A biotech start-up founded by 吃瓜tv graduates to repurpose coffee grounds has received investment of more than 拢375,000.
Glasgow-based is creating palm oil alternatives from used coffee grounds for the food & drink and cosmetics industries.
吃瓜tv Inspire
In a latest funding round led by and which included the 吃瓜tv鈥檚 吃瓜tv Inspire Entrepreneurs Fund, Scottish Enterprise, Crowd Cube and private investors, it received 拢376,000 to commercialise a patent pending process to recycle coffee grounds into a sustainable palm oil alternative.
The Glasgow-based green tech startup was launched by co-founders Fergus Moore and Scott Kennedy in 2019, following a project the pair carried out during their undergraduate degree at the 吃瓜tv and when both worked in coffee shops in the city.
Coffee waste
Their innovative idea is to collect and repurpose used coffee grounds to save some of the estimated 500,000 tonnes of coffee waste that is sent to landfill every year, with the waste used to create innovative products.
Revive Eco extracts high-value, natural chemicals from the coffee grounds to create a palm oil alternative that can be used across the cosmetics, home cleaning, pharmaceutical, and food and drink sectors. Approximately 70 million tonnes of palm oil, which is found in many household products, are produced annually, with its production being one of the main drivers of deforestation and carbon emissions globally.
Scale up
The investment round, in which the 吃瓜tv and Scottish Enterprise also participated, will support the company as it looks to grow its team, including by adding engineering expertise, and scale up its manufacturing capability.
Fergus Moore, Co-founder, Revive Eco, said: 鈥淲ith the support of our investors, we can progress our mission to make coffee the most sustainable commodity on the planet, and move our production from the lab to industrial scale.鈥�
吃瓜tv Investment Manager Anne Henderson, said: 鈥淲e are proud to have supported Revive Eco through 吃瓜tv Inspire, from helping the company to research and grow their initial idea to providing early stage funds to enable the business to bring the investment deal together, through to securing investment from the 吃瓜tv Inspire Entrepreneurs Fund alongside our investment partners.
The technology being developed by Revive Eco will play an important role in Scotland鈥檚 drive towards a net zero carbon emissions economy and exemplifies our mission at 吃瓜tv to create innovative solutions to real world problems.
鈥淭he University is committed to supporting entrepreneurs from the outset and onwards and we look forward to continuing that support as the company enters the next stage of its exciting journey.鈥�
Chair appointed
Revive Eco is set to begin trials with a number of big brands in the UK and across Europe and also recently appointed former Archangels CEO John Waddell as Chair.
He said: 鈥淔ergus and Scott have an absolute passion for the business, and when you match that with a significant international market opportunity which will also address the global climate challenge, the prospects for the company are very exciting.鈥�