Plant-based protein supplier Green Boy Group announced that it has opened a new office in Chicago, headed by newly appointed Thomas Schmitt.
“Their approach to the market is unique”
According to Green Boy, Schmitt’s career began at agribusiness company Nidera (now Syngenta) in Amsterdam, where he focused on the global supply of plant-based food ingredients. In 2016, Smit joined Royal Ingredients in Chicago as managing director of the company, which has since been acquired by BayWa to drive strong US sales growth.
“I am grateful for my time at Royal where I gained a lot of experience starting, running and expanding an office in a constantly evolving market,” said Thomas Schmitt. “But when Green Boy approached me to head up their new office in Chicago, I was very excited. Green Boy’s vision to revolutionize the food industry with their functional plant-based proteins, such as Plant-Meat Protein™ and Plant-Dairy Protein™, really resonated with me.”
He continued, “Their approach to the market is unique, Green Boy has a B2B as well as a B2C business, an extensive food research lab in Los Angeles and works with interesting partners such as universities and industry-related organizations. The company also has big plans for the future and I wanted to play a key role in their ongoing expansion in the US”.
Good plant protein
Founded in 2016 by Frederik Otten and Peter van Dijken, Green Boy is a global supplier of non-GMO food ingredients, specializing in functional plant proteins. In 2021, it announced that it is launching Plant Dairy Protein™ specially formulated for alt-dairy products, which can be used to produce almost any product – from From vegan cheese, yogurt, ice cream and butter to eggs to mayonnaise.
The company’s current line of retail products includes mung beans, chickpeas, yellow peas and fava bean protein powders.
“the right person”
“We couldn’t have asked for a better way to start the new year than to finally announce the opening of our Chicago office,” said Peter van Dijken, co-founder of Green Boy. “Especially, since Chicago is a city very dear to our hearts and a major natural food center in the United States. Since many of our customers are located in the Midwest this was a logical next step. Now we can better meet their needs.”
“It took about three years to get this office going,” shared Green Boy co-founder Frederic Otten. “Mostly because we wanted the right person to lead the Green Boy Chicago office.”
He added, “We had our eye on Thomas Schmitt for a while, a food industry veteran with over a decade of experience in supplying plant-based food ingredients. Thomas is a burst of positive energy and has a proven track record of successfully building and managing a new office in Chicago.”