20. Dan Kurzrock | ReGrained (upcycled beer grain)

The Founder

Dan Kurzrock is the Co-Founder and CEO of ReGrained.
Dan spent his free time in college brewing his own beer. After he was finished with each batch, he was blown away with the amount of grain was left over. For every 6-pack he brewed, he had almost a pound of grain that he would throw in the trash, a by-product of the brewing process. Overtime, he grew uneasy with how much waste the process was creating and wondered if there was a better way to utilize the grain. He started taking the leftover grain and used it to bake bread. He would then sell the bread and use the proceeds to fund his beer brewing hobby. Quite the operation. His first idea, naturally, was to start a brewery that was also a bakery, so he could do both at scale. But as he started talking to all the new microbreweries that were popping up in 2009 and 2010, he realized this was a much bigger opportunity than he thought. And that’s how ReGrained was born.
Today at ReGrained, Dan and his team have a lot in the hopper. They’ve created a patented technology, process and machine to upcycle wet beer grain into their powerful SuperGrain+. This stuff is no joke as it packs 3.4x more fiber than normal whole wheat flour, with added prebiotics and as much protein as almond flour. Today, they use Supergrain+ across two business segments. First, they make their own puffs and bars that they sell to customers directly on their website and in stores. They also have a wholesale business, where they sell the SuperGrain+ directly to other food companies that use it in their products.
Tune in to hear Dan's story!
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EPISODE TOPICS:

• (2:42) ReGrained snapshot today
• (4:30) Supergrain+ nutritional value
• (8:04) Background and ReGrained founding story
• (12:41) Grain treatment process
• (18:07) Growth timing
• (21:49) Supply penetration
• (25:42) Creating a new market
• (27:39) Upcycling education
• (31:54) Food waste is a huge problem
• (36:23) Prioritization
• (39:15) Corporate Innovation
• (44:42) Hiring
• (48:17) Mentor/investor advice
• (52:12) Advice to younger self
• (54:39) Market Trends
• (56:45) Learning & resources
• (58:55) Dan's startup manifesto
• (1:01:53) Dan's founder nomination

ReGrained - regrained.com

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