FROM BREAD BINS TO BOTTLE SHOPS
Jenny McDonald - Dunedin Craft Distillers
Dunedin
When Jenny McDonald learned that 3000 tons of bread and bakery waste ends up in New Zealand landfills each year, her scientific mind immediately saw opportunity where others saw waste. "I've got a science background and thought, that's a lot of bread, and it's full of starches, and carbs. And where there's starch and carbs, there's sugar and where there's sugar, there's alcohol" she explains simply. That coffee shop conversation in 2019 has since evolved into Dunedin Craft Distillers, a venture that's tackling food waste while creating premium spirits.
A scientist walks into a distillery
Jenny's path to distilling is far from conventional. With a medical degree she never used and a PhD in computational linguistics, she spent years at the University of Otago working in educational technology. When university upheavals became too much in 2016, she decided it was time for something more practical.
"I thought I'm too old for this and chose to leave and do something more practical," Jenny reflects. The transition from academic to entrepreneur took time—about six to eight months to become fully committed to the distillery venture.
What started as an environmental concern has evolved into something bigger. “Especially for a product like alcohol, it makes really good sense to be producing it from a resource that would otherwise be wasted rather than from pristine agricultural products.”
Fermenting a better future
Creating alcohol from bread waste isn't straightforward. Unlike traditional distilling, Jenny and her co-founder Sue Stockwell had to develop entirely new processes. "There's a good reason why people aren't making beers or spirits from bread more generally. It's pretty niche," she admits.
Bread creates a sludge-like mixture that can’t be processed with conventional brewing equipment. Fermentation becomes problematic because much of the bread floats, preventing proper oxygenation. Through what Jenny calls "sheer bloody mindedness," they've developed a scalable process that works.
Innovation, trial and a lot of elbow grease
The technical breakthroughs didn’t come easy. “We end up with something very like a sludge or a porridge,” Jenny explains. "We can't actually even use conventional brewing gear."
They cooked and stirred by hand for months—processing just 60kg at a time. A year ago, that changed. They cracked the code on scaling their process to handle 200kg per week. “That was pretty much in-house,” Jenny says proudly. Much of the IP around scaling up was developed internally.
Their gin is now well-received, and their quietly trialled whiskey, Jenny says, tastes “very, very good.”
Finding people who get it
Support has been a crucial part of the journey. Early conversations with Deborah Manning from Kiwi Harvest and Sue James, former chair of Distilled Spirits Aotearoa, were instrumental in helping Jenny and Sue decide to commercialise the venture.
A SODA grant provided mentorship from renowned brewer Richard Emerson. “Richard was very, very helpful, and it was reassuring to have an experienced brewer on hand so that we weren’t missing something obvious,” says Jenny.
Still, their biggest production breakthrough came from within. “Some of the key IP around that has been in-house, so we’re quite proud of that.”
The team is now beginning to build a local market presence, with their spirits stocked in several Dunedin bars and restaurants. But Jenny is clear-eyed about the next step: “We need to grow and develop our sales to be viable—we’ve got quite a challenge ahead.”
While some distillers focus on exporting bottles, Jenny sees greater potential in exporting their process. “To our way of thinking, it makes more sense. Everywhere has food waste—whether it's bakery scraps or starchy vegetables, it doesn’t really matter.”
What they’ve created, she explains, is essentially a low-cost ‘digester’ that extracts sugars from starches efficiently, without the need for heavy machinery. “At a small scale, that makes a lot of sense. It's a solution for local businesses to create local alcohol from local waste. That’s the concept.”
A spirited community
Attending Electrify Aotearoa in Wellington offered fresh momentum. “It was lovely to see Anna Devcich again from SODA and Anna Guenther from PledgeMe,” Jenny says.
She’s also picked up new tools, like Contented AI, to help document decisions and ideas—especially useful for a small operation developing systems from scratch. What stood out most? “It was really affirming seeing the broad range of women involved there… all ages, stages, ethnicities, abilities.”
Looking for the next pour
Despite progress, the business is at a crossroads. With 170+ distilleries now operating in New Zealand, the gin market is crowded. Sue is looking to step back and enjoy her long overdue retirement, and the team is stretched managing production and sales.
“We are looking for a business partner,” Jenny says. Ideally, someone with marketing and distribution experience in the alcohol space who aligns with our social enterprise roots.
Long-term, Jenny sees global potential. “Everywhere has food waste,” she notes. Licensing their process to micro-distilleries around the world could unlock a more sustainable way to make spirits—locally and responsibly.
Learn more about Dunedin Craft Distillers or connect with Jenny via LinkedIn.
Thank you to the Ministry for Women for supporting Jenny's Journey.
Next story: Elisa Harley - Enivo Pots
What started with a blender, wood chips, and a high‑school project has grown into Enivo Pots — a venture tackling New Zealand’s staggering 350 million plastic pot problem. Founder Elisa Harley, now a university student, is determined to build biodegradable pots from 100% local waste materials, proving that practical innovation can thrive with the right support.
If you’re looking to embark on your own startup journey, check out these programmes to see if they are right for you:
Startup Aotearoa - free one-to-one coaching for early-stage founders.
Founder Catalyst - a nine-month founder capability building programme.