Despite bakers’ determination to produce as green as possible, bread still accounts for 20% of food waste in Brussels. An observation in the form of a question: how can we recycle this noble product destined to end up at the bottom of a food waste bag?
Bertrand Delubac, his brother Maxime and his sister-in-law Morane, who were all retraining, worked on this question in 2020. The result is a very local solution, namely using unsold bread to make beer, replacing some of the malt with bread starch.
And because, in addition to thinking sustainably, these young entrepreneurs focused on a circular approach, they also decided to recycle their brewing grains to make their own bread. With Maxime as baker, Morane as head brewer and Bertrand for everything else, Brussels’ first bakery and brewery was born : Janine.
From kneading to display with hub.brussels
Based on this simple but bold idea, the family trio was invited to take part in greenlab.brussels, the hub.brussels accelerator for sustainable start-ups. It won the Public Choice Award and continued its success.
On the advice of hub’s retail specialists, the Janine bakery opened in 2021, between Forest Park and Altitude 100. It was a good choice, as local residents were on board, and revenues were strong. At the same time, Janine joined forces with other brewers to create CoHop, the first cooperative of microbreweries in Brussels. The first Janine bottles were produced in May 2022.
This is a flawless performance by this start-up, which has benefited from hub.brussels’ expertise via:
Its retail team:
- for obtaining data and studies via the analytics.brussels platform
- for commercial and urban planning advice on choosing a bakery location
- for obtaining the “Opensoon” subsidy in 2021
Its international network:
- for presenting its products at the Lille Beer Festival
Its greenlab programme:
- for the development of its sustainable business plan and a collaborative project on urban microbiomethanisation
Bertrand, Maxime & Morane
co-founders of JANINEhub.brussels believed in us when Janine was just an idea. We found support to overcome our difficulties at every stage of our development.
Bread, beer and synergies in spades
Janine has come a long way in three years. Now part of circlemade, the hub.brussels network of Brussels-based circular production companies, it is already exploring the possibility of new partnerships.
The focus is on the brewing division, which still needs to raise its profile by capitalising on its two key assets: offering Belgium’s most sustainable beer and benefiting from the reliable tastes of one of the country’s few head brewers. And next, why not the production of spent grain flour? It’s a no-brainer. It certainly is.
📍Chaussée d’Alsemberg 258, 1190 Forest
