Turning Agrifood Byproducts Into Nutrient-Rich B2B Ingredients
My conversation with Rebecca Palmer, Chief Marketing Officer of Terra Bioindustries
Last week, I had the privilege of interviewing Rebecca Palmer, the Chief Marketing Officer of Terra Bioindustries, a Toronto-based startup that is decarbonising supply chains with upcycled ingredients.
Rebecca took a unique journey from plant biotechnology to marketing. She shared insights into Terra Bioindustries’ approach to transforming agrifood byproducts into sustainable B2B inputs.
What you can learn from this article
Overview of Terra Bioindustries
Terra’s 100% upcycled ingredients that are loved by businesses
How to tell stories that resonate with your audience
Food industry trends from a B2B perspective
Biggest lesson learned from building a brand in the food industry
Terra Bioindustries’ next steps
About Terra Bioindustries

Terra Bioindustries, a Toronto-based startup, is transforming agrifood byproducts into sustainable B2B inputs. Food waste is a big issue. It contributes to about 10% of greenhouse gas emissions and costs the global economy about $940 billion each year. Co-founders Steve George and Ricardo Martinez recognised the potential of spent grains in 2019 and set out to unlock their value.
They developed a negative-emissions platform for upcycling brewer's spent grain (BSG). This is a beer byproduct that is often difficult to sell. “Today around 70% of spent grain goes to animal feed, 20% goes to landfill, around 9% goes to composting, and less than 1% is alternate use [such as upcycling it into value-added products for human food],” co-founder Steve George told AgFunder News.
The process works by using a low-energy enzymatic process that separates the grain into edible sugars and proteins.
Since 2019, Terra Bioindustries (I’ll call it ‘Terra’ for short) has gone from a lab bench to product validation. Now, Terra collaborates with brewing, grain processing, food manufacturing, and precision fermentation partners to support the bioeconomy.
Terra’s 100% upcycled and nutritious products
Terra can create two products simultaneously from the same grain. The startup’s platform unlocks the spent grain protein by gently breaking down the tough outer layer of the grains into sugars. The separated protein is turned into a dried plant-based protein ingredient called Protina. And the sugars are concentrated into a rich fermentation feedstock called Recyclose.
Recyclose: The “golden child” loved by fermentation companies
Recyclose is an upcycled barley syrup. It’s made up of simple sugars like glucose, primarily C5 and C6 sugars, which support various microorganisms. This makes it a sustainable alternative to pure glucose as a fermentation feedstock.
By working with fermentation companies, Terra has successfully tested Recyclose in both precision and solid-state fermentation, with prototypes showing “amazing success” in mycelium, microalgae, and yeast.
“The industry standard is to use pure glucose for fermentation, and Recyclose, although it has a combination of glucose and other carbohydrates, has actually worked very well, especially for those strains that can use multiple carbon sources.” Rebecca added.
Encouraged by the positive results, Terra is now testing Recyclose as an upcycled sweetener in foods. While still in development, the goal is to price the Recyclose sugar mixture competitively with glucose.
Protina: “The most sustainable plant-based protein on the planet”
Protina is made alongside Recyclose when upcycling brewers’ spent grains, creating two products at once. The plant-based protein was recently approved for use across Canada after receiving a Letter of No Objection from the country’s regulatory agency, Health Canada.
While Protina is still in development as the company optimises its nutrition, current prototypes feature over 55% protein and 12% fibre content. The fibre content offers additional nutritional benefits and maintains the much-appreciated prebiotic qualities of barley.
Since Protina is barley-based, it has better functionality in breads, baked goods, and mixes than pea and even soy proteins. It’s said to have a mild, malty flavour and keep final products moist or crunchy based on preparation. Similar to Recyclose, Terra plans to price Protina competitively with other plant-based protein staples.
How to tell stories that resonate with the audience
Storytelling is a highly valuable skill when building a startup in the food industry, as it helps bridge the gap between technical innovation and market acceptance.
Rebecca has a background in plant biotechnology and marketing. This allows her to clearly communicate with her audience about the startup’s innovation and purpose. “I believe my technical background and my creative skills were both essential in building out the Terra Bioindustries brand. I can understand the technical feedback that we receive and communicate with potential customers more effectively.”
Create an emotional connection with the audience

"People are drawn to people, not corporations."
Rebecca shared that the key to effective storytelling is to focus on the human element. This means highlighting the personal stories behind the brand. For example, sharing the motivations and experiences of the founders. This helps to create an emotional connection with the audience.
“My strategy for creating any narrative is to look at the ‘who, what, where, when, and why’ and identify what feels the most ‘human’.” Rebecca started. “Many times I start with the ‘who’; for Terra, that’s the co-founders and how I can convey their ‘why’.”
When telling the story of Terra Bioindustries to an audience, Rebecca would recount the personal stories of co-founders. For example, Ricardo's firsthand experience with food insecurity in Mexico City and his shock at the wastefulness he encountered in Canada ground the narrative in real-world issues.
“Ricardo believes preventing food waste is the biggest impact we can make towards ensuring food security. His childhood in Mexico showed him the power of community collaboration in times of resource scarcity and motivated him to connect more businesses to sustainable solutions.”
Similarly, Steve's concern for the future of the planet. He sees it as a father wanting to preserve the world for his children. This adds a relatable dimension to the story.
“Steve has always loved the outdoors and does his part to keep our planet clean. Now, as a father of two young boys, he knows the current method of production and consumption needs to change for the sake of his kids and generations to come.”
Scale back the science
Demystifying the scientific process is another key element of crafting effective stories. You can make the science behind innovations accessible and intriguing. How? By reducing the complexity and using simple language.
"We describe our process as breaking down grains into their smallest components, using what I like to call 'biotech magic'," she said. This approach, intentionally avoiding jargon, makes the company's innovations more understandable and relatable. It also helps Terra protect its trade secrets!
B2B food ingredient trends
“The cost-of-living crisis has affected a lot of the food industry.”
Businesses are more price-sensitive
“The number one thing that comes up conversation after conversation [with customers] is all about price.” At a time when businesses are trying to maintain growth despite economic challenges, the adoption of innovation is evaluated primarily based on affordability and cost reduction.
Offering ingredients that serve their primary function and contribute additional benefits, like a protein that can act as a natural colourant or a binder, can help client companies cut costs in other areas.
Shifting focus to healthier staples and ready-made meals
The cost of living crisis has cut consumer demand for premium products. Instead, people are focusing more on buying healthier staples and ready-made meals.
Terra’s efforts cater to this trend. They focus on testing products on staple recipes like breads and protein breakfast mixes, taking advantage of the ingredients’ qualities and on-market opportunities.
Taste is still king
This principle is especially relevant in plant-based foods, where achieving taste parity with conventional options is a top priority. As Rebecca summed up, “You can't compromise taste for nutrition.”
Biggest lesson: Actively engage with (potential) customers, peers, and mentors and act on their feedback
"The biggest impact always came from talking with potential customers, peers, or mentors," is a belief echoed by Rebecca and the two co-founders.
Open communication and acting on feedback have been the keys to Terra’s growth. They helped Terra understand market needs, make informed product decisions, and form partnerships.
The startup's most successful product development decisions were made based on customer feedback. For instance, when customers said they needed more ingredient characterisation, Terra partnered with food scientists at the Conestoga Food Research & Innovation Lab, which has helped completely shift Terra’s target markets.
The team’s most fruitful partnership opportunities have come from reaching out to as many individuals as possible. Their best event and journal features resulted from engaging with the right individuals at events. They also participated in Q&As and made sure their presence was known.
“For the 100 “no’s” you receive, that one “yes” can be a game-changer.”
Rebecca shares advice for startups looking for help, “If you aren’t sure where to start, look into accelerators, incubators, and scale-up programs. A small team can be powerful when you get the right kind of help.”
What's next for Terra Bioindustries?
The startup is working with contract manufacturing facilities to get Recyclose and Protina on the market this year.
To keep in line with the company’s vision to be a leader in upcycled ingredients, Terra is starting a project with the Grain Farmers of Ontario and Ontario ethanol producer, IGPC, to upcycle spent corn using Terra's platform. Additionally, the startup has two collaborations outside of North America that will help in its global expansion.
And finally, to support this growth, Terra is launching a US$2.5 million seed round.
Anyone interested in learning more about the round can reach them at info@terrabioindustries.com or through their website.
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