Wastespresso

Based in Atasehir, Turkey, Wastespresso operates as a cleantech company focused on upcycling coffee waste into sustainable biomaterials. Founded in 2020 by Cavid Bayramli, Kerem Acar, and Vedat Victor Levi, the company emerged from an idea conceived by Bayramli and Acar, both engineering students, during their time as baristas in 2019. Their direct experience with the volume of coffee waste generated daily sparked the concept for the venture.

Wastespresso's business model targets the global bioplastic market by providing an end-to-end waste management solution. The company collects spent coffee grounds from a client base that includes corporate headquarters, offices, and hotels. Following collection, it provides clients with monthly ISO-compliant reports detailing their carbon emission reductions, offering a measurable environmental impact. This service helps businesses with sustainability agendas meet environmental policy goals. The collected coffee grounds are then processed and compounded with bio-plastic materials to create a bio-raw material, branded as Espresso Granule.

The firm has successfully raised a total of $4.64 million over three funding rounds. Its initial seed funding of $1.64M came from Erciyas Holding in September 2020. This was followed by a Series A round in June 2023, which raised $3 million led by Founderone, and another undisclosed Series A round in August 2023, led by Erciyas. These investments are aimed at increasing production capacity, developing new products, and expanding globally into markets like the US, Germany, and the UK.

The primary output is a bio-composite material that can reduce plastic consumption for businesses by up to 30% without compromising material performance. Wastespresso uses this material to produce a variety of reusable and disposable products, such as cups, straws, cutlery sets, and flower pots. The company also supplies its bio-raw materials to various sectors, including automotive, home appliances, packaging, furniture, and manufacturing, positioning itself as an R&D and supply chain entity for coffee-based biomaterials.

Keywords: coffee waste upcycling, biomaterials, sustainable raw materials, cleantech, circular economy, bioplastics, waste management, carbon footprint reduction, corporate sustainability, Espresso Granule, bio-composite, upcycled products, sustainable packaging, environmental services, industrial raw materials, green technology, coffee ground recycling, impact investing, Turkish startups, waste-to-value