Cakes from La Creme Patisserie; Dr Chris Charles in the laboratory. Thanks to the link-up made by the ARCS team at Swansea University, the effluent from La Creme’s factory is now collected and sent to Lux Biotech, where it is used to grow the bacteria at the heart of their products.
A family patisserie has teamed up with a biotech start-up company to recycle waste from cake-cutting into bacteria-based products which tackle pollution in agriculture and water. The unlikely match-up of the two Welsh companies was made by Swansea University experts.
La Creme Patisserie manufacture handmade cakes, desserts and patisseries. They produce around 50,000 cakes a week for premium food service customers across the UK – from Cheltenham Racecourse to the Royal Palaces - as well as selling cakes to the public from their South Wales shops.
La Creme uses a water-cutting machine to slice large batches of cake. This process creates an effluent which is rich in nutrients. The effluent would normally be considered as waste and the company had to pay to have it disposed of and treated.
However, things are starting to change, now that Swansea University advisers have linked them up with Lux Biotech, a biotechnology company based in Port Talbot.
Lux Biotech was set up by Dr Chris Charles, a Swansea University graduate. Lux sees waste as a valuable resource. They use it to create bacteria-based products, currently in development, which have a vast range of applications that reduce pollution, from agriculture to water treatment.
Thanks to the link-up, the effluent from La Creme’s factory is now collected and sent to Lux Biotech, where it is used to grow the bacteria at the heart of their products.
The link-up between the companies brings benefits all round:
- It saves both companies money. La Creme has found a solution to manage a waste stream it would otherwise have to have paid to treat. For Lux, using waste as a starting point means their products are more cost-effective.
- It also brings environmental benefits, turning so-called waste into useful products. This is an example of the circular economy. At present, only around 10% of the resources we use is from recycled sources. Increasing this rate - circularity - to just 17% could slash total global carbon emissions by 39%.
The Swansea University team who set up the partnership are experts in the circular economy. Known as Applied Research for Circular Solutions (ARCS), they work with businesses across Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire.
They support businesses introducing circular economy ventures such as packaging for returning products, turning beach plastic into new products, and recycling after music festivals. They are funded by the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund.
Lux biotech was introduced to ARCS through the Neath Port Talbot Council Economic Development team, who run regular events for businesses in the county.
As well as setting up the link with La Creme, the ARCS team have also helped Lux secure an Innovate UK Grant of nearly £50,000 to help scale the business. They have also linked them to Swansea University’s chemistry and geography departments to source materials and test their products.
Dr Chris Charles from Lux Biotech said:
"Working with the ARCS teams has been totally different from my previous experiences of working in academia; they delivered the project in a focused and rapid manner and put my goals and business first.
Using the effluent from La Creme we've been able to significantly cut our production costs, savings which are vital for a growing start-up. We wouldn't be where we are today without the ARCS team."
Robert Hindle from La Creme Patisserie said:
"After having been approached by the ARCS team for support with novel ways of tackling waste and by-products we saw this as a fantastic opportunity to collaborate with local enterprises to create really innovative solutions.
Baking has always been a precise art with chemistry at the heart of it and now we can add biochemistry into the process too!
Working with ARCS team has helped us bring principles of circular economy into our procurement, product design and process flows, which is helping to make us a better and more resilient business."
Professor Gavin Bunting from the Applied Research for Circular Solutions team at Swansea University said:
"This is a great example of industrial symbiosis and the value of academic and industry collaboration. Applied Research is all about bringing theory to life to create real-world solutions.
When companies come to ARCS with a problem, we combine our cross-sector expertise with creative ideas to find innovative solutions and support resilient, circular businesses that are more economically and environmentally sustainable."