Our flour is then used to create our pretzels and easy to make baking mixes, which are better for you and our planet.
Upcycling Beer Waste into Tasty Baking Mixes and Treats
Find us in the baking aisle at your local store!