Q: Can you tell us about your career journey and what led you to join BIO-CAT?
CHRIS: My dad, Ed Schuler, a microbiologist and an enzyme leader in the industry, decided to start his own company and asked if I would be interested in co-founding it. At the time, I was graduating from Purdue and thought of going into the automotive sector. Instead, I decided working with my dad sounded like fun, as I would get to work alongside him. I thought, "What a great opportunity to get to know him better,” given he had traveled internationally most of my life. My dad was so bullish on the future potential of enzymes that at 60, when most people are preparing for retirement, he liquidated his 401k to start the company—so how could I say "no"? I was already familiar with the business from working with my dad throughout high school and college summers, so I knew working with him as a partner would be an amazing experience.
Q: What are your main responsibilities and day-to-day activities as an executive at BIO-CAT?
CHRIS: My dad was often quoted as saying, "Over the years, BIO-CAT has had the good fortune to hire excellent people to run our operation." Nothing could be truer today. From every department, from R&D to operations, we have the functional leadership that allows me as the CEO to focus on our long-term vision, strategy, resource alignment, and broader growth planning. Throughout my career, I have worked in each functional area, so I'm fortunate to understand the ins and outs of the business and how I can support my team.
Q: How would you describe BIO-CAT's mission and its role in the industry?
CHRIS: As a premier innovative biotech company, it's best to explain BIO-CAT's mission with our mission statement, "We stay true to relationships built on honesty, trust, and fairness. We empower our employees and customers to develop customized solutions that are safe and effective. We strive to create an environment that provides our employees with the best quality of life we can offer." As the leader in our industry, we feel it's important to lead by raising the bar with the highest quality standards, business ethics, and innovation; and delivering the greatest value to our stakeholders (e.g., employees, customers, partners, and suppliers) to make a meaningful difference in their businesses and lives.
Q: What is your leadership philosophy, and how do you implement it within the company?
CHRIS: Lead by example, set the pace, and consistently always "do the right thing" – even when there is a quicker and easier route. I expect that each employee feels empowered to take ownership within their area of responsibility but know they have my support when needed. BIO-CAT's leadership team understands that there can never be any compromise on quality and customer service, and regardless of one's role or level within the organization, they are held to the standard of "doing the right thing."
Q: Can you highlight some of the significant milestones and achievements BIO-CAT has accomplished under your leadership?
CHRIS: Over BIO-CAT's thirty-five years of successful growth, we've experienced key phases of expansion into new markets within the enzyme and probiotic industry, requiring new capabilities and skill sets. Over the years, BIO-CAT has invested in staff, updated quality labs, increased refrigerated warehouse space, added an R&D test kitchen, and introduced new instruments such as gene sequencing and LC-MS systems. One of our most important milestones has been making the leap to full R&D product development and innovation for both our enzyme and probiotic businesses, allowing us to support the products we launch with best-in-class clinical support. Additionally, I saw that the microbial market, specifically spores in agriculture, animal nutrition, and human probiotics, was beginning a growth trend in the early 2000s and could be the "next big thing." So, in 2004, I acquired fermentation capabilities at a facility in Minnesota. This facility enables BIO-CAT to produce next-generation probiotics for the human, companion animal, and agricultural industry markets. The synergy between our legacy enzyme and probiotic products has been nothing short of amazing and uniquely positions us in the marketplace.
Q: What have been some of the biggest challenges you've faced in your role, and how have you addressed them?
CHRIS: Overall, BIO-CAT has been effective at proactively planning and resourcing so that we can be in front of future challenges and issues. As we've grown, we've expanded further into international markets, and these global markets come with new rules and regulations. This growth has required us to add additional staff and resources to broaden our understanding of these markets, including new processes and systems. As we're a small but nimble team, I can make those kinds of decisions swiftly. One of our strengths is being able to adapt to the changing market landscape quickly.
Q: How does BIO-CAT foster innovation, and what are some exciting developments or products the company is working on?
CHRIS: Since the company's inception and under my dad's leadership as a scientist, we have been biased toward invention, innovation, intellectual property, and flexing applied science to provide customizable solutions. Recently, we just announced the reception of an NDI (new dietary ingredient) on an enzyme designed to address difficult-to-digest high-FODMAP foods (e.g., onions, garlic, cauliflower, asparagus) under the branding OPTIZIOME® Fructanase. Additionally, we have multiple human clinical studies underway utilizing novel combinations of enzymes to address various market opportunities such as sports nutrition, healthy aging, women's health, and food intolerance. In the probiotic segment, BIO-CAT has over a dozen new strains under development for our proprietary portfolio and contract manufacturing customers alike. We're also focusing our research on creating symbiotic combinations of enzymes and probiotics, which can deliver a phased approach to complete digestion.
Q: What trends in the biotechnology industry do you find most exciting, and how is BIO-CAT positioning itself to take advantage of these trends?
CHRIS: Natural, organic, and non-GMO products are trending. In fact, 80 percent of natural shoppers believe that consuming GMOs is harmful to humans and animals — and the brands are listening. As a result, we focus on exploring the universe of millions of non-GMO organisms available to us. This exploration ensures that we can meet the needs of product formulators who will not compromise their brands by including a GMO ingredient. By performing gene sequencing on natural organisms, we can understand the inherent genetic potential that each organism can deliver. We then categorize the organisms by metabolite, compound, vitamin, and enzyme production to create custom solutions without genetically modifying the organisms to produce those same benefits. This approach allows us to support the "better for you" positioning of the many high-growth nutrition brands disrupting the market.
Q: How does BIO-CAT contribute to the community and the broader biotechnology field?
CHRIS: BIO-CAT feels it's essential to support the community where we live and work and to expand our good works beyond our local efforts. From local food banks, resource centers, scholarship funds, youth sports, and Adopt-a-Highway, to nationally recognized foundations such as the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and One Love Foundation, BIO-CAT stands ready to provide support. We're also proud members of national and international biotech associations and organizations, such as CRN, IPA, ETA, NASC, IPPE, etc., with multiple BIO-CAT team members serving on committees and providing expertise when needed.
Q: What are your goals for the future of BIO-CAT, and where do you see the company heading in the next five to ten years?
CHRIS: Our investments in the business, and the fact that we kept our foot on the gas throughout the global pandemic, have allowed us to accelerate our results in 2024. We expect to double our business over the next five years from strategic R&D projects, clinical publications, and long lead time partner initiatives. Our strategy has always been to reinvest back into the business, which creates a flywheel effect where one success builds on the next.