Renewal Mill

An upcycled food company creating pantry staples, baking mixes, and snacks using surplus ingredients that would otherwise go to waste.

Female-Founded
Clean Ingredients
Sustainable Practices

FOUNDED 2016

FOUNDER Claire Schlemme & Caroline Cotto

HEADQUARTERS Oakland, CA

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Behind the Brand

Renewal Mill was established by co-founders Claire Schlemme and Caroline Cotto. Having co-founded Boston’s first organic juice company, Claire always found herself with a large pile of fresh and nutritious juice pulp at the end of the day. She had no idea what to do with it and grew increasingly distressed at the thought of it going to waste. Through discussions with other food producers and manufacturers, Claire quickly realized that others were experiencing similar issues with their pulp byproducts. After a conversation with the owner of a large tofu company who was throwing out a nutritious tofu byproduct called okara, Claire sensed an opportunity to turn waste into revenue.

Determined to find a sustainable solution to this problem, Claire teamed up with her friend and former U.N. World Food Programme staffer Caroline Cotto to start Renewal Mill. Enlisting the help of 5x James Beard award-winning cookbook author Alice Medrich, Claire and Caroline turned the okara byproduct from the tofu factory into superfood ingredients and premium plant-based pantry staples and baking mixes. They did the same with nutritious oat pulp leftover from oat milk production, and developed the goal to identify upcycling opportunities in other food byproducts. Named a “World Changing Idea” by Fast Company, the Renewal Mill team is fighting climate change and reimagining the food system by giving a new life to the needlessly wasted byproducts of manufacturing.

Meet the Maker

What has been your most unforgettable moment (good or bad) while building your company? - +

CAROLINE: So many unforgettable moments, but I think the feeling when we launched our first product at Whole Foods during the middle of the pandemic is hard to beat!

What is your favorite thing to do in your free time? - +

CAROLINE: love spending time outdoors in Northern California. My main hobbies are rock climbing, biking, and hiking, and it's one reason fighting climate change is so important to me. We need to respect and preserve our environment from the negative impacts of climate change, like the wildfires we experience here in California as a result of global warming.

What is an essential part of your daily routine? - +

CAROLINE: I love listening to NPR when I wake up to understand the larger context of what's going on in the world and how we as a company and individuals are operating in it. Outside of that, daily exercise is a big part of how I maintain my mental health when things get stressful.

What is your biggest pet peeve? - +

CAROLINE: Ooo tough question. But I think it's women who don't help other women. Life as a woman is already hard enough, so I think we all need to band together to help each other and be the shoulder or knee for the next woman to stand on.

What is one thing most people don’t know about you? - +

CAROLINE: I've dabbled in stand-up comedy. If I had infinite time in my schedule, I'd spend a lot more of it trying to make people laugh.

What do you want to be remembered for? - +

CAROLINE: Consistency. I want to be remembered for showing up for the people consistently, as a friend or partner, in my personal life and professional life. I want to be the person that can be counted on to always be there and always be willing to help. And if I can make a positive impact in the world through that action, that's my goal.

Claire Schlemme & Caroline Cotto