Going Circular
2021 AWARD FINALIST
Sponsored by Auckland Council.
A third of all food produced each year is wasted. In Aotearoa New Zealand, food waste creates 400,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually. In 2020 Citizen set out to reduce food waste by taking surplus and unsold foods and food production by-products and upcycling them to create high quality, great-tasting food and drinks. In the process, it raises awareness of the food waste crisis.
Citizen’s first products offered a circular solution to Aotearoa New Zealand’s most wasted food: bread. Citizen rescues unsold supermarket bread and uses it to replace a quarter of the malted barley in its craft beer. It makes flour out of brew mash leftover and creates sourdough bread. All products are branded as ‘rescued + reworked’ upcycled food products.
Citizen collaborates with other organisations. In partnership with Sawmill Brewing, it replaces a quarter of the malted barley in craft beer with rescued, unsold supermarket bread. With Wild Wheat Bakery it makes flour out of brew mash leftover and creates sourdough bread. With Lost and Found Wines it makes Piquette, a light wine-style spritz from leftover winemaking grape pomace.
Since launch, Citizen has rescued 140,000+ slices of bread. It has re-purposed 7,000+ plastic bread bags into fence posts via FuturePost. Citizen’s product range now includes four craft beers and two Piquette products (a beverage made using leftover winemaking grape pomace). The collective is working on collaborations with like-minded brands seeking to reduce food waste.