Upcycling– tag –

Two upcycled beverages using fully ripe sudachi grown in Tokushima Prefecture were commercialized by Fuji and Mitsubishi Foods. As a rescue of citrus that wasn't shipped while green and was discarded after ripening yellow, it becomes the prefecture's 8th upcycling case.

"Blue blossom," a snack brand upcycling off-spec vegetables grown in Hokkaido, exhibited at the welfare event WellFes 2026. We introduce its management philosophy of "not making welfare something special" and its efforts to reduce food loss.

KOMPEITO teamed with JA Zen-Noh Kanagawa to process Miura-grown watermelon that can't reach the market due to blemishes or shape into konjac jelly. It began an effort to deliver it to over 25,000 offices nationwide via the placed-type health cafeteria "Office de Yasai."

Kagome released nationwide a 100% juice that reproduces the taste of orange without using orange juice, as the first product of its new brand "KAGOME Beyond." We explain the details of the alternative beverage completed over about 2 years and 40 prototypes, and the background of the global orange supply crisis.

Yamanashi's KEIPE and the Kiyosato Milk Plant will release a new gelato "Noryo Jealousy," combining whey produced in cheese-making with off-spec fruit, on April 28, 2026. We summarize the background of the release and where to buy it.

"This tomato can't be shipped—its calyx is a bit cracked." With harvested vegetables before them, such words are exchanged among production sites not infrequently. Vegetables that fall out of distribution based solely on "shape" or "size," even though the flavor, aroma, and the effort of growing them should be the same...

野菜を乾燥させて作る「乾燥野菜」には、食品業界や飲食店にとって多様なメリットがあります。保存性が高く、仕込みの手間を減らせるため、オペレーションコストの削減につながるほか、メニューの幅を広げることも可能に。食品ロスの削減にも繋がるため、...

The Reality of Off-Spec Vegetables, About 30% of Total Harvest Discarded. At Japan's agricultural sites, about 30% of harvested vegetables are discarded as "off-spec" without being shipped. According to MAFF statistics, domestic food loss reaches about 5.23 million tons per year (FY2021 estimate), of which the agricultural production stage...

In October 2025, Green Ace Co., Ltd. officially launched the upcycled food brand "upvege." Using its proprietary powdering technology, it transforms "unused vegetables"—those that didn't reach the market because their shape or size didn't meet standards—into high-value-added products with their color, aroma, and nutrition intact...

We Were Featured on MAFF's "Nippon Food Shift" Suste-Nabe Page

“Non-standard vegetables” discarded without reaching the market for reasons such as appearance or size not meeting standards. Although they are still perfectly edible, many are discarded, making them a major cause of food loss. Today, putting such non-standard vegetables to use is drawing attention...

With about 40% of the food produced worldwide being discarded, “upcycle foods” are drawing attention as a new solution that turns that waste into value. This article explains the idea of upcycling—breathing new life into ingredients and byproducts destined for disposal—and the Kyoto-born dried vegetable brand “OY...

Soaring resource prices, pressure for environmental consideration, the current toward sustainable management. What companies are now called on to have is a “use-it-all” mindset. Drawing attention is the use of “unused resources” overlooked until now—byproducts of discarded crops, ingredients dormant in regions, and what comes out during processing...

Maple & apple granola using dried apple. Under the mission “fermenting the earth,” Oryzae Co., Ltd. manufactures and sells sugar-free, additive-free, gluten-free granola and rice-koji sauces centered on rice koji. We provided dried apple, and...