Fredericton, New Brunswick—Chinova Bioworks, now celebrating five years in business, announced that it is expanding manufacturing to increase capacity and meet demands for Chiber, its natural fiber extract derived from the stems of white button mushrooms. According to a press release from the company, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need for the clean-label ingredient, as consumers have had more time to consider and express concerns over ingredient labels, increasing demand for food safety and cleaner products. The company is moving to a newly built 20,000-square-foot Bioscience Manufacturing Incubator space and a new 6,000-square-foot building for expanded office and research and development lab.

Chiber, a proprietary, natural preservative, clean-label mushroom extract ingredient, is made by collecting mushroom stems that would otherwise be wasted from farmers, and upcycling them into a commercially viable product. Chinova Bioworks works to provide companies with a food protection solution that allows them to reduce food waste, save costs, and extend the shelf life for a fresher, cleaner product.

“Consumers are demanding transparency when it comes to the ingredients in their food and beverage products," said company Co-founder Natasha Dhayagude, in a press release. "They want natural, healthy, sustainable ingredients that have a purpose. Because of this increased awareness and scrutiny, ingredient producers and brands are under pressure to reformulate and keep up. Companies that we work with are very aware that they need a replacement for artificial ingredients to preserve product quality, freshness and shelf life. Chiber is the first natural preservative that companies can customize to their products, which for them, has been revolutionary.”
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Chinova Bioworks Co-founder David Brown added, “This expansion is going to allow us to ensure that we can keep ahead of the incredible growth in demand we’ve been seeing from our current customers, and build capacity to be able to service additional food and beverage products.”