SUMMARY

MATTER is a materials studio that transforms agro-industrial byproducts (from coffee, wine, cocoa, beer and olive oil production) into bio-based materials for architecture, design and interiors, giving new value to resources that are usually overlooked or discarded.

Its value proposition combines material research with design: helping brands, designers and industries reduce their dependence on virgin resources and build with materials that carry a clear origin and story. After a decade of B2B validation through industrial and cultural collaborations, MATTER is entering a new phase: scaling its materials, developing fully bio-based systems, and launching its own collections.

PROBLEM

Many industries still depend on virgin, extractive materials, while large volumes of agro-industrial byproducts remain undervalued, discarded or sent to low-value uses. At the same time, circularity is often discussed in abstract terms, without ever becoming tangible in the materials that shape our buildings, interiors and everyday objects.

MATTER works on both sides of this gap. The problem is environmental and cultural at once: cutting dependence on virgin resources, giving real value to what is left behind, and turning circularity into materials people can actually build and live with.

SOLUTION

MATTER identifies agro-industrial byproducts with material potential (like coffee silverskin, grape stalks, cocoa husks, brewers' spent grain, olive stones) and develops them into bio-based materials for architecture, design, interiors and objects.

The process combines material research, formulation, prototyping and design development. We work directly with producers and industrial partners to understand each residue: its origin, texture, behaviour and availability. The byproducts are then processed into new material systems aimed at reducing dependence on virgin resources, while remaining durable and well-designed enough for real-world use.

The impact works on three levels. Environmentally, it returns value to resources that would otherwise be discarded and helps substitute conventional materials. Economically, it creates new revenue streams for agro-industrial producers and supports a circular materials economy. Culturally, it changes how waste is seen, making circularity visible and desirable in the spaces we inhabit.

MATTER is also developing Prima Materia, a natural binder derived from the same biological origin as the materials it bonds, a key step towards fully bio-based systems, where both the material and its adhesive come from what is left behind.