CereX, part of Royal Swinkels Family Brewers, and Looop started a partnership on 1 October 2023 to locally valorize brewers' grain from the Bavaria brewery in Lieshout.
Brewers' grain, a co-product of the brewing process, is known for its richness in plant protein and fiber. This makes it a valuable food source for cattle. Kelly Vermeer, Manager Strategic Business Development at Looop, highlights the regional aspect of this cooperation: "As a Limburg-based organization with a Brabant touch, we have a wide network of agricultural entrepreneurs in the region. This enables us to give the co-product a sustainable destination locally."
Circular entrepreneurship as a shared ambition
CereX and Looop share a solid commitment to circularity and promoting sustainable business practices, leading to this collaboration. The valorization of brewers' grain is a striking example of high-quality reuse that fits within the circular economy framework. Returning the co-product as high as possible in the food chain retains its value and prevents waste.
Broos Swinkels, General Manager of CereX, stated: "The collaboration with Looop feels very natural: we both share the ambition to engage in circular business practices. We've been reusing brewer's grain into high-quality products for years, but the beauty of this partnership is that the brewers' grain now goes to local farmers, reducing CO2 emissions. This way, we are passing on our family business to the next generations in an even more sustainable manner."
About CereX
CereX (Cereal eXtracts) is an organization specializing, on the one hand, in producing malt extracts and mixtures to promote local production of non-alcoholic beers and other malt beverages and, on the other hand, in the high-quality reuse of co-products resulting from the brewing process. CereX's co-products are suitable for various health applications, including food, pet food, and feed. Founded in 2009, CereX is part of Royal Swinkels Family Brewers, an independent family brewer with more than 300 years of experience in the malt and beer industry. The ambition is to pass on the family business to the next generations in an even more sustainable manner, and that's why Royal Swinkels Family Brewers aims to operate fully circularly. The CereX business unit fulfills this ambition by, among other things, the high-quality reuse of co-products.
About Looop
Looop, based in Venlo (NL), is an independent (knowledge) partner for upgrading co-products derived from the food, beverage, and fermentation industries. The portfolio includes versatile co-products from grains, maize and other organic feedstock, which can be used as high-quality ingredients for animal and livestock feed, as renewable energy sources, and for the production of innovative biobased products. By adding value to organic co-products, Looop aims to create a fully circular world where waste no longer exists.
