GR8PE by Stil-Bène Inc. is a superfood made from upcycled grape pomace—the nutrient-rich skins and seeds left over from the production of wine or juice. When added to yogurt, a smoothie, even coffee, it promotes gut health while also helping the planet.
“We thought it was a great opportunity to make a product that would be highly beneficial for people and because it is upcycled, it is also great for the environment,” said Amber Adams, co-founder of Geneva-based Stil-Bène. “So, you have this double win.”
Planting seeds
Adams started her professional life far from food manufacturing, as a sound engineer on Broadway. After 10 years, the “brutal” hours were starting to wear on her, and she left that career to form Siena Development with partner John Zuccarello. Siena provides product development services to food and beverage manufacturers ranging from Fortune 500 companies to startups. Adams and Zuccarello honed their skills in taking foods and beverages from formulation to distribution, but did not yet have a product of their own.
That changed when they met Dr. Elad Tako, Associate Professor of Food Science at Cornell, through the university’s Food Development Department Industry Partnership program. Tako was doing research into the stilbenes in grape pomace and their impact on digestive health. The partners were fascinated by the idea and saw an opportunity to keep grape pomace out of landfills, where it decomposes and creates greenhouse gases.
“We’d found something we were excited about,” Adams said. “So, we formed a company and created this product.”
Heard it through the grapevine
The trio of Tako, Adams, and Zuccarello named their new company Stil-Bène in recognition of the organic compounds at the heart of Tako’s research but stylized to include the word bène, which means “good” or “well” in Italian. They named their product, which contains not only grape pomace but a variety of gut-supportive vitamins and minerals, GR8PE (pronounced like the fruit) to denote its eight health benefits.
The two-year-old company is preparing for a soft launch, with the first shipments of GR8PE scheduled to take place by the end of October, 2024. It has developed two regular flavors—grape and neutral—and a limited-edition dragon fruit variety while supplies last. The products are available for pre-order on the Stil-Bène website.
Although most marketing has come through word of mouth and a bit of social media, GR8PE has been getting noticed. Last year, it was a finalist for both Grow-NY and the FuzeHub Commercialization Competition and in late 2022 took the grand prize in the first New York Concord Grape Innovation Awards.
This all happened at about the same time the company was engaged in its first procurement of pomace from the Finger Lakes region, something it can do only once a year when vineyards are harvesting and pressing.
“Since it was our first harvest, we were also getting our processes set up,” Adams said. “So, we were trying to do all of this at the same time on a very condensed timeline. That was a challenge.”
Growing plans
Currently, the company outsources its production; however, future plans call for a single facility where it can handle everything from in-house processing to distribution.
Adams also envisions a future in which other food and beverage companies use GR8PE as an ingredient.
“Since we developed the technology to neutralize the grape taste it makes it very simple to incorporate into other products,” she said.
On the sales front, the company plans to eventually begin selling on Amazon, and then possibly in health and wellness centers. It is working with the proper authorities to ensure its health claims can be backed by scientific data. Once GR8PE becomes more established, the company will approach well-known chains such as GNC.