From Olive Waste to Global Impact: Breakfest Biological Stories

Javier Ruiz's family held an olive plantation in Spain on a bright summer day in 2014.Dr. Sofia Mendez knelt next to a heap of discarded, soft, and dry olive pomelos.For decades, Javier's family has been harvesting olives for their oil and then delivering the remainder to landfills, where they break down and emit toxins into the earth."It's just garbage," Javier said with a shrug and kicked the trash landfill.However, Dr. Mendes, a materials scientist who was trapped in the company's laboratory designing synthetic chemicals at that time, saw something else: potential.

That day, as she touched the rough texture of the construction waste with her fingers, a question flashed through her mind: What if the "waste" of one industry could be the lifeblood of another? Breakfest Bio was founded two years later.It is more than just a chemical company;it is committed to reimagining high-quality chemicals and building a sustainable future by applying the knowledge of nature.This is not an afterthought;it is a fundamental.

The "Why" behind the Brand: Rejecting "Business as Usual"

Dr. Mendes spent years listening to consumer complaints before introducing it at the breakfast meeting.For example, a winemaker complained that his rose wine tasted bad due to artificial preservatives, while cosmetic formulators search for plant ingredients that don't irritate sensitive skin,An alternative to petroleum-derived fungicides and beeicides is desperately needed by farmers.Destructive methods are used by the chemical industry, which includes releasing carbon into the environment to create artificial acids, damaging trees to extract tannin, and extracting tannin using hazardous solvents.

Dr. Mendes said, "I can no longer produce products that harm the planet or disappoint customers." "Breakfest Bio stems from a simple belief: Good chemical reactions should not come at the expense of the Earth, nor should they compromise on quality."

What was her initial action? Gather a group of people with a common vision: Lena Schmidt is an environmental engineer; Dr. Raj Patel is a biochemist who is passionate about green extraction. She spent ten years working with small farmers. Supply chain expert Carlos Mendez later sought to guarantee the rights and interests of raw material manufacturers. Together, they focused on three compounds essential for food, medicine and cosmetics: tannic acid, gallic acid and azelaic acid. However, we urgently need a long-term change.

Breakthrough: Transforming Waste into "Magic Chemicals"

The team's initial laboratory, which is 500 square feet in size and is situated in Barcelona, has beakers, samples of olive residue, and a used centrifuge.Their objective is to extract tannic acid, a crucial preservative, from olive pomace and grape skins.

It isn't that easy.Over the course of 18 months, they tested 127 distinct programs.Tannic acid is no longer usable after it turns brown.Once more, they generated too few water-based extraction products to turn a profit."We have almost no money left," Dr. Patel acknowledged.But every setback puts us one step closer to success, as Lina has often reminded us.

In 2017, they eventually discovered a way to extract 99.5% pure tannic acid from fruit remains using just water and a modest enzyme-driven process.What was the outcome, then?A product 30% less expensive than synthetic alternatives can remove 5,000 tons of waste annually from landfills without leaving any toxic leftovers behind.

VerdeVino, a small winery in Portugal, was their first customer. Ana Costa, the winemaker of VerdeVino, said: "We have tried all the synthetic preservatives, but our red wines always have a metallic flavor." The tannic acid in Breakfest can keep wine fresh for 18 months, and it tastes like grapes rather than chemicals. Our sales volume has doubled within a year.

Encouraged by this, the research team turned to gallic acid (a powerful antioxidant) and azelaic acid (the main component for treating acne and bactericides). For gallic acid, they have developed a fermentation process that can convert its own tannic acid into a mild and non-irritating form. This is ideal for skincare and pharmaceutical companies, such as PharmaCore (used to enhance the efficacy of collagen supplements) and EcoGlow (added to baby-safe sunscreens). They developed what the organic pesticide company AgriShield calls "the farmers' game-changer" - a product that reduces carbon emissions by 60% by producing azelaic acid from bran, a by-product of flour production, instead of from petroleum.

Beyond Product: A brand that grows with the community

The success of Breakfest Bio is not only reflected in sales volume, but also in how many people's lives it has changed. Take Javier Ruiz as an example. This olive grower inspired Dr. Mendes. Nowadays, he sells 10 tons of fruit residue to Breakfest Bio every month and earns an extra 15,000 euros a year - enough to send his daughter to college. He said, "In the past, I spent money cleaning up the trash." Now, this is my most reliable source of income. Breakfest not only bought me my trash, but also gave me hope.

The brand has replicated this model globally, collaborating with coffee plantations in Brazil to extract gallic acid from cherry pulp and working with wheat processing facilities in Canada to collect wheat bran for the extraction of azelaic acid. Each partnership includes fair pricing for farmers and training on how to store by-products to ensure a stable supply and support local communities.

“Chemicals don’t exist in a vacuum,” Lena Schmidt says.“Our supply chain is part of our brand.If the farmers who grow our raw materials aren’t thriving, we aren’t thriving.”​

The Future: Growing the “Waste-to-Wonder” Movement​

At present, Breakfest Bio has 200 employees, operates 3 factories in Europe, North America, South America and other places, and sells acid to 30 countries. But Dr. Mendes and her team did not slow down. They are developing new derivatives: gallic acid esters for natural food colorants, azelates for plant-based plastics, and a tannic acid coating that keeps fruits fresh without refrigeration.

What are they thinking? In our context, the word "chemistry" no longer has a derogatory connotation. Every department regards waste as a resource. "We started with a pile of olives and a dream," Dr. Mendes said as he stood in the Barcelona laboratory, where photos of farmers, clients and team members were hung on the walls. But our story is not unique. This is the story of everyone who believes that we can do better for our planet, our community, and the products we rely on."

This brand doesn't sell acid from Breakfest Bio. This is promoting another option: a gift that respects the environment and rethinking the way waste and chemicals serve humanity and the planet. One sustainable molecule at a time, this promise has been fulfilled. The promise has been fulfilled, with a sustainable molecule once. For instance, their gallic acid can soothe the delicate