It all started with a feather
What if we stopped treating poultry feathers as waste, and started seeing them as a valuable protein source?
That simple question sparked a decade of innovation at Empro. Today, the company has become a leading name in circular protein valorization — combining deep scientific expertise with cutting-edge process technology to turn low-value by-products into high-performing functional ingredients. It all starts with the raw material.
Reframing waste as opportunity
Every day, the poultry industry generates large volumes of leftover materials: feathers, necks, bones, and other by-products that never enter the human food chain. In most cases, these streams are undervalued — processed as low-grade waste or discarded entirely. That leads to a significant loss of nutrients, energy, and functional potential.
At Empro, we approach these by-products differently. In our Dendermonde facility, we process around 100 tonnes of feathers and 90 tonnes of bones every day — raw materials that would otherwise go unused. We transform them into high-quality, functional ingredients for fast-growing sectors such as animal nutrition, aquaculture, agriculture (biostimulants), and cosmetics — and soon also for renewable materials like biopolymers and bio-based plastics.
From indigestible to functional
Feathers are protein-rich — but in their raw state, they’re undigestible and therefore unusable. The solution lies in enzymatic hydrolysis: a process that breaks down insoluble protein chains into smaller peptides and amino acids. The result is not only digestible for animals, but also applicable in high-value domains like hypoallergenic diets or plant biostimulation.
At Empro, we’ve developed our own patented hydrolysis technology. Our approach is chemical-free, energy-efficient, and focused on maximal raw material recovery. Starting with untreated poultry by-products, we produce tailored ingredients in dry or liquid form — whether for energetic, nutritional, or technical use.
Real circular impact — backed by science
Circularity isn’t just a marketing label for Empro — it’s a measurable reality:
- Over 5,400 hectares of land saved through efficient protein recovery
- 100% of our products are chemical-free and approved for organic agriculture
- All raw materials are sourced locally from Belgian poultry partners
Circularity as progress, not pessimism
Too often, circular economy narratives are framed in a negative light — as something we have to do to avoid environmental decline. That kind of outlook is driven by limitation: reduce what goes wrong, prevent further harm.
“But that’s not how we see things at Empro,” says CEO Vaast Vanoverschelde. “For us, circularity isn’t a fallback. It’s a forward-looking model.”
Vanoverschelde sees circular systems not as damage control, but as opportunity generators:
“If we make full use of what already exists in the system, we don’t just reduce waste — we expand access to prosperity. We create sustainable growth without depleting natural resources.”
That philosophy is at the heart of Empro’s model: sustainable protein production that doesn’t force a trade-off between economic and environmental goals. Instead, the company shows that industrial-scale valorization of side streams can be both profitable and scalable — and directly relevant to global supply chains.
“We’re not fighting against the limits of the raw material,” Vanoverschelde adds. “We’re building on its potential. That’s our strength.”
More than local — a model for global application
What Empro is doing in Belgium isn’t just a local success story. It’s a scalable system of symbiotic valorization — one that can be adapted to different raw materials, in different regions, across various industries.
Circularity here isn’t a constraint. It’s a catalyst.
And to think… it all started with a feather.
What began with poultry feathers has grown into a fully circular platform — one that valorizes almost every part of the chicken, from feather to bone.
This is innovation with purpose.
This is where protein works.