We were lucky to catch up with Ty Delemar recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Ty thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
The idea for Upcycle Eats came from a growing realization of just how much food goes to waste every single day, and the deeper impact that has on both the environment and our communities. I worked in the food industry for a short time, and within that time, I saw firsthand the sheer volume of food that was simply thrown away. Perfectly good ingredients, untouched and unused, were being discarded, and it was happening at an alarming rate. It wasn’t just an occasional oversight; it was a systemic issue. Seeing that waste over and over again, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there had to be a better way.
I started researching and learned that restaurants, on average, waste about 4-10% of the food they purchase before it even reaches a customer’s plate. That translates to millions of tons of food waste annually; not just a waste of food itself, but also the resources that went into producing, transporting, and storing it. At the same time, I was noticing a lack of plant-based options at many restaurants, making it difficult for people like myself to find satisfying meals when dining out. That’s when the idea for Upcycle Eats truly took shape.
I realized that by helping restaurants repurpose their surplus produce into creative, plant-based meals, we could achieve multiple goals at once: reduce food waste, cut costs for businesses, and expand delicious dining options for people looking for plant-based meals. The excitement for me comes from the fact that we’re not just solving one problem—we’re creating a ripple effect of positive change.
I knew this was a worthwhile endeavor because, while food waste initiatives exist, many focus on large-scale redistribution efforts rather than helping businesses directly integrate waste-reduction into their operations. Upcycle Eats offers a proactive, sustainable, and profitable approach that benefits both restaurants and customers. And what excites me the most is the potential for expansion; not just working with restaurants, but eventually tackling food waste in other areas of the food industry as well.
At its core, Upcycle Eats is about turning waste into opportunity, for businesses, for diners, and for a more sustainable food system. That’s what drives me every day to continue to make this vision a reality.
Ty, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m Ty Delemar, an entrepreneur with a deep passion for sustainability, creativity, and innovation. My journey into the food industry wasn’t a traditional one. I didn’t start as a chef or a restaurant owner, but I’ve always been drawn to problem-solving, especially when it comes to making industries more sustainable. My experience working in the food industry opened my eyes to the massive amount of food waste happening behind the scenes. I knew I wanted to create a solution that not only minimized waste but also added value to businesses and consumers alike. That’s where Upcycle Eats was born.
Upcycle Eats is a food sustainability initiative designed to help restaurants repurpose surplus produce into creative, plant-based meals. We provide restaurants with the tools, strategies, and insights they need to reduce waste while expanding their menu offerings in a way that attracts more customers. By doing this, we help businesses cut costs, increase profits, and become more environmentally responsible, all while giving diners more delicious plant-based options. We also help restaurants with promotion of new plant-based options and green initiatives.
What sets us apart is that we’re proactive rather than reactive. Many food waste initiatives focus on redistributing excess food to food banks or composting leftovers. While those efforts are valuable, Upcycle Eats works directly with restaurants to prevent waste before it happens, turning potential waste into something profitable and appealing. We’re not just helping businesses throw away less, we’re helping them do more with what they already have.
I’m incredibly proud of the impact this initiative has the potential to make. Not only does it address food waste and sustainability, but it also promotes more plant-based dining options, making it easier for people, whether plant-based eaters or not, to enjoy flavorful, satisfying meals.
For anyone learning about Upcycle Eats for the first time, I want them to know that we’re here to create real change in the way food is managed in restaurants and beyond. We’re starting with restaurants, but the vision is bigger; we want to expand into other areas of food management, helping businesses at every level reduce waste and operate more sustainably. Upcycle Eats is about turning waste into opportunity, and I’m excited to build a future where food is used to its fullest potential.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
For a long time, I believed that everything had to be perfect before I could take action, whether it was launching a business, putting an idea out into the world, or even making small decisions. I used to think that if something wasn’t fully polished, researched, or structured exactly right, it wasn’t ready. But I learned the hard way that waiting for perfection often leads to missed opportunities and stalled progress.
The turning point came when I was developing Upcycle Eats. I had this vision of a fully formed, airtight business model that would be perfectly structured from day one. But as I dug deeper into research, I realized that the real learning happens in motion, through trial, feedback, and iteration. If I had waited until everything was “perfect,” I might still be stuck in the planning phase. Instead, I started where I was, refined as I went, and allowed the process to shape the business organically.
The biggest lesson? Progress beats perfection every time. It’s better to start, adjust along the way, and improve through real-world experience than to sit on a great idea and never bring it to life. Now, I focus on execution over hesitation, knowing that growth comes from action, not from waiting for the perfect moment.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
For a long time, I followed the traditional path: working jobs, doing what was expected, and staying within the lines of what felt “safe.” But deep down, I knew I wanted more. I wanted to build something meaningful, something that aligned with my values and allowed me to create real change. The problem was, I was stuck in a cycle of fear; fear of failure, fear of uncertainty, fear of stepping outside of what I knew.
The turning point came when I started paying attention to what truly felt good, what energized me, what sparked ideas, what made me feel like I was actually contributing in a way that mattered. The realization hit me: I wasn’t meant to just work within a system, I was meant to build something of my own. That’s when I made the pivot from being a worker to becoming my own boss, following inspiration rather than fear.
Starting Upcycle Eats was a direct result of that shift. Instead of staying in a job where I had little control, I chose to create a business that aligned with my passion for sustainability and innovation. I let go of the fear that kept me still and embraced the uncertainty of entrepreneurship, because moving toward something that felt right was worth more than staying stuck in something that didn’t.
That pivot changed everything. It taught me that the biggest risk isn’t failure, it’s not taking the chance to create the life you truly want.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Upcycleeats.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upcycleeats/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1AKph24y73/
