Epogee

David Rowe, Founder and CTO,Jayme Caruso, Chief Commercial Officer

In the words of the iconic chef Julia Child, “Fat gives things flavor.”

Fat adds taste, but it also adds twice as many calories per gram as carbohydrates and proteins. Epogee is revolutionizing the food industry by bringing a healthier version of fat with its innovative solution, EPG.

EPG is made using breakthrough technology. It starts with plant-based oil, sourced from rapeseed. The oil is modified by splitting it into its base components, glycerin and fatty acids, and then reconnected using a food-grade propoxyl link. The result is EPG, a fat alternative that has the same appearance, texture, and taste as fat but passes through the body undigested, thereby reducing 92 percent of the calories and saturated fat for each unit of traditional fat it replaces.

Unlike the much-maligned fat substitute of the 80s, Olestra, EPG is a remarkable fat alternative. It safely reduces calories and fat and improves the nutritional profile of foods without any adverse side effects. It functions like a fat because it is made from a fat and helps food manufacturers make healthy foods tastier and tasty foods healthier.

From University IP to Market Success

It all began when David Rowe, Founder and CTO of Epogee, discovered that Kansas State University held the rights to a promising fat alternative technology. Rowe was initially somewhat skeptical because fat substitution was always one of the most challenging areas of food technology. Backed by his vast experience in related domains and after spending considerable time understanding the technology, he acquired IP rights and continued to develop EPG, conducting the necessary studies to complete the FDA process. After years of research and refinement, Rowe and his team launched EPG commercially in 2018.

“Over the last decade, we have been working hard to demonstrate EPG’s effectiveness, produce it on a large scale, and build a group of loyal customers who are excited about EPG’s ability to help them offer better food choices to their consumers,” says Rowe.

EPG has a broad range of applications that can be categorized into two main groups. The most evident are indulgent foods, such as high-fat baked goods, confectioneries, and ice cream. When formulated with EPG, these products retain their full-fat flavor while offering dramatic caloric reduction. In addition, EPG can be used to improve the fat functionality—through improved taste and texture—of better-for-you foods without disrupting the nutritional profile. Whether improving the nutritional goodness of indulgent foods or enhancing the functionality and nutritional profile of better-for-you foods, EPG is revolutionizing the industry by allowing manufacturers to bring new and highly innovative better-food products to market.

One of the current trends in the food industry is the increasing demand for plant-based meat alternatives. Epogee is turning heads by providing a solution that mimics animal fat better than existing solutions, which are often a combination of coconut, sunflower, and canola oil. Using EPG, alternative protein food companies can provide consumers with a more authentic eating experience and improve the nutritional value of their products by lowering the saturated fat content, meeting the need for tastier, healthier plant-based meat and dairy options.

“While other plant-based fat technologies may have a good mouthfeel, texture, and taste, they do not have the added nutritional benefit of EPG’s reduced calorie count. Our technology remains the only one on the market with this unique combination of benefits,” says Jayme Caruso, chief commercial officer of Epogee.

Another key advantage of EPG is its temperature range. Unlike other fat-alternative products, it works across a wide range of temperatures, making it suitable for both frozen and hot food preparations, including frying and baking. Its versatility results from the extensive R&D that Rowe and his team have put into perfecting the product.

A Winning Solution for Better-Food Companies

Epogee developed EPG with large-scale commercial production in mind, ensuring it can be cost-effective and quickly adopted by companies. It collaborates with food companies to formulate EPG-based products with high market demand.

An excellent example is Epogee’s collaboration with N!CK’s, a Swedish light ice cream brand, which wanted to create an indulgent low-calorie ice cream. Using EPG, not only did N!CK’s reduce the caloric value, but it retained the same smooth and creamy texture of traditional ice creams. Typically, low-fat ice creams have a gritty or chalky mouthfeel, but EPG enabled N!CK’s to achieve a creamier texture akin to full-fat dairy ice creams by resisting lipase enzymes from breaking down the alternative fat in the saliva, providing a longer, richer, and more satisfying taste. Thanks to demand for its great-tasting low-calorie frozen treats, N!CK’s is quickly becoming one of the top brands in its category.

Most recently, EPG was featured in an exciting new product, “Foie Gras without the Fowl,” created through an exclusive collaboration with The Better Meat Co. The product is made with The Better Meat Co.’s Rhiza mycoprotein and EPG plant-based fat alternative that offers a tasty, better-for-you, and better-for-the-environment and animals version of foie gras.

These success stories showcase the solution that Epogee brings to the food industry. As the world transitions out of the pandemic, health has taken on a new significance for consumers. While fat is an essential macronutrient for maintaining good health and nutrition, the challenge lies in not consuming excess calories, from fat in particular but from lowering saturated fat. Epogee’s goal is not to eliminate or replace all fat but rather to help reduce extra calories in order to combat health issues like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease—promoting a healthier lifestyle for consumers.