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Upcycled Plant Power (UPP), a UK food-tech company reimagining broccoli waste, has secured £1.5 million in new investment from Elbow Beach Ventures, alongside £1.5 million in loan conversions, bringing its total investment to £3.6 million. The company has also received £1.38 million in government grants, with £0.6 million still to be withdrawn, to support its next phase of growth.
Based in Shropshire, UPP transforms broccoli side-streams, (the 70% of the plant usually discarded) into sustainable, hypoallergenic protein and fibre ingredients. By pairing automated selective harvesting with upcycling technology, UPP helps farmers overcome labour challenges, boost yield efficiency, and unlock new revenue from crops that would otherwise go to waste.
UPP recently achieved ISO 9001 certification for its Automated Selective Harvester (‘Harvesta’), a self-powered robotic system that identifies and collects market-ready broccoli heads in real time. Trials in Lincolnshire and Scotland showed the latest model harvesting three rows simultaneously at speeds up to 5 km/h.
At the same time, UPP has completed its pilot processing plant scale-up, now capable of turning 10 tons of broccoli side-streams per day into up to 4 tons of high-quality Fiba™ (fibre) and Prota™ (protein) ingredients. The facility is now entering final work-up for BRCGS food safety certification, expected by January 2026 - clearing the way for first commercial shipments to several of the 18 food manufacturers that have already trialled UPP’s ingredients.
A life cycle analysis confirmed UPP’s proteins have a lower carbon footprint than soy or pea and far outperform pork and beef, with methane savings data to follow.
To power this next stage, UPP has expanded its team to twelve, appointing Dr. Trisha Toop as CTO and Patrick Cohen as CFO. The strengthened leadership will accelerate delivery in the UK and support expansion to the US.
