15% of bread produced in Europe never reaches consumers, resulting in an economic loss of EUR 12.5 billion and 7 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions. That is a fairly poor track record.

Rebread decided to do something about it. They now provide recipes, technologies and R&D services to help bakeries and food producers upcycle their surplus bread into a variety of products. Bakeries can reduce their waste and environmental impact while creating new revenue streams.

Dried bread consists mainly of carbohydrates (starch) and proteins (gluten). Both of them have good binding, thickening, flavouring and aromatic properties. It is also a good medium for growing bacteria, fungi and yeasts.

Rebread's solutions are validated through laboratory testing and then shared under licence:

• Flour substitute: milled and dried surpluses can replace 20-50% of the flour needed for new baked goods. This means that fewer raw materials are used, significantly reducing baking costs. If bakeries add this process to their production line, they can save considerable resources.
• A growing medium for fungi, which can then be dried, mixed with stale bread and sold or used as a tasty powdered source of protein in the production of pasta, baked goods and sauces.
• Probiotic drinks which are fermented using lactic acid bacteria.
• Cosmetics: they already have a scrub where bread is used as an exfollient, and are working on a bioferment for use in skincare products.