The firm is forecasting that it can reach €10m by 2027
Build in the cost of sustainability early, advise Niamh and Ruari Dooley of BiaSol
Innovative food waste upcycling firm BiaSol is raising more money to fuel its expansion as it prepares for a further sales boost when its healthy food products hit the shelves in Tesco from next month.
BiaSol’s products includes a range of oat bites, brownies and granola that are made using spent grains from Ireland’s craft brewing industry.
The products are stocked by retailers such as SuperValu, Aldi and Holland & Barrett – and the firm expects to post a 300pc jump in revenues this year.
BiaSol was set up by brother and sister duo Niamh and Ruari Dooley in 2021 as a way to repurpose waste from the food and drinks industry.
“Our mission is to use up as much food waste by-product surplus as possible and convert it into healthy, tasty food,” said Ruari Dooley.
Current revenues are €350,000 – but with its upcycling operations now fully in place, the firm is forecasting that it can reach €10m by 2027.
O’Hara’s brewery in Carlow is the firm’s largest supplier of grain but it also works with a range of other breweries around the midlands.
From those grains they produce a range of health snack foods at the 9,000sqft former Carroll’s Meats facility in Tullamore, Co Offaly, into which it moved at the start of 2024.
Ruari said the jump in sales would come from the Tesco listing, but also from their strong growth in the food-services sector.
“We started out with small volumes in 2022, but this year we have really started talking to the big players in retail, and that’s going very well,” he said.
BiaSol has begun raising a further €600,000 in order to grow its sales and marketing team. That will bring its total raised to date to €1.1m.
“And that would give us an 18-month runway to get to the next phase. But if we’re hitting our sales targets, then we’re going to need to raise again quickly – because this is a capital intensive business.”
