Good Morning America features upcycled coffee fruit startup I Am Grounded in 2025 top food trends

The brand's products are already sold across Australia at Woolworths and Harris Farm Markets, but the surprise validation in the USA was a "pinch-me" moment for I Am Grounded co-founder Vanessa Murillo.

At Business News Australia, we are pleased to share this news as part of a broader series on the circular economy showcasing entrepreneurs, innovators, investors and experts who are effecting positive change for society and the environment by finding new ways to utilise waste or reduce it altogether.

Early on a Saturday morning, Vanessa Murillo didn't know what to make of an email claiming her company's products would be featured on US national television - surely it couldn't be real, but on Monday she revisited the correspondence and realised it was a legitimate heads-up from a leading American dietitian.

Stefani Sassos, director of the Good Housekeeping Institute Nutrition Lab, had chosen I Am Grounded's SUPR protein bars to feature alongside US circular economy powerhouses like Rind dried fruit snacks that use the entire peel and skin of each fruit, and Seven Sundays cereal which upcycles leftovers from oat milk production.

"I didn't think anything of it until the Monday (21 January) when I sat down and looked at the email and I said, 'wait, this is actually real. How do I I get products in there by Wednesday?'," Murillo explains.

"Luckily we shipped some express samples and sent them some talking points. We needed to open our international shipping to make sure we capture some of this traffic, so that's what we did on the Friday before it aired.

"We've always had lots of interest in the US [media], much more than Australia. I just think that that market is just so primed for what we're doing in the innovation."

I Am Grounded, founded in Brisbane by Murillo and Lachlan Powell in 2018, innovates to help reduce a global 20 billion-kilogram problem of coffee fruit that is wasted each year.

"Did you know that coffee is actually a fruit? Around the world, we consume three billion cups of coffee every day, but we only use the coffee seeds which make up about 20 per cent of the coffee fruit," says Murillo.

She adds that not only is this a huge food waste problem, creating 16 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, but it also implies a "lack of a functional, super high antioxidant and naturally caffeinated energy source that is significantly missing in today’s snack food market".

The answer was to create a natural energy snack that is also high in antioxidants. But after securing high-profile ranging deals and agreements with distributors, the I Am Grounded founders understood the importance of versatility and adapting their offering to new use cases.

Murillo says in the past year the company has repackaged its products and formulated new offerings, most notably the new SUPR bar range which is the same line that was featured on Good Morning America.

"A lot of it’s come from our customers really wanting more protein – we know protein is such a mega trend, and it's here to stay," Murillo explains.

"Australians are obsessed with protein, and in the background we’d actually always been tinkering with a bar that would taste really good but was unlike other protein bars in market - a bar that didn't have chocolate coating and was nutritionally dense.

She says the snack bar category has a lot of options, but not many that combine taste, functionality, and sustainability.

"SUPR bars offer real innovation where it’s needed, with the perfect blend of flavour and a clean energy boost. SUPR Bars are Australia's first naturally caffeinated 5-star health bar made from upcycled coffee fruit. These bars combine plant-based protein with natural energy," she adds.

That was launched nationally with Woolworths and Harris Farms on 28 October 2024, with the co-founder noting a positive reception since then.

The range has been carefully tailored to the upmarket and premium ends of the market where demand for health-conscious, functional snacks is high. The next goal for retailers will be petrol stations and offices where "convenience, health and sustainability meet functionality".

"The change to our packaging was because we just wanted to refresh it to make it more authentic to who we are as people and as founders. We found that the brand was stuck in a little bit of a pre-COVID look and feel, and we wanted to clean it up," she says.

"Now we’re just being bullish on the fact that our product has such amazing functional benefits, and the fact that we’re playing in a space where we’re showing the amazingness of food waste and how it can look from a commercial-use case.

"I think that's really interesting for our retailers and other small businesses, because they can see it for a case study of what you can do with food waste."

Murillo says the company has mostly experienced "horizontal growth" over the past 12 months, dedicating resources and time to raising awareness so that consumers not only understand and appreciate the taste and convenience of the product, but its story around reducing waste.

"We have really good distribution, but without customer awareness, the distribution doesn't mean anything, so for the last 12 months, we've been on the road, sampling, doing trade shows, doing expos, and talking to customers and actually trying to get them to understand circular economy and what that means.

"I feel like we've grown so much in that way. We're really getting more traction in how consumers think about what coffee is and what it looks like, and also food waste.

"In terms of the upcycling , the last time we measured it, it was about 33,000 kilos of the coffee fruit byproduct which have been upcycled."

Murillo says the goal is to open up an export market in the next six months, capitalising on a lot of external attention globally around what the startup is doing. I Am Grounded is currently in discussions with a New Zealand distributor, and has just signed a an agreement with MC Linked which is active in the MENA (Middle East-North Africa) region.

She didn't think the US media would take such an interest in a small Australian company like theirs, but she sees the business growing into the US "as an exit strategy".

For now the focus is on scaling up the startup's US e-commerce distribution, and the company is also expanding into new product lines, including functional drinks focused on hydration and recovery.

"We really do believe the US is a goal market for us – right now we’re obviously in Australia, and the goal is to grow into the US in the next few years with enough funds to be able to support that, because I know it takes a lot.

"The plan is in the next two to three years to have some sort of footprint there because we do get attention from retailers, customers and from media.

"I would see our products fitting into commercial-use cases for the customers in that market – so if it’s a drink or if it’s another bar, if it’s a granola, the goal for us is to showcase the versatility of the coffee fruit, not just in one snack format but in multiple."

Murillo says the circular economy is reshaping the way businesses view sustainability - not an "optional add-on" but a "core driver for innovation".

"At I Am Grounded, we are leading by example, turning coffee fruit waste into a high-demand product," Murillo says.

"While Australia may seemingly trail behind global trends, we’re proud to be pioneers in this space. As consumers demand more from brands in terms of environmental responsibility, upcycling is not just a trend - it’s the future of how we should be building sustainable and profitable food systems. 

"If you’ve got something unique and innovative here in Australia, don’t be afraid to make some noise and be the people’s champion."

To support its goals, I Am Grounded recently secured additional pre-seed capital from both existing shareholders and some new strategic investors who are interested in innovative fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies.

"However, we are still on the lookout for additional strategics who align to our mission of sustainability and innovation in the coffee industry. We will be raising a larger seed round later this year, to aid our international and domestic expansion plans, and we haven't ruled out an equity crowdfund as we have built a loyal customer base that are keen to jump on the journey with us," says Murillo.

If you're a circular economy-focused founder, investor or researcher, don't hesitate to reach out for consideration in this exciting series.