Yeastup

Yeastup, a Swiss food-tech company founded in 2020, is focused on upcycling side streams from the food industry into high-value ingredients. The company was established by Daniel Gnos, a former food technologist and entrepreneur in the brewing sector, and Urs Briner, a past executive at IBM. Gnos recognized the significant nutrient density in spent brewer's yeast and saw its disposal or use as animal feed as a waste of a valuable resource.

The company operates on a circular business-to-business model, transforming spent brewer's yeast, a major by-product of the brewing industry, into functional ingredients for the food, nutraceutical, and cosmetic sectors. Its core business involves a patent-pending process that gently disrupts yeast cell walls to extract proteins and fibers without harsh chemicals. This method also removes bitter compounds and recovers water for reuse, contributing to a circular economy. Key clients are food manufacturers, particularly in the sports nutrition, meat alternative, and vegan food segments.

Yeastup's primary product lines are Yeastin®, a vegan protein, and UpFiber®, a dietary fiber. Yeastin® is noted for its high solubility, neutral taste, and a complete amino acid profile, with a digestibility score of 1, positioning it as a high-quality alternative to animal and other plant-based proteins. A specific variation, Yeastin Nutra, is designed as a collagen peptide alternative for sports nutrition products like protein bars. UpFiber® consists of beta-glucans and mannoproteins, which offer gelling and water-binding properties for use in functional foods and dietary supplements. The production process for these ingredients reportedly requires 74% less CO₂ than pea protein production.

Since its founding, Yeastup has achieved several milestones, including winning the SEIF Award for Social Innovation in 2023. In December 2024, the company secured approximately $9.9 million in a Series A funding round from investors such as Beyond Impact, Gentian Investments, and Newtree Impact. This capital is designated for repurposing a former dairy factory to create a large-scale production facility capable of upcycling over 2,000 tonnes of brewer's yeast annually.

Keywords: upcycled ingredients, brewer's yeast, spent yeast, yeast protein, food-tech, circular economy, sustainable ingredients, B2B ingredients, alternative proteins, vegan protein, dietary fiber, beta-glucan, mannoprotein, food manufacturing, sports nutrition, clean-label, functional foods, nutraceuticals, collagen alternative, upcycling technology