What’s a “Three, Sixty” Interview?

Three, Sixty is an interview format where I pose three questions on the theme of sustainability to an impact entrepreneur or innovator, to get a better understanding—in sixty seconds—of how they’re working to achieve the UN SDG targets. This interview first featured in Issue 11 of our SDG Alpha newsletter, published on September 03, 2021.

Who’s the Interview With?

This interview features Niamh and Ruairi Dooley, the sibling co-founders behind BiaSol. With an initial focus on recycling spend brewer’s grain as a Direct To Consumer brand, Niamh and Ruairi have expanded their focus, and have launched Circular Food Co to offer upcycled products to the food ingredients sector. Circular Food Co are currently participating on the BnM Accelerate Green Programme, delivered by Resolve Partners. Learn more about how Resolve Partners can support your corporate innovation strategy here.

Interview

On a personal level, what impacts of the climate crisis are you most concerned about?

We are most concerned about food waste as most of it, about 80%, can be avoided. In Ireland, we generate more than one million tonnes of food waste every year! On a global level, food waste accounts for 8-10% of greenhouse gas emissions.

One manageable step we can all take is to reduce food waste and that’s an easy way to start tackling the climate crisis on our hands.

With the global population continuing to grow and natural resources becoming more stressed, it is time to start valuing and respecting our food systems and resources more and more. Food is the energy we need to survive and when you take a look around sometimes you wonder if we have forgotten to appreciate this.

One can’t help noticing the change in behaviour over a few generations. Remembering back to childhood where the summers were spent in the West with our grandparents. They wasted very little and could see value in every resource. I think by looking back sometimes we can learn from the past and we as a population can learn from the resourcefulness of previous eras to reduce waste.

Which of the UN SDGs did you start BiaSol to address?

BiaSol was founded from the need to innovate current food systems, improve the availability of nutritional foods and promote behaving sustainably. We primarily address Goal 3, but also fit with Goals 12 and 9.

• What is important to us is to provide consumers with sustainable and nutritious food products. We believe food is medicine so we have aligned ourselves with Goal 3 – Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. As lifestyles have become more fast paced our diets have suffered. Foods have become more processed to become more convenient and ‘ready to use’ which can ultimately strip out essential nutrients. 75% of the Irish adult population does not meet the recommended daily allowance for fibre, and fibre has been proven to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, colon cancer, and IBS.

• BiaSol also aligns with Goal 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production Patterns. Our aim is to challenge existing food systems and see if there is a more viable production process that can be implemented. When we noticed that brewers’ spent grain is not fulfilling its potential we began to design a production pattern that can help us utilise the full nutritional density it has to offer.

• What motivated us to start BiaSol was our realisation of how much food the world will need by 2050, an increase of 60%. We all know the demand on the planet is already at a tipping point so the way we think needs to change. We can relate to Goal 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure  in terms of innovation. Upcycling is not a new word but it’s niche in the food industry and we believe there is tonnes of potential to innovate in food so we can sustain our growing population into the future.

How does your business model enable the transition to a low carbon, or more sustainable future?

Our business model is centred around using byproducts or food waste to create nutritious foods that are good for you and our planet. By reusing resources already in the food chain we will help other businesses reduce their carbon footprint and become a part of the circular economy.

If food is wasted and ends up in landfills it breaks down and produces methane, a greenhouse gas which is more potent than carbon dioxide. In Ireland, we generate more than one million tonnes of food waste every year which represents a carbon footprint as high as 3.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent!

To really tackle food waste there needs to be collaborations and partnerships within the industry and also to generate awareness among consumers. One such example is our partnership with local breweries, we repurpose brewers’ spent grains from a local brewery into baking flour and this flour is then used to make pizzas in this same brewery which has a bar and restaurant. Customers can even pair the pizza with the same beer the flour is made from!

Our vision for BiaSol is to operate a business that doesn’t contribute to the problem of waste but instead are leaders to the solution. We may only be a drop in the ocean but we hope to have that ripple effect!

Key Takeaways

Niamh and Ruairi Dooley’s work with BiaSol and Circular Food Co highlights how sustainable food innovation can drive real impact—from tackling Ireland’s food waste crisis to improving public health through nutrition. By upcycling brewers’ spent grain into high-fibre ingredients, they’re not just reducing emissions—they’re helping reshape food systems in line with SDGs 3, 9 and 12. It’s a reminder that circular thinking can start with something as simple—and powerful—as bread made from beer.

What’s Next?

If you enjoyed this interview with food upcycling champions Niamh and Ruairi Dooley, you should subscribe to SDG Alpha, our fortnightly newsletter that casts an Irish lens on the world of Impact Investment, Innovation, and Sustainability.