POS Bio-Sciences rebrands to become plant-based ingredient supplier

13-Feb-2019 - Last updated on 13-Feb-2019 at 17:42 GMT

The Canadian company got its start in the 1970s as a spinoff of a research initiative at the University of Saskatchewan and worked in partnership with several industries on a contract-services model. Now renamed KeyLeaf, the business will be focused squarely on ingredient and extract sales.

As KeyLeaf, the company will still serve the cosmetics and personal care industry but is also looking to make a name for itself as a hemp and cannabinoid ingredient supplier for supplements, food, and pharma.

A new approach

"Pivoting away from applied contract R&D work to producing finished plant-based ingredients of all types under our new name (KeyLeaf) reflects a strategic move toward commercializing a pipeline of plant-derived products under our own brand,” explains president and CEO Dale Kelly in a media release about the rebranding.

“The new business model,” says Kelly, “is also anticipated to take advantage of burgeoning market opportunities and produce consistent growth.”

A wealth of experience

POS Bio-Sciences was known for its work in the canola and soy industries and boasts expertise in the development of plant-based ingredients, ranging from protein to starch and lipid-based inputs.

Kelly believes the company can leverage this capability going forward: “With over four decades of high level proficiency in plant extraction, concentration, isolation, and modification of material properties,” he says, “the company will monetize soaring interest in the emerging hemp / cannabis category with proprietary extracts of cannabinoids, terpenes, and other high-value components for use in medicinal or nutritional applications.”

A business to build on

KeyLeaf has facilities in both Saskatchewan, Canada, and Illinois here in the US and leads 2 subsidiary businesses: LakEssence (which sells essential oils and oleoresins from Sri Lanka to manufacturers in fragrance, perfumery, aromatherapy, cosmetics, personal care, and more) and Algarithm (which makes plant-based omega3s for the food and supplements industries).

And as the company’s media release asserts, “KeyLeaf’s ability to provide finished ingredients to the larger food, supplement, flavor, cosmetic, pharma, and advanced materials industry is a natural extension of the company's previous model of engagement in partnerships that showcased its unmatched ability to scale from bench to high volume commercial production, with the capacity to process from grams to tons-per-week of finished extracts.”

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Deanna Utroske, CosmeticsDesign.com Editor, covers beauty business news in the Americas region and publishes the weekly Indie Beauty Profile column, showcasing the inspiring work of entrepreneurs and innovative brands.