Regenerative food products made from cassava

Startup Nuu uses cassava to make food products carbon neutral

Spotted: Our choices at the dinner table have a significant impact on the planet. With around a third of all human-related greenhouse gas emissions linked to food, there is an urgency to adopt sustainable practices in the cultivation, transportation, preparation, and packaging of our meals.  

Enter Nuu, a Brazilian startup offering a solution: carbon-neutral food products made from cassava, a popular South American root vegetable. 

Leveraging technology and creative solutions, Nuu manufactures a range of cassava-derived products, including cheese bread, tapioca sticks, pizza dough, and tapioca cubes. Through these innovations, this female-led startup aims to transform the way cassava is consumed, all while promoting sustainability and healthy eating. 

The company proudly offset 585 tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2021 through a partnership with WayCarbon, preventing deforestation in the Paragominas region of the Amazon within the state of Pará. As Nuu’s CEO, Rafaela Gontijo, explains: “This work goes from soil to plate. We calculate the carbon footprint of our products, offset 100 per cent of the packaging, produce with clean energy, and bring regenerative production models for small rural producers”.  

In a series A funding round, the certified B Corporation secured $4 million (around €3.8 million) in investment led by the EcoEnterprises Fund. With this financial backing, Nuu plans on driving marketing and sales, aiming to expand its reach to 6,000 retail locations.  

Springwise has previously spotted other innovations that strive to make food products carbon neutral, from a welfare-first, sustainable method of rearing poultry for eggs to a carbon-neutral replacement for palm oil, coined PALM-ALT.

Written By: Georgia King