Bartlomiej from Rebread googled ‘What to do with leftover bread’ – and started a global movement

‘Rebread is best described as an ecosystem. We take unsold or surplus bakery products and use biotechnology – things like fungi and fermentation – to turn them into new raw materials: high-fibre proteins, fermented drinks and even cosmetics.

Instead of building massive factories and do everything ourselves, we license the know-how. We help bakeries and food producers upcycle leftovers locally, sharing technology through both open and paid licences. Because we truly believe that part of this knowledge should be free and accessible to anyone who wants to make change happen. If we want progress on a global scale, people need access. It’s pointless for everyone to keep reinventing the wheel.’

We started out as a small craft breakfast spot and bakery in Kraków, Poland: Handelek. The menu was simple and honest: sourdough loaves, challah, buns, baguettes, all made from traditional recipes and good local ingredients. Before long, our breads weren’t just flying off the shelves in our café; we were delivering to stores across the city, growing fast into one of Kraków’s biggest local craft bakeries.

And then the pandemic hit and a war broke out nearby. Energy prices soared, customers disappeared – you know the story. Bread piled up, supply chains broke down, and for the first time, dozens of loaves ended up in the trash each day. It was a harsh wake-up call.

At some point we just asked ourselves: how did something as essential as bread become waste? That question changed everything.

‘It was that question that sparked an aha moment. Unsold bread isn’t just a local problem – it’s a global one. Once we dug into the numbers, the scale was staggering: millions of loaves wasted every single day, and with them, enormous amounts of water, energy, and raw materials lost. We knew we had to do something.

Inspired by an Austrian bakery that turned surplus bread into craft spirits, we thought: why not try the same? We're Polish after all… What followed was our first experiment: a bread-based distillate called aqua vitae: craft vodka. But we didn’t stop there. We researched our asses off and the ideas kept multiplying: cosmetic bases, fermented soft drinks, even biodegradable packaging. Rebread was born.

After our first experiment, we started talking to a lot of people. Like, a lot. And everyone loved the idea of upcycling bread. But alcohol? Maybe not. The world - and Poland for sure - already has enough of that problem. So we asked ourselves: do we want to be a production company… or an impact company? Impact sounded way more like us.

We started exploring other options than vodka. We wanted something innovative, something groundbreaking. We wanted innovation. Growth. Something global. Turns out, hardly anyone was really tackling the issue of waste bread on a global scale. A few startups were turning bread into beer, but that didn’t feel like true innovation. We wanted something new-new.

So we dove into research: endless Googling, grant-hunting, and chatting with academics. The result was a database of 40 different bread upcycling technologies. Not all of them were winners. Bread-based fashion, for example… cool idea, but a terrible business model. So we focused on what actually makes sense: food and cosmetics. Because honestly, if you can eat it, you can probably put it on your face. And that’s the kind of circular thinking we can get behind.

‘I’ve always been a bit of a restless mind – a serial entrepreneur, I guess. I love building things, testing ideas, and improving systems. But when our daughter was born, my perspective shifted completely. Suddenly, it wasn’t just about business anymore but about the kind of world she’s going to live in.

My family and I recently bought a small piece of land where we live in a converted sea container on the edge of a forest. When we first arrived, I was disappointed by how little biodiversity there was. As entrepreneurs, we saw this as a personal challenge. So we started experimenting: new farming technologies, mixing permaculture with AI, dreaming of a way of life that’s less harmful for the planet.

I believe every family should have a place that feels truly theirs. A place to return to. Right now, we’re working hard to create the financial space for a year-long journey to slow down, explore, and recharge. And collect a new idea or two, probably.

I guess that’s who I am: part thinker, part doer. I’m comfortable in the digital world, but I’m drawn to the tactile – the smell of fresh bread, the process of fermentation, the challenge of shifting systems that feel too big to move.’

‘Doubt. Definitely doubt. It’s a tough time for startups to find funding. Something changed in the global climate around circularity – it slowed down, especially in the U.S. Investors are still interested, but often it’s “not today.” So we decided to focus on smaller companies to try our inventions, proving our ideas work on the market before scaling up again.

Money is always a challenge. But after running a horeca business through the pandemic – and becoming parents at the same time – we feel ready for anything.

What helps is talking to myself to stay calm. Reminding myself: we’ll find a way. In the end, it’s worth it. Because when you zoom out, try to focus on the bigger picture of the things we would like to accomplish, the everyday problems suddenly seem smaller.

But I know those feelings are growing pains. As a startup, you’re always in search mode. It’s a bit like a pinball game: you try things, see what sticks, then adjust. Of course we have a roadmap, but flexibility is the real strategy. Always learning, always iterating.’

‘Right now, we’re finalizing the development of our fermented beverages, pasteurized but still alive with beneficial bacteria. We’ve partnered with Novonesis, one of the leading global providers of bacterial strains. From early ideas to market research, and product testing with major industry players: we did everything together and the results are incredibly promising.

Today, we see Rebread as more than a company; it’s a movement. Together with an amazing team, we’re developing and sharing biotechnologies through open and licensed models, helping bakeries, producers, and innovators anywhere turn bread waste into new value.

Our goal is to eliminate bread waste by 2040. It’s ambitious, yes, but necessary. To fix this on a global scale, we need to act locally. Everywhere, all at once.’

‘That’s a tricky one. Success isn’t a single moment. For us, it’s the feeling that we’re doing what we once only dreamed of: working with people all over the world, getting our hands dirty, solving a problem that matters. Bread used to feel local. Now, through Rebread, it’s become global.

In ten years, we want to have truly solved the problem of wasted bread. It’s strange that in a world this advanced, we still waste so much food. We have the intelligence, the tools, the technology – we just need to use them better.

And personally? Success will also be taking that gap year with our daughter. Creating space. Living the values we’re building into Rebread: balance — or that’s what we’re aiming for, curiosity, and purpose.’

‘That ideas should be shared. That part of the knowledge you generate – especially the kind that can help the planet – should be free and accessible. Because if we want real progress, everyone needs access to the tools to make change happen.

At the end of the day, innovation isn’t about owning everything. It’s about connecting dots across disciplines. Taking IT, science, food, and turning them into real-life solutions. That’s the mindset we believe will move us all forward.’