Brief 💼

Toast Ale identified a market opportunity to provide a circular economy brewing ingredient from surplus bread: Companion™. The challenge was to develop a scaled operation and business plan for the Companion™ project, including researching supply requirements and availability, identifying potential production partners and processing solutions, and creating a budget and project plan to begin production.

Approach 🍞🥐🥖

Virtu Circle was engaged as the project manager to develop a robust business case and operating plan for the Companion™ project. Our approach included:

• Conducting user and market research to better understand the brewing industry and potential demand for Companion™
• Working with some of the largest UK food manufacturers to identify and source surplus bread and build commercial relationships.
• Identifying carbon impact and optimizing the energy requirements and minimizing waste.
• Selecting and working with potential production partners to design an operating facility and identify costs and operating processes
• Ensuring health and safety and operational compliance requirements were met
• Managing and building a project plan
• Creating a budget model and operating model

Results 🍺🚀

The Companion™ project was successful, supporting an equity raise of around £2 million, with approximately half of the funds allocated to the Companion™ project. Moreover, based on an application led by Virtu Circle, Toast Ale received a £225,000 Innovate UK grant for the project. Virtu Circle’s business case and project support helped identify potential production partners, design the value proposition, and create an operational plan and project budget. The project was on track to commence production in Q1, 2023, and is poised to make a significant impact in the brewing industry and the circular economy.