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2021-22 UFF Research Fellowship Highlights

Date postedOctober 11, 2022

Last year, with the generous support of the Deutsch Family Foundation, the Upcycled Food Foundation (UFF) started the UFF Research Fellowship Program with the goal to support this growing industry with evidence and data. The program supported 5 experts from around the world in producing 11 research studies. Among the results were some powerful findings listed below. 

Study Topics

  • Consumer awareness of upcycled food in the US and China
  • Consumer perceptions of upcycled food
  • Qualitative research on grocery category manager’s perceptions of upcycled products
  • An upcycled food business case study and supply chain challenges
  • Market Viability for upcycled pet food

A few of the many research findings from 2021-22 cohort:

  • Almost 70% of Upcycled Food Companies surveyed stated they were actively looking for new suppliers of food to be turned into upcycled ingredients 
  • Many upcycled food companies believe they are using less than 10% of available supply from their current suppliers. 
  • 97% of consumers would view retailers as or more positively if they stocked upcycled foods. (Francesca)
  • "There is a market for upcycled pet food. Pet owners perceive upcycled pet foods to be superior in quality and sustainability than comparable conventional pet foods at certain price points" 

Read more about the Research Fellowship cohort and findings HERE.

Please do not share these findings, as some of the research is currently under review. This information is exclusive for UFA Members only at this time.

Note: Find Fellows' publications in the Resource Hub by filtering by category 'Research'.

Lastly, we are ecstatic to announce the 2023 Research Fellowship Program. UFF Research Fellows will be asked to conduct a minimum of one study that reflects a research question of interest to the upcycled food community.

Learn more about this opportunity here!

Sources for highlights above:

Goodman-Smith, F.; Bhatt, S.; Moore, R.; Mirosa, M.; Ye, H.; Deutsch, J.; Suri, R. Retail Potential for Upcycled Foods: Evidence from New Zealand. Sustainability 2021, 13, 2624. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052624

McNiel, T. Exploring Challenging in Upcycled Food Supply Chains: A Survey of Upcycled Food Companies. 2022. Unpublished, presented to UFA Membership 4/2022.

Ye, H., Bhatt, S., Deutsch, J., & Suri, R. (2022). Is there a market for upcycled pet food?. Journal of Cleaner Production, 343, 130960.

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