Edible cups are more than just business for Vista company

Eco-friendly mindset propels Amai as it uses spent grain from breweries and taps into an unfiltered market with endless opportunities to grow

Vista-based Amai, co-founded by Jeannine and Sven Davison, uses spent grain from breweries to produce edible cups. The eco-conscious company is looking at a second location in Escondido to ramp up production. Courtesy Amai

VISTA — One man’s trash is another couple’s business opportunity.

And for Jeannine and Sven Davison, it was unlikely they thought a waste product would propel them into a new world of edible cups and gaining recognition as innovative businesses people. They launched Amai four years ago after a friend showed them an edible cup while on vacation in Norway.

Jeannine said the interaction stuck with her, so she dove deep into the research and found nothing like the cup existed in the U.S.

As a result, a business was born to take spent grain from breweries to manufacture edible cups. Their company is gaining steam and is now at an inflection point as the Davisons look to scale and ramp up production.

The cups, meanwhile, are made from spent grain from breweries, along with oat protein and pea starch, and are vegan, GMO-free with no artificial sweeteners or flavors, Jeannine said. They are also naturally biodegradable and pet-friendly, although there is natural sugar.

“It might spark new ideas for new products,” Jeannine said. “We’ve become so much more than a cup-making company. The cup is a vehicle of showing what you can do. The idea is once you have the blueprint, it could be in Portland (Ore.), Boston or wherever beer is made.”

The cups, meanwhile, have a shelf life of nine months and can hold liquid for up to 72 hours. Additionally, the cups are heat resistant up to 212 degrees Fahrenheit, so they’re not hot to the touch like a traditional cup, Sven said.

He said there are other branding and potential advertising opportunities as their product can have laser print a logo or other graphics on the outside of the cup.