Semi-finished products from fruit residuals

Description

In 2024, HALF-BAKED was founded in the Robin Food Hub in Barendrecht — an initiative by Fruitful Ventures (formerly Olympic Food Group) and the Sustainable Brewing Foundation. This innovative hub transforms leftover streams of fruits, vegetables, and herbs into semi-finished products like juice, purée, and pulp. What remains is turned into compost, which is used for nature-inclusive farming at the Buijtenland van Rhoon farm.

HALF-BAKED was born out of a desire to combat food waste. Globally, a third of all food is lost or wasted. By upcycling surplus produce into new products, HALF-BAKED contributes to a circular economy.

The company has set ambitious goals: in its first year, it aims to give 500 tons of food a second life, and by 2026, it plans to process 10,000 tons of food waste annually. Current pilot production runs handle between 500 to 1,000 kilograms per day, with the long-term ambition of scaling up to 6 to 8 tons per day.

HALF-BAKED collaborates with partners like craft brewery Vet & Lazy, which uses HALF-BAKED’s mandarin juice in its radler beers. The company is also part of the ‘Preventing Food Waste’ Field Lab by Greenport West-Holland.

Through these initiatives, HALF-BAKED proves that economic value and ecological responsibility can go hand in hand — an inspiring example of how food waste can be transformed into something truly valuable.