CHICAGO — PepTech Collagen, Inc., the first new entrant in the bovine collagen peptide market in nearly two decades, has created a new collagen production process that reduces chemical, water and energy use while promoting traceability.

The result of the process is PeptPure Collagen Peptides, a new high-purity ingredient for use in the sports nutrition, nutraceutical, beverage, cosmetic and pet food industries.

Felipe Chaluppe, president of PepTech Collagen, Inc., said the first step in re-engineering the production process was eliminating the intermediate gelatin-making step, which removes naturally occurring animal hide contaminants but wastes water, energy and chemicals.

“We needed to get the same result by other means, and to do it as naturally as possible,” Mr. Chaluppe said. “After a lot of work and experimentation, we were able to get there through a completely new process that is all-mechanical, without harsh chemicals.”

He added that the new process cuts production time in half and uses 50% less water and energy than conventional processes.

The company said it also introduced several new steps that minimize molecular distribution variation while achieving natural collagen color, neutral taste and uniform particle distribution for solubility.

Unlike much of the bovine collagen industry, which uses a continuous processing model, PepTech uses a batch processing model.

InterGanics, a Chicago-based global sales and marketing company working with PepTech, said batch processing is essential to providing transparency and traceability.

The process begins with closely controlled acquisition of bovine hides.

“First, we have contracted with a set of bovine hide producers that are certified by the Leather Working Group,” Mr. Chaluppe said. “From these farms, an exclusive pool of hides is selected and dedicated to each specific batch to be produced at our production plant. This way, we can trace that batch back to the specific date and farm. And because that batch of hides is matched up with that discrete production batch, this gives us a level of traceability not possible in the conventional continuous process.”

The company also adopted impact-resistant, easily recyclable LDPE bags to further protect the purity of its collagen peptides.

Production has begun in the company’s Brazilian plant. Interganics is currently marketing PeptPure Collagen Peptides in the United States with plans to expand distribution worldwide in the future.