Marketplace for Alternative Ingredients

This project is part of the Ontwerpkracht & Transities programme, funded through PPS-i resources from the Ministry of Economic Affairs via TKI CLICKNL.

Grassa

Grassa was founded based on a long-term vision for circular agriculture, rooted in the decades-old principle of grass refining. During World War II, experiments were already conducted in the United Kingdom to extract proteins from grass. Later, Professor Johan Sanders further developed the concept, including at AVEBE. From 2008, farmers and researchers within the Courage network began practical trials on farms, focused on closing nutrient cycles and extracting valuable components from grass.

In 2014, Sanders officially established Grassa to further develop and scale the technology. After years of validation and chain collaboration, Brightlands, Fransen Gerrits, and LIOF invested in 2018, accelerating growth. In 2025, Oost NL invested, and a partnership with Lely was formed to integrate grass refining into modern dairy farming systems. Under CEO Rieks Smook, Grassa is now ready to scale technology that has been in development for over ten years.

Can you briefly explain what you actually do?

At its core, everything starts with grass. Grass is a local crop that grows abundantly, but it has never really been considered a raw material for human nutrition, because humans cannot digest it—it requires four stomachs, like a cow. We have developed a process that presses freshly cut grass into a fiber and a juice stream. The fiber goes back to the farmer as animal feed, so that part remains largely unchanged. But from the grass juice, we extract high-quality proteins and other nutrients.

We extract roughly half of the proteins before the grass reaches the cow. Cows can only utilize a limited amount of protein from grass. By extracting these proteins, we reduce nitrogen emissions and make the cycle more efficient. At the same time, we produce new, sustainable ingredients for animal feed, pet food, and eventually human nutrition.

Where did this idea originate?

The idea comes from Johan Sanders, emeritus professor at Wageningen University & Research. He specialized in plant sciences and biorefining, and also worked at AVEBE. The original research focused more broadly on green biomass, not just grass but also leaves from sugar beets, potatoes, and Brussels sprouts.

However, there was a logistical challenge: these crops are harvested only once a year and spoil quickly, requiring enormous processing capacity in a short period. Grass, in contrast, grows year-round, and the entire logistical chain already exists, making it economically and practically much more scalable.

So you operate at the intersection of agriculture and nutrition?

Exactly. We actually move in two worlds. On one hand, we help make dairy farming more sustainable by reducing emissions and using proteins more efficiently. On the other hand, we produce sustainable, local food ingredients, offering an alternative to imported products like soy.

What does this bring to the world in terms of larger impact?

In the short term, it helps reduce nitrogen and CO₂ emissions. But our mission is bigger: feeding people worldwide with local leafy biomass. There are green streams everywhere that are not currently used as food, even though they are nutritionally valuable and contain all essential amino acids. The protein in any leafy biomass is the same: protein from grass is identical to that from spinach, tomato leaves, or other leaves.

In regions that currently depend on imports, such as parts of Africa, much more food could be produced locally from existing crops. Closer to home, for example, theoretically one-third of Dutch grassland could fully replace the soy demand for animal feed.

That sounds promising. What challenges do you face?

Politically, we are somewhat in the middle. For parties that want to reduce livestock numbers, we are actually making a sector more sustainable that they want to scale down. On the other hand, there are conservative agricultural groups that are wary of innovation. As a result, we sometimes fall between two stools, even though we offer a practical partial solution.

Additionally, we are a start-up. We have limited resources and therefore limited time to prove it works. Network congestion, for example, caused delays at our first pressing site. Permit processes are complex, especially for a future processing plant. These bureaucratic processes can really slow down innovation.

Where do you currently have the greatest need for collaboration?

On multiple fronts. Agriculturally, we are looking for dairy farmers, contractors, and sector parties willing to test and scale. Commercially, we seek partners in food and pet food who want to develop applications with our ingredients. We extract the proteins, but they know how to integrate them into products.

We also look for ambassadors to help tell the story.

Does communication play a role in this?

Definitely. Our story is complex: agriculture, technology, nutrition, sustainability, and politics all intersect. At the moment, storytelling relies heavily on our CEO. We need a clear strategy, visual tools, and formats that can be used more broadly.

For example, we want to follow the story of a dairy farmer, from the first kitchen table conversation to proven results. This makes it tangible and credible.

Where could the creative industry concretely help?

Primarily in crafting a fresh narrative, especially toward the agricultural sector. In the ingredient world, communication is quite rational: LCA scores, price, functionality. But in agriculture, emotion, tradition, and perception play a large role.

Visually, we could also stand out more. Much communication in our sector shows standard pastures and cows. We want a more modern, forward-looking appearance, for example with different color schemes and designs that attract attention.

A fresh creative perspective can help make this complex story accessible, appealing, and distinctive, without immediately placing it in a political box.