King of Prussia firm strikes national deal to sell plant-based egg substitute

Source, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Joe DiStefano

Renmatix, the King of Prussia bio ingredient developer, says it has signed a deal to distribute Simple Cellulose, a plant-based egg substitute, through The Ingredient House, a food additive supplier to U.S. food and beverage manufacturers.

Renmatix and North Carolina-based Ingredient House “see the potential to replace eggs in baked goods by incorporating Simple Cellulose,” which they say can be marketed as a vegan egg substitute at “up to 50 percent” less cost than alternative products, and long shelf life making it attractive for “gluten-free and vegan” breads, muffins, cookies and doughnuts, the companies said in a joint statement.

Consumers’ growing taste for so-called “clean-label” processed foods, which typically lack meat, wheat gluten or other common ingredients, has increased interest in plant-based ingredients, like the industrial sugars Renmatix has developed as building blocks for food, fuel and plastic-like materials, said Mike Hamilton, the former Rohm and Haas executive who has led Renmatix since its founding in 2012, with partners including former Pennsylvania Gov. Mark Schweiker.

With Simple Cellulose, “our early market efforts will focus on leading bakery manufacturers,” said Ingredient House chief executive Graham Hall. He called Simple Cellulose “a unique product” and “a true breakthrough” and pledged to push it to the company’s big bakery clients.

Renmatix’s Plantrose develops ways to convert agricultural waste and other plant products into industrial materials at a lab in Georgia and other sites. Backed by French oil giant Total S.A., German chemical giant BASF, Silicon Valley’s Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, among other investors, the company initially focused on biofuels, but added bioplastics and other applications as energy prices fell in the mid-2010s.

Ingredient House, formed in 2006 with principals in the U.S., China and Europe, says it has clients in 20 countries.