OCNews

Benedikt Braun’s deep roots in the wine industry have shaped his passion for the beverage sector leading to a lifetime of working with wine around the world. His passion has led him to ����SM where he is working with communities across the Okanagan and Shuswap to solve real world issues.

“Having grown up around vineyards in Germany, I’ve always felt a deep connection to wine and nature,” said Braun, an ����SM (OC) student and research assistant with the College’s Applied Research department. “Being able to support the industry in new and innovative ways is very exciting. We are working directly with industry partners on ways to support our community.”

Braun is bringing his passion to a research project at OC aimed at finding sustainable solutions to beverage industry by-products. The project is exploring ways to reduce and repurpose by-products generated by the region’s wineries, breweries, cideries, and other beverage makers—matter that often end up in landfills or municipal wastewater systems.

“Working on this project allows me to merge my passion for winemaking with meaningful academic research,” said Braun, who is in the Bachelor of Business Administration program OC. “Contributing to a study that supports sustainable practices in the beautiful Okanagan region feels both inspiring and fulfilling.”   

The research is part of a broader effort to support circular economy opportunities for the beverage industry—transforming by-products once considered waste into potential resources for new industrial applications.

“This is a good example of how applied research can serve communities across the province and beyond,” said Kerry Rempel, interim director of applied research at OC. “British Columbia has a successful fermented beverage industry, and these businesses produce a large volume of by-products. Solutions are needed not only to improve sustainability but also to create new value for an industry facing growing pressures from climate change.”

Rempel’s team leads 20 applied research projects focused on real-world community and industry needs. Dr. Kathryn Brockhold, professor in the OC department of biology is leading the beverage by-product research initiative. “This initiative aims to identify large-scale opportunities for beverage by-product reuse—creating the potential for a secondary revenue stream for producers,” said Brockhold. 

“As we gather a solid sample of data from local producers, our team will be able to explore how this material could be used in industrial applications,” added Rempel. “That’s where it gets really exciting. There’s so much untapped potential here to build resilience for producers and invest in sustainable solutions that can be replicated across the province.”

In the first phase of the study, OC researchers will survey beverage producers from the U.S. border to Revelstoke and the Similkameen Valley. They’ll measure the volume of by-products, track current disposal practices, and develop a heat map showing where concentrations of by-products are highest.

Phase two will bring in regional partners, including waste management companies and local governments, to begin testing possible applications and models for by-product reuse.

For more information or to participate in the study, please contact Dr. Kathryn Bockhold at kbockhold@okanagan.bc.ca. To learn more about applied research at OC, visit okanagan.bc.ca/applied-research.