Produce-extending StixFresh USA changes name to Ryp Labs Inc.
Additionally, the company’s subsidiary, StixFresh BV, headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, is now Ryp Labs BV.
Ryp Labs Inc.’s scientific approach has been focused on extending the shelf life of fresh produce, using all-natural and safe methods. As the company has continued to expand on its capabilities, it sought a name that would more clearly reflect its unique scientific expertise in the food industry.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to unveil our new identity. Every day, our team works hard to help shape a safer, more sustainable food supply chain future. We believe our new brand will work just as hard for us,” Ryp Labs Inc. CEO Moody Soliman said in a news release.
The new branding move comes at an exciting and opportune time for the company as it approaches the final stage of development and commercialization of its initial innovative food waste reduction technology: StixFresh, a unique sticker that can be easily applied to the surface of a target fruit to safely extend its shelf life by up to 14 days. The company is looking toward an early 2022 launch of its StixFresh product in the consumer market.
Soliman added that his company is already undergoing pilot studies with global retailers and distributors and have seen an impressive 15% – 30% reduction in losses on strawberries, blueberries, nectarines, and mandarins with its sachets and stickers
“Naturally, as we’ve continued to grow, so has our product development portfolio. Soon, we’ll also be offering coated sheets, sachets, and other formulation-carrier formats,” Soliman said.
Currently, Ryp Labs’ product line targets the fruits and vegetable segment. However, the company is on track to expand its waste reduction solutions throughout the food and agriculture industries, including meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy, cut flowers and plants.
“It’s always been our long-term goal to positively affect the entire food value chain by offering alternative solutions that are natural, safe, effective, and easy to adopt,” Soliman explained. “But we won’t stop there. Part of our company’s vision is to offer the benefits of our unique technologies to other industries as well, like healthcare.”
Looking toward the future, Ryp Labs also recently got accepted for a USDA SBIR Phase I grant. In its comments, the panel that awarded the grant said it was “impressed by the potential of this low-cost technology to reduce postharvest losses and still be profitable. If this application is successful across a wide range of fruits, it can make a significant impact on the availability and cost of fruits.”
Soliman said the USDA typically only funds about 12% of the applicants.
“This is exciting as it is a highly competitive grant and ongoing validation for our company and technology,” Soliman said.
Founded in 2017 under the name StixFresh USA Inc., Ryp Labs’ first technology was comprised of food label stickers, coated with a safe, all-natural, patent-pending formulation. The compounds making up the formulation work together in the vapor phase to create a protective layer around fruit, slowing down over-ripening and spoilage. StixFresh stickers can be applied anywhere along the supply chain: grower/producer, distributor, retail, or consumer level. Because the formulation is applied to the non-adhesive side of the sticker, distributors, and producers are still able to feature their branding or barcodes on the stickers.
Ryp Labs, Inc. has garnered a bevy of international industry recognitions including Best Sustainability Initiative and Best Packaging Technology at the World Food Innovation Awards.
For more information, please visit the company’s website.