The Power of Upcycling with Dan Kurzrock of Regrained

Dan Kurzrock didn’t set out to change the world — he just wanted to drink free beer. But a college hobby of selling bread made from the spent grains of his homemade brewing hobby turned into a life’s mission: to improve the value of food. 

Dan is the CEO of Regrained. Regrained rescues the nutritious grain created every time beer is brewed, and upcycles it into Supergrain+ flour, which is the foundation of a line of food products they sell online and across the nation.

Dan joined us to talk beer, upcycling, running a business, and why sometimes you have to make small compromises for the greater good of your mission.

Can’t miss moments from the show

1. You’ll never guess how many pounds of spent grain the brewing industry generates yearly. Hint: It’s in the billions
2. Learn why choosing a clever name, like Supergrain, makes all the difference when upcycling food.
3. Dan talks about why he made the conscious effort of slow-growth for Regrained, rather than jumping in with two feet from the start.
4. Dan talks about the lessons he learned when trying to use compostable packaging vs. plastic. 

Links to things we talked about

1. Learn more about Regrained at regrained.com
2. Regrained’s article on their struggle between compostable and plastic packaging
3. Reilly shared that he admires Food Writer Michael Ruhlman a ton.
4. Dan’s go-to karaoke songs are Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” and “Wagon Wheel” by Old Crow Medicine Show
5. Dan counts Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, as someone he looks up to

We have more on Dan on our website, including the video version of this episode.
 
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