Lasse Melgaard believes there should be no such thing as waste in the circular economy and has set up a company to prove there does not need to be. He is the founder of Two Racoons, which makes wine from otherwise wasted fruits, and grows mushrooms from coffee grounds.
By working with fruit suppliers, farmers and foodbanks, he is helping help prevent soft fruit waste, a significant amount of the total UK food waste, and providing an alternative to the highly polluting and globalised wine industry by creating a locally produced, eco-friendly wine in Scotland. He is cutting the CO2 emissions of a normal bottle of wine by two thirds.
He has moved to Glasgow where there is more surplus fruit, as well as opportunities for partnerships with wholesalers and food banks. He us using his pwn wine-making waste to grow mushrooms on the fermented fruit pulp.
Lasse won InnovateUK ‘s Young Innovators Next Steps Award three months after launching his first product. He hopes to use this success to create more ways to tackle food waste on a bigger scale. He is developing new wines and other products which will help cool down the planet, repurpose 10-15 tonnes of fruits over the next year and inspire other upcoming entrepreneurs to think about the circular economy.