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carbon footprint

January 24, 2023

GreenSwapp Wants to Make Figuring Out the Climate Impact of a Bag of Chips as Easy as Snapping a Pic

While the climate impact of our food has finally made the main stage as a topic at the world’s most high-profile summit, the average joe has no idea how good or bad that bag of chips or can of soda is for the environment.

A Dutch startup called GreenSwapp wants to change that by making information about the climate impact of practically any CPG product instantly available to anyone using its technology.

The Amsterdam-based company started as an online grocery app for climate-friendly products, but more recently has focused on building a climate impact data platform for both consumers and companies. To that end, the company debuted a new scanning tool at CES which gives instant scoring (low, medium, or high impact) of practically any packaged food product when the product’s barcode is scanned with a smartphone.

Here’s how it works: Curious about the climate impact of a tub of yogurt? Head to the GreenSwapp website (www.greenswapp.com) with a mobile browser, and at the top of the page, click on the bar code scan symbol. Your phone will ask you if scan.greenswapp.com can use your camera. Click yes and scan away.

Once a product is scanned, GreenSwapp will show a score and an estimate of how much of your daily carbon footprint a serving of the product eats up. Below that, you’ll see a breakdown in a “climate deep dive” that shows where that carbon was emitted.

Above: Scan of Brown Cow Maple Yogurt with Greenswapp.com Scanning Tool

So how does GreenSwapp figure all of this out? According to company CEO Ajay Varadharajan, they factor in estimates of carbon output for each food for every part of the product’s journey to our plates.

We “go through the entire journey of every food product, the impact of processing, the impact of transportation, the impact of packaging, and then we display it as a single number on a single color for the consumer to be able to understand if it’s good or bad,” he said.

While the web tool is something I’m sure some climate-conscious consumers would save as a browser favorite, I’d be more likely to make GreenSwapp a part of my daily routine if it was a discrete app or integrated as a feature on one of my online grocery apps. While GreenSwapp’s current app is only available for grocery shopping in the Netherlands, the company has an open API that any online grocery or delivery company can use to integrate Greenswapp’s data into its offering.

But will they? While most grocers don’t offer climate change impact data, my guess is it’s only a matter of time. There is already a discussion of having climate impact data on food labels (and some brands have already tried it), and my guess is at some point, progressive states like California and Washington State will force the hand of CPG companies and retailers, much as they did around nutrition and calorie labeling for food service.

If and when that happens, GreenSwapp could be well-positioned to fulfill Varadharajan’s vision of making his technology the ‘Fitbit of sustainability.’

You can watch a demo of the GreenSwapp web tool below.

Demo of GreenSwapp carbon-tracking platform for food products.

March 20, 2021

Food Tech News: Electrolyte Beer and Food Waste Jet Fuel

Welcome to the weekend, and your weekly Food Tech News round-up. If you indulged in too many Irish stouts this past Wednesday for St. Patrick’s Day, you might want to try some electrolyte-infused beer over the weekend. In addition to health-conscious beer, we also have news on food waste being considered for jet fuel and a plant-based egg company in Singapore.

Breweries are infusing beer with electrolytes and healthy ingredients

Do you like your beer with a twist of lime? Or how about with an infusion of electrolytes? A few breweries in the U.S are offering low-ABV beers infused with electrolytes and other nutritious ingredients. Zelus Beer Company (Massachusetts) was founded by a triathlete, and the brewery produces low-alcohol beer made with calcium, potassium, and different salts. Harpoon Brewery (Massachusetts) makes a beer with Mediterannean sea salt, chia seeds, and buckwheat. Mispillion River Brewing (Delaware) has a Berliner Weisse on tap that is infused with berries and a variety of undisclosed electrolytes. These beers are geared towards those who follow an active and healthy lifestyle but still want to enjoy a beer without feeling the negative side effects of alcohol. We’re not sure if they will actually rehydrate lost electrolytes, but an ice-cold beer after a hard workout is delicious regardless.

Photo from Unsplash

Commercial aviation industry considers using food waste for fuel

Taking a trip by plane adds a lot to your carbon footprint, especially if that trip is international. To combat the unsustainable nature of traveling by plane, the commercial aviation industry is looking into alternative options for jet fuel. One that has been presented in a study conducted by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is the use of volatile fatty acids derived from “wet waste.” Food waste, animal manure, and wastewater are the components of wet waste, and researchers extracted volatile fatty acids (VFAs) from this mix. This possible alternative can reduce food waste going to the landfill, carbon dioxide emissions, and soot released into the air by 34 percent.

Photo from Float Foods’ Instagram

Plant-based egg start-up Float Foods receives Temasek grant

Float Foods is a Singapore-based start-up that has developed a whole plant-based egg product, and this week the company received a grant from the Temasek Foundation. The amount of the grant was undisclosed, and it came from Temasek’s Ecosperity Innovations Grant, which aims to assist start-ups with an emphasis on sustainability in Singapore. The company’s proprietary product is made from legumes and called OnlyEg. Float Foods says it is the first to create a whole plant-based egg product in Asia; other plant-based eggs typically come in a powder or liquid form. Float Foods aims to bring its product on shelves in Singapore in 2022.

September 14, 2020

Just Salad Launches a ‘Climatarian’ Menu for Digital Orders

Fast-casual chain Just Salad announced today that it will launch its “Climataraian” menu on September 17. The menu, available exclusively for orders placed via the chain’s app and website, will collect and feature those Just Salad items with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions, according to an email sent to The Spoon. It will also display the carbon footprint and GHGs for each item.

The Climatarian menu will have two categories. The “Carbon Counter” is for customers wishing to have the bare minimum of carbon emissions associated with their meal. The “Conscientious Carnivore” is for “meat-eaters concerned about climate change.” The carbon footprint of each item in these categories will be displayed via the digital menu.

Just Salad hasn’t limited this carbon labeling to just menu items on the Climatarian menu. As the company announced back in June, all menu items on the Just Salad app and website will now come with a corresponding carbon footprint, which reflects total GHGs associated with the production of each item. The official rollout of these labels will happen alongside the launch of the Climatarian menu and apply even to “build your own” offerings. 

These menu additions seem aimed at taking some of the guesswork out of eco-friendly eating for consumers. It remains to be seen if seeing “0.41 kg CO2e” and “0.77 kg CO2e” labels on a menu will actually motivate customers to choose the more climate-friendly option in the same way they might choose the lower-calorie option when faced with the numbers. Carbon labeling on restaurant menus is practically unheard of at this point, so it’s reasonable to expect an adoption curve. 

Both the carbon labeling and the Climatarian menu offer us a glimpse of how versatile the digital menu of the future could be in terms of the information it provides. For example, carbon labels could automatically adjust in real time to include GHGs associated with last-mile delivery. And with more restaurant menus going digital and the sustainable restaurant discussion again becoming a priority, Just Salad likely won’t long be the only chain offering environmental info on its menu items. 

This week’s news folds into Just Salad’s larger sustainability goals, which include ditching single-use plastics and sending zero waste to landfills by 2022.

June 2, 2018

Food Tech News Roundup: Ben & Jerry’s, Food Waste Snacks, and Target Takeovers

It may have been a short week (at least for some of us), but it still feels good to reach the weekend finish line. Let’s celebrate with some food tech news, shall we?

We’re still riding a high from the announcement of the FoodTech 25: twenty five companies we think are changing the way we grow, source, cook, eat, and think about food. But lots of other food innovation news popped up around the web as well! Here are a few of our favorite stories, from Ben & Jerry’s new sustainability initiative to BYO homebrewing packs.

Chobani incubator to focus on food tech
Lately, quite a few CPG brands have been launching food-related incubators — including Greek yogurt darling Chobani. This week Chobani announced new incubator program which will revolve around our favorite subject: foodtech. The Food Tech Residency will be the company’s fourth incubator initiative, and will run parallel to their original incubator class. They’re currently searching for startups involved in agtech, food safety, innovative packaging, and other areas to improve the food system. Once selected, participating companies will have access to all Chobani Incubator programming, including factory visits, mentorship, opportunities to pilot new products, and a chance to pitch for funding. They have three spots open, so if you’re an emerging food tech or agtech startup, get on it!

 

Tyson Foods rolls out snacks made of food waste
Poultry giant Tyson Foods has created a snack brand which makes “Protein Crisps” out of food waste such as chicken breast trim, spent grain from beer brewing, and excess vegetable purée from juicing. Dubbed “¡Yappah!,” the brand will be used as an umbrella under which Tyson will release other sustainable food products. Each individual 1.25-oz serving has 8+ grams of protein and is packaged in a recyclable aluminum can. The crisps launched on IndieGoGo on May 31st, and are available to back now with a projected ship date of July 2018. Clean meat, food delivery startups, and now food waste snacks? Tyson Foods continues to work to be on the cutting-edge of all emerging food innovation trends.

PicoBrew now offers DIY PicoPaks
Countertop homebrewing startup PicoBrew rolled out DIY PicoPaks this week via Kickstarter, an option that lets Pico users load up their own ingredients to make beer and fusion drinks. The new bring-your-own ingredients option – which will work with the new Pico U as well as the existing Pico Cs and Pico Pros – provides an option for those in the Pico community who have wanted brewing flexibility beyond want preconfigured PicoPaks allow. The reward bundle includes containers for both beer brewing and PicoPak minis to create “fusion drinks” at home such as kombucha or goldenmilk. Post-Kickstarter, it will be interesting to see if PicoBrew offers brewers a variety of DIY container bundles depending on their preferences and brewing frequency.

Three new Targets to open up in Seattle area in 2019 & 2020
Target will add three smaller, grocery-sized stores in the Seattle area over the next two years, according to the Seattle Times. These are in addition to their original urban format store, which opened in Seattle in 2012. Their new stores are designed to fit into dense cityscapes and will stock products tailored to the surrounding neighborhood. This, as well as their recent expansion into same-day delivery, smart home-powered replenishment service, and acquisition of Shipt, is another way that Target is trying to keep up with the shifting grocery game and fight against Amazon.

 

Photo: Ben & Jerry’s.

Ben & Jerry’s works to offset their ice cream’s carbon footprint
Customers at Ben & Jerry’s scoop shop in London’s Soho neighborhood now have an opportunity to counterbalance the carbon footprint of their waffle cone of Cherry Garcia or Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. For each purchase, Ben & Jerry’s will pay a penny to offset the carbon used to raise the cows, produce the ice cream, and ship it to the shop. Customers then have the option to donate a cent of their own and double the impact.

According to Forbes, the ice cream company is partnering with a not-for-profit who is helping them use blockchain to divide carbon credits — which are typically quite large — into smaller transactions which can link up to each ice cream purchase. They’re even developing an app to help customers keep track of their person carbon offsets.

 

Photo: Anova

Anova finally opens new Anova Kitchen
We’ve been monitoring the retail ambitions of sous vide specialist Anova closely, so we were intrigued to learn this past week that the company will finally open the Anova Kitchen for a sneak peek on June 6th. A company spokesperson told The Spoon that the new space will be used for events and will have some public-facing retail space, but that we shouldn’t expect the Anova Kitchen to be open to the public every day.  This contrasts with Brava, who plan to open a full time retail space early this summer.  Either way, we’re intrigued to check out the Anova’s new retail/event space. If you are too, make sure to RSVP for next week’s event and report back to us!

Did we miss anything? Tweet us @TheSpoonTech to let us know the best food tech news of the week!

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