Our CEO Jan Meyer had a conversation with Lyric Waiwiri-Smith from Stuff News New Zealand to talk about how we are finalist in the New Zealand Food Awards 2022 and give some insight into what our Upcycled Grain Project is and why it's so important to us at Rutherford & Meyer. 

Jan touches on the importance of not just having a sustainable product but sustainability being built into our Business Model. “[Sustainability] is all-encompassing - it’s looking at the product, the packaging, our team, our environment, and our community,” Says Jan.

The Upcycled Grain Project began as an idea in 2019, where we wanted a healthy yet sustainable alternative for our crackers. One of the Rutherford & Meyer team members suggested we use 'Spent Brewers Grain'. We got in touch with Garage Project a local Wellington Brewery who were just as willing to commit to a sustainable cause as we were and got to work!

From here we would collect the spent grain from Garage Project, bring it back to our factory where we carefully craft this grain into our 'Rescued Grain Flour' which we then use as the base for our Upcycled Grain Project products.

By rescuing this grain we are helping to reduce food waste, reliance on new resources and CO2 emissions. Putting a focus back on taking social and sustainable responsibility as a business.

If you're interested in learning more about the process, why we do it and the benefits rescued grain has then just hit link here