On the latest episode of What the Tech from Boast, we welcomed back returning champion Daniel Shum, CTO of CTK Bio. CTK Bio manufactures the world’s most sustainable materials and products using upcycled plant waste. Their products are either 100% home compostable or 100% post-consumer recyclable, helping major companies like Cisco, Gordon Food Services, and TriMark hit their ESG goals while staying both environmentally and financially sustainable.
Daniel was one of our very first podcast guests, and we were eager to hear what’s changed since our last conversation in late 2023. The answer? A lot—especially a major milestone that’s reshaping how CTK operates and grows.
The Reshoring Revolution
CTK Bio’s biggest news: they’ve successfully brought manufacturing back to North America. At first glance, this might not sound revolutionary, but the context shows why it’s a real game-changer.
Previously, CTK produced resins and pellets in Canada, then shipped them overseas to Korea, where converters (companies that turn raw materials into finished products) would make the final goods—which were then shipped back to North America.
“It’s not because we wanted to do it that way,” Daniel explains. “We just didn’t have any other options at the time. With new materials, not many converters were open to trying them. They were hesitant.”
The breakthrough came through strategic partnerships with converters in both Canada and the U.S. Now, CTK can produce both materials and finished products locally—dramatically shrinking their carbon footprint, speeding up delivery, and improving cost efficiency.
“Our Canadian converter is literally next door. We can make resin and just walk it over to make products. It’s wild.”
This reshoring milestone fits perfectly with CTK’s mission to speed up the world’s shift to sustainable materials. After all, what’s the point of making eco-friendly products if you’re burning tons of carbon shipping them around the globe?
Building the Ecosystem
What made this transformation possible wasn’t just finding manufacturers—it was building a whole ecosystem of partners who share CTK’s values and long-term vision.
Daniel shared a conversation with one of their partner CEOs, a semi-retired grandfather, who summed up the philosophy behind these relationships: “All the money we make in this lifetime isn’t really for us. It might not even be for my kids—it could be for generations down the line. So why not join forces and tackle this together?”
This ecosystem approach covers the entire supply chain:
- Waste suppliers providing plant materials
- Material scientists developing new formulas
- Converters making finished products
- Financial partners like Boast supporting R&D tax credits
- Enterprise customers committed to sustainability goals
The key ingredient? Transparency. CTK is remarkably open with partners about margins, costs, and pricing needs. Sometimes margins are 5-10%, sometimes 20-40%—it depends on the project. By being upfront about what everyone needs to succeed, they build collaborative relationships instead of adversarial ones.
The R&D Breakthroughs
CTK has been pushing boundaries on two major fronts:
Compounding Innovation
On the compounding side (combining different materials to create new formulas), CTK has worked extensively with hemp and agave, successfully incorporating up to 50% of these plant materials into various applications.
“At first, we thought it would be as simple as mixing two ingredients together,” Daniel admits. “But it wasn’t that easy. There’s a lot of work involved in getting those two ingredients to work together.”
The challenge isn’t just making materials that perform—it’s making materials that can run on standard equipment at the same speeds as conventional plastics. If your sustainable material slows down production, costs go up, and adoption becomes harder.
CTK’s approach is to start with customer needs:
- What is the client willing to pay?
- How do they define sustainability for their use case?
- What formula strikes the right balance between performance, sustainability, and cost?
Synthesis from Waste
The bigger breakthrough is on the synthesis side—making their own materials directly from plant waste, instead of relying on globally sourced raw materials.
“The long-term goal is to not have to depend on those sources,” Daniel explains. “We started synthesis about two years ago, and we’ve managed to achieve it at lab scale.”
The next step? Scaling from lab to pilot production, which they’re aiming to do in the next 12-24 months. The ultimate goal is commercial-scale synthesis, creating a fully integrated supply chain right here in Canada.
This level of R&D—systematic experimentation to solve real technological uncertainty—is exactly what Canadian SR&ED and U.S. R&D tax credit programs are meant to support.
The Sustainability Misconception
One of the most valuable parts of our conversation was Daniel’s take on how people misunderstand sustainability.
“No one really understands what sustainability means,” he points out. “There’s no one-size-fits-all answer.”
CTK keeps it simple by focusing on two key questions:
- Are we trying to reduce carbon footprint?
- Are we trying to address plastic waste?
Yes, there are solutions that tackle both—but expect to pay a premium. If budget is tight, which matters more to your organization? From there, CTK works backwards to find the right material solution.
The bigger misconception? Whether a material is “sustainable” often depends less on the material itself and more on downstream infrastructure. Does your region have proper waste management? Are there sorting facilities? Do recycling centers have the technology to process the material?
“That part is almost more important than the material itself.”
That’s why CTK doesn’t force their definition of sustainability on clients—they provide data and help clients make informed decisions based on their location, infrastructure, and priorities.
The Boast Partnership
As a Boast customer leveraging SR&ED tax credits, CTK is exactly the kind of innovator these programs are designed to support. They’re not just optimizing existing materials—they’re developing entirely new synthesis processes and tackling real technological uncertainty around turning plant waste into high-performance materials.
Daniel describes the partnership as “seamless” and “getting better and better” with more support, smoother processes, and faster turnaround times. But more than that, he sees Boast as part of the broader ecosystem:
“I honestly feel that if I had more questions or needed help beyond filing, your team would do their best to connect me with the right people. It’s almost like a strategic partnership within the ecosystem that I can rely on.”
The SR&ED program itself has been crucial to CTK’s success. “Without it, we wouldn’t be where we are today, at least not this quickly,” Daniel says. For a company that started in 2017-2018 with just an idea from two founders with no chemistry or engineering background, non-dilutive government funding has been essential for extending runway and accelerating R&D.
What’s Next
The focus for the next 12-24 months is clear: scale up cellular synthesis from lab to pilot production, then move toward commercial scale. This will allow CTK to manufacture their own materials from waste that are “as close and comparable to traditional plastic as possible.”
When that happens, CTK will have achieved true vertical integration—controlling the entire supply chain from plant waste to finished products, all based in North America.
For Daniel personally, success means walking into any store with his two daughters and seeing products made from CTK materials. “My kids already spot them sometimes at different restaurant chains,” he says. “It’s pretty cool. I just want to see that happen more often.”
Key Takeaways
Reshoring matters – Bringing production closer to your customers improves both sustainability and business efficiency. Don’t compromise your environmental mission for operational convenience.
Build ecosystems, not just partnerships – Surround yourself with people who share your values and long-term vision. Being transparent about margins and costs leads to real collaboration.
Sustainability isn’t one-size-fits-all – Help customers understand the trade-offs between carbon reduction and waste management. Offer data, not dogma.
R&D tax credits fuel innovation – For companies doing real experimental development, programs like SR&ED can significantly extend your runway and speed up progress.
Infrastructure matters as much as materials – Downstream waste management infrastructure often determines whether a “sustainable” material actually delivers sustainable results.
