A young innovator from Scotland has been awarded a boost to his early-stage business by Innovate UK, through the Young Innovators Next Steps Awards.
Lasse Melgaard, a 26 year-old from Glasgow, is a microbiologist with a passion for sustainability.
What started off as bin-diving at university turned into Two Racoons, a business that uses fruit surplus to create fruit wines, while repurposing waste from the fermentation process to grow mushrooms.
He has secured some large suppliers of surplus ingredients and expanded to several retailers across Scotland.
Melgaard said: “So much good stuff is being tossed away but to live truly sustainably, we need to close those loops.
“The Next Steps Award will provide us with the support to accelerate the journey towards our goal of becoming a fully circular, zero waste winery.”
Almost £1m has been awarded, with each winner given £50,000 to grow and scale their business over the 12-month programme.
Other winning ideas include a sustainable drinkware business producing reusable bottles that can be dismantled for cleaning, an online platform that streamlines the home buying process, and micro-turbines that allow the water industry to sustainably monitor pipelines.
Building on the success of the Young Innovators and Women in Innovation programmes, Innovate UK is now launching the new Diverse Innovators programme.
This £6m programme aims to uncover hidden talent across the UK, with rewards including financial backing, one-to-one business support and a package of training.
Upcoming entrepreneurs can register their interest in the forthcoming awards, which open on 10 July.
Emily Nott, head of equality, diversity and inclusion at Innovate UK, said: “These young people have managed to turn their brilliant ideas for innovation into successful businesses.
“Our young innovators have worked tirelessly to realise their ambitions and Innovate UK is proud to have helped them on this journey.
“Their disruptive innovations will have significant social and economic impacts and I hope that their stories will help many more young people to see that a future career in innovation could be for them.”
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