Hubcycle

High-Level Overview

Hubcycle is a technology platform that upcycles food industry by-products—such as secondary flows from fruits, vegetables, spices, and plants—into high-quality, competitive ingredients for food, personal care, and other industries.[1][2][3] It serves suppliers (who sell unused by-products at premium prices) and manufacturers (who receive plug-and-play ingredients averaging 20% lower cost-in-use than market alternatives), solving the problem of industrial waste by transforming leftovers into scalable, traceable, sustainable raw materials while delivering the highest carbon savings in the supply chain.[2][3] The company solves inefficiencies in food supply chains by bridging gaps between factories, ensuring recurring supply, uncompromising quality (as the first by-product-only company with GFSI FSSC22000 certification), and profitability for all parties, with over 1,500 by-product deposits characterized in its proprietary database.[1][2][3] Growth momentum is strong: it tripled in 2023, achieved profitability early that year, and following ETF Partners' investment, plans to identify 4,000 new waste sources, launch 400 ingredients, hire 80 employees over two years, and expand internationally across Europe, North America, Latin America, Middle East, and Asia.[1][2]

Origin Story

Hubcycle was founded in 2016 by Julien Lesage in France, starting as a platform to connect companies using different parts of raw materials like vegetables, fruits, spices, or plants, addressing secondary flows (by-products) generated at every industrial transformation stage.[1] The idea emerged from recognizing industrial gaps where one factory's waste becomes another's strategic raw material, rethinking food supply chains to turn breaking points into valuable resources for human food rather than waste.[1][3] Early traction included building a proprietary database from screening 400 new factories annually, characterizing over 1,500 deposits, and proving the model with profitability in early 2023; pivotal moments include becoming GFSI FSSC22000 certified as the first by-product-only company and securing investment from ETF Partners to fuel expansion.[1][2][3]

Core Differentiators

• Full upcycling process ownership: Handles end-to-end from identification (mapping 400 factories yearly for hidden side-streams), qualification (800 data points per source), ingredient development (tailored specs in analytical labs for plug-and-play use), to supply chain integration (logistics, operations, recurring contracts like 200+ tons/year of coriander).[1][2]
• Economic and environmental superiority: Ingredients 20% cheaper in cost-in-use (e.g., black pepper), highest carbon savings leverage, premium prices for suppliers, guaranteed volumes, and over 10,000 tons of CO2 emissions avoided targeted soon.[1][2][3]
• Proprietary tech and scale: Database of 1,500+ characterized deposits enables precision to meet industry standards; global teams across five regions with local expertise; cutting-edge lab tools and quality assurance for certifications.[1][2][3]
• Industrial focus and transparency: Built for scalability with GFSI compliance, free by-product assessments for suppliers, and full impact measurement (e.g., emissions avoided since 2023), laureate of Impact 40/120 index.[2][3]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Hubcycle rides the circular economy and sustainability wave in food and agri-tech, capitalizing on market forces like rising demand for low-carbon ingredients amid regulatory pressures (e.g., Scope 3 emissions) and consumer preference for traceable, upcycled products.[1][2][3] Timing is ideal as global food waste generates massive side-streams—rethought as resources—aligning with net-zero transitions; its platform fixes supply chain breaking points, influencing the ecosystem by enabling clients to become largest CO2 levers, suppliers to profit from waste, and industries to achieve 20% cost savings with high standards.[1][3] As a pioneer, it sets benchmarks for upcycling tech, expands internationally to lead agro-industrial transformation, and accelerates broader adoption of data-driven, virtuous models reducing environmental footprints.[1][2]

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Hubcycle is poised to dominate global upcycling with aggressive scaling: post-funding, expect 4,000 new waste sources, 400 ingredients, tripled growth in 2024, and 10,000+ tons CO2 avoided, leveraging its database and international footprint.[1] Trends like AI-enhanced waste characterization, stricter sustainability mandates, and circular supply chain mandates will propel it, potentially evolving from French innovator to the world's top agro-industrial upcycling platform while redefining food systems profitability. This positions Hubcycle as a cornerstone for industries committing to sustainable sourcing, turning by-product challenges into enduring competitive edges.[1][2][3]