Full Circle gives ‘waste’ a second life in premium spirits
What happens when you bring together orange peels, coffee grounds and a healthy dose of entrepreneurship? You get Full Circle: an Amsterdam brand that fights food waste by turning residual streams into premium spirits. From Orangecello to coffee liqueur and gin — the drinks are handcrafted, sustainably produced and even award-winning in terms of taste. We spoke with co-owner and maker Stijn about entrepreneurship, sustainability and why you have to dare to choose your own path.
Full Circle makes spirits from residual streams. How did that come about?
“During our studies, Branco and I both worked in hospitality. There we saw how many residual streams were generated every day — coffee grounds, orange peels, that kind of thing. We wanted to do something with them and at the same time show that you can actually make something high-quality out of ‘waste’.
We literally started collecting coffee grounds and orange peels from bars ourselves. That eventually grew into Full Circle — formerly known as Dik & Schil — a brand through which we fight food waste by making sustainable spirits with a natural, premium flavour.”
What makes your products different?
“Everything is handmade and made from residual streams. For our Orangecello and Limoncello, for example, we use leftover orange peels. Our gin is made with surplus herbs, among other things, and for the coffee liqueur we use coffee grounds.
We have won multiple awards for our products, purely based on taste. That is really cool, especially because we make them from a residual stream. It is a great feeling when your product is genuinely appreciated.”
What has been the biggest challenge so far?
“As a small player you are up against enormous companies with massive budgets. You really have to dare to choose your own path and keep believing in what you do, because challenges come at you constantly. On top of that, you cannot simply copy how big brands do things — the strategy of a billion-euro company works very differently from that of a small, independent brand.”
You are now looking beyond spirits alone. What are the future plans?
“We are increasingly focusing on other ways to make the hospitality industry more sustainable. We recently started supplying sustainable lime and lemon juice made from rejected fruit to cocktail bars. We are also working on alcohol-free solutions. We want to keep looking for ways to give residual streams a new life in products.”
Being part of Locally Made — what does that mean to you?
“As a small brand, you need to be visible to the right audience. Through Locally Made, our product gets extra exposure and more people can discover our mission and products. That helps enormously.”
Finally: what tip would you give other entrepreneurs?
“Only do something you truly believe in or that you personally find important. Entrepreneurship is a long and intense journey. There are many moments when you have to push through, and that is much easier when you fully stand behind your mission.”
Want to know more about Full Circle? Visit the website.
