Latest / The Manufacturing Podcast with Fexingo: Factories, Supply Chains, and Industrial Business / How a Spanish Factory Is Making Leather from Wine Waste
Transcript
- Lucas: Luna, have you ever thought about what happens to all the grape skins, seeds, and stems after a winery presses the juice out? Luna: Honestly? I assume it gets composted or maybe turned into animal feed. I've never really thought beyond that. Lucas: Turns out, in Spain, a company called VinoLux is turning that waste — about 20,000 tons of pomace per year from Rioja wineries alone — into a leather-like material. And it's not just a lab experiment. They've got a full production facility outside Logroño. Luna: Wait — actual leather from grape waste? How does that work chemically? Lucas: It's a two-step process. First, they dry and mill the pomace into a fine powder. Then they combine it with a plant-based binder — mostly cellulose from the same grape stems — and a natural oil to give it flexibility. The mixture is pressed into sheets and then finished with a water-based coating. No animal hides, no petroleum-based plastics. Luna: So it's more like a composite than a true leather. Does it have the same durability? Lucas: Good question. VinoLux claims their material has a tensile strength close to that of bovine leather — about 15 megapascals, compared to 20 for cowhide. But it's more consistent because it's engineered, not biological. They're targeting applications like shoe uppers, bags, and automotive interiors — things that need to flex but not bear heavy structural loads. Luna: And the environmental numbers? How much water are we actually saving? Lucas: Per square meter, traditional leather production uses about 10,000 liters of water — most of it for raising livestock. VinoLux's process uses roughly 200 liters per square meter. Plus, they're diverting waste from landfills or low-value compost. Each ton of pomace they process avoids about 2.5 tons of CO2 equivalent emissions, compared to leaving it to rot. Luna: That's a big difference. But let's talk economics — how does the price compare? Lucas: VinoLux sells their material for about 35 euros per square meter. High-end Italian calf leather runs about 40 to 50 euros. But synthetic leathers — PU and PVC — are around 20 to 25 euros. So they're in the middle. The challenge is scaling up to bring that cost down. Luna: So they're competing on sustainability, not price. But are fashion brands actually buying it? Lucas: They've got trial orders from Adidas, H&M, and a Spanish luxury handbag maker called Malasaña. Adidas is testing it for a limited-edition sneaker upper. The material dyes well, and it has a slightly textured, matte finish that designers seem to like. Luna: What's the bottleneck? If the demand is there, why aren't they scaling faster? Lucas: A couple of things. First, the raw material supply is seasonal — harvest happens once a year, so they need to store and preserve pomace for year-round production. They're building a cold-storage facility that can hold 5,000 tons. Second, the finishing process is still partly manual. They're automating the pressing and drying lines, but that requires capital. Luna: I wonder if this model could work for other agricultural waste — like olive pits or almond shells. Lucas: That's exactly what they're exploring. VinoLux has a pilot line testing a blend of grape and olive waste. The olive pomace adds oil content, which naturally softens the material. They're aiming for a commercial version by early 2027. Luna: Speaking of keeping things going — and this ties back to the whole idea of using resources smartly — we should mention that this show is ad-free and listener-supported. If these conversations have moved your work forward in some small way, a couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these going — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Yeah, it's a small thing that makes a real difference. We get no corporate backing, no sponsored segments, and we'd like to keep it that way. So if you've gotten something out of the show, that's the button. Luna: Alright, back to the factory. Lucas, you mentioned the cold-storage facility — how does that change the cost structure? Lucas: It's a significant capital outlay — about 2 million euros for a facility that can hold 5,000 tons. But without it, they'd only produce four months a year. With storage, they can run the factory 11 months. That drops per-unit fixed costs by roughly 25 percent. They expect to hit breakeven in 2027. Luna: So they're essentially turning a seasonal waste stream into a year-round manufacturing input. That's smart logistics. Lucas: It's also a lesson in supply chain design. Most agricultural waste to product startups fail because they can't secure consistent feedstock. VinoLux signed long-term contracts with 15 Rioja wineries — they take all the pomace at a fixed price per ton, plus a small royalty if the material sells above a threshold. Luna: So the wineries get a new revenue stream instead of a disposal cost. That's a win-win. Lucas: Exactly. And it incentivizes the wineries to keep the pomace clean — no plastic contamination, no mixing with other waste. That's critical because any contamination ruins a batch. Luna: What about the regulatory side? Are there certifications for this kind of material? Lucas: They've got oeko tex Standard 100 certification, which means no harmful chemicals. They're also working on a cradle to cradle certification. But there's no formal 'grape leather' standard yet — it's classified as a coated textile under EU regulations. That might change as more materials come to market. Luna: It feels like we're in the early days of a whole new materials category. What would you watch for as a sign that this is really taking off? Lucas: Two things. One: a major automotive OEM places a production order. Car interiors use huge volumes of leather, and they have strict durability and fire-resistance requirements. If VinoLux passes those tests, it's a signal the material is industrial-grade. Two: a second facility outside Spain. That would show the model is replicable. Luna: And I'd add: if we start seeing grape leather in fast-fashion basics, not just premium limited editions, that's when it's gone mainstream. I'll be watching the H&M racks. Lucas: Me too. For now, the Logroño factory is running 24 hours a day, five days a week, turning what was once a waste problem into something you might wear on your feet. Not bad for a grape.