Canadian Startup to Upcycle Spent Brewery Grain into Food Ingredients with $1.1M in Backing

Toronto-based Terra Bioindustries has partnered with Saskatoon’s Great Western Brewing Company to convert brewers’ spent grain into food ingredients with $1.1 million in funding. The project, backed by Protein Industries Canada, focuses on fractionating the spent grain into proteins, fibres, sugars, and flavour compounds to create products like TERRA Malt, which received regulatory clearance as a non-novel food ingredient in 2026.

Currently, most brewers’ spent grain is used for animal feed, landfill, or composting, with less than 1% utilized in value-added food applications. Terra’s process allows for the separation of components to efficiently use the material and create versatile ingredients. For GWBC, the project not only brings innovation in ingredients but also financial benefits by keeping funds within their business to invest in innovation, operations, and local jobs. The initiative is part of Protein Industries Canada’s Road to $25 Billion strategy to grow Canada’s plant-based food sector and strengthen the domestic supply chain.