"Wheat Bran Once Discarded Now in Tous Les Jours Bread"... CJ Expands Food Upcycling Collaboration

Synergy with Invested Lihavest and S&Company
Ugly Agricultural Products to be Sold at CJ The Market
"Committed to Building a Sustainable Food Ecosystem"

CJ CheilJedang is actively expanding its collaboration with food upcycling startups to build a sustainable food ecosystem. Food upcycling refers to the concept of refining raw materials derived from food by-products and redeveloping them into eco-friendly foods and ingredients.

On the 19th, CJ CheilJedang announced that the food startups it invested in, Re:Harvest and SNE Company, are growing through actual product and service commercialization, creating business synergies.

CJ CheilJedang and ReHarvest conducted a pilot production of cookies using wheat bran and held a tasting event for CJ CheilJedang employees.

CJ CheilJedang provided Re:Harvest with wheat bran (the outer husk of wheat), which was discarded as a milling by-product, and Re:Harvest transformed it into a substitute flour called ‘Re:nergy Wheat Bran Flour.’ Since February, Re:nergy Wheat Bran Flour has been used as an ingredient in two types of bread at CJ Foodville’s Tous Les Jours (Good Bread Whole Wheat Bread and Nutty Grain Bread).

These products have lower calories and are rich in nutrients such as dietary fiber, protein, and potassium compared to products made with only wheat flour, receiving favorable reviews from customers who pursue value consumption as well as consumers seeking taste and health.

CJ CheilJedang made an investment in 2021 to discover sustainable food materials.

CJ CheilJedang and Re:Harvest plan to develop a wider variety of products using Re:nergy Wheat Bran Flour. Recently, they made cookies using wheat bran flour and held a tasting event for CJ CheilJedang employees, which received positive feedback.

Additionally, CJ CheilJedang is actively supporting the expansion of sales channels by selling ‘ugly agricultural products’ traded by SNE Company at CJ The Market. SNE Company operates an information trading platform for ugly agricultural, livestock, and marine products and has focused on expanding distribution and sales networks across various channels. Both companies plan to lead efforts to improve awareness of ugly agricultural products and spread value consumption. Last year, this company was selected as the third cohort of the ‘Frontier Labs,’ an open innovation program by CJ CheilJedang that discovers and nurtures startups, and received investment.

Lee Hee-jun, head of startup investment at CJ CheilJedang, said, “We will continue to build a virtuous cycle system of ‘investment-implementation-commercialization’ and actively nurture promising startups with innovative technologies and fresh ideas to find new growth engines.”

Meanwhile, CJ CheilJedang established a CVC organization under the Food Growth Promotion Office in 2021 to lead collaboration with external startups, conducting about 20 strategic investments and actively exploring future businesses. The main areas of interest include food tech, alternative materials, and global expansion of K-food, with investments not only domestically but also in overseas funds and startups.