Time-travelling Milkman appoints Matthijs Sillevis Smitt as CEO as Oleocream enters commercial scale-up

Time-travelling Milkman has appointed Matthijs Sillevis Smitt as Chief Executive Officer as the Dutch food-tech company moves from technology development toward full commercial deployment of its sunflower-derived ingredient Oleocream.

• Time-travelling Milkman appointed Matthijs Sillevis Smitt as CEO as the company enters its commercial scale-up phase and prepares for a Series A funding round.

• Founder Dimitris Karefyllakis transitioned to Growth & Innovation Director after leading the company through the development of its oleosome-based ingredient technology.

• The company is preparing to scale production of Oleocream, a sunflower-derived ingredient designed to replicate dairy fat functionality without dairy, allergens or tropical oils.

The Wageningen-based startup, founded in 2020 as a spin-off from Wageningen University & Research, said the leadership transition reflects its shift from research and development toward market adoption of its flagship ingredient.

Sillevis Smitt replaces founder Dimitris Karefyllakis as CEO. Karefyllakis will now focus on technology development and strategic growth initiatives as Growth & Innovation Director.

“Matthijs brings the entrepreneurial drive, commercial experience and food industry network that we need at this stage. Our journey is moving towards broader market adoption and Series A readiness,” Karefyllakis said.

Sillevis Smitt brings more than 20 years of experience across the food technology and fast-moving consumer goods sectors. His background includes founding S&S Baking Solutions and holding marketing leadership roles at Reckitt and Johnson & Johnson, where he worked on international product launches and brand strategy.

The company said his appointment reflects its intention to accelerate commercial partnerships with food manufacturers as it scales its ingredient platform.

“TTM’s team has built a truly unique technology. What struck me most is that Oleocream solves one of the biggest unsolved challenges in plant-based foods: delivering real creaminess, without dairy or allergens. With a fully equipped lab in Wageningen and commercial trials already underway, we are ready to introduce Oleocream to food manufacturers at scale,” Sillevis Smitt said.

At the center of Time-travelling Milkman’s technology platform is Oleocream, an ingredient derived from sunflower seeds that preserves the natural oil droplet structures known as oleosomes.

By maintaining these structures during processing, the company recreates the texture and functionality typically associated with dairy fat while remaining plant-based.

According to the company, the ingredient is produced using a water-only extraction process designed to maintain the structural integrity of the sunflower oleosomes while minimizing environmental impact. The resulting ingredient is allergen-free, rich in unsaturated fats and compatible with high-heat, fermentation and low-acidity applications.

The company said its process avoids tropical oils and chemical stabilizers and can deliver creaminess at a lower cost than dairy fat while significantly reducing environmental impact.

Production has already been scaled to approximately 1,000 tons per year, with plans to expand capacity as commercial adoption grows.

Time-travelling Milkman has been steadily building the foundations for this commercialization phase through funding rounds and research collaborations.

In September 2025, the company secured €2 million (US$2.1 million) in pre-Series A funding to accelerate industrial rollout of Oleocream and support partnerships with food manufacturers. Investors included Sparkalis, the venture arm of ingredients company Puratos, venture capital fund Evercurious and regional development agency Oost NL.

The company has also expanded its technology platform beyond fat functionality. In December 2025, Time-travelling Milkman partnered with NIZO Food Research and Duynie through an EFRO-funded program to develop circular sunflower-based food ingredients.

The collaboration focuses on three components derived from sunflower seeds: Oleocream as a fat ingredient for dairy alternatives, OleoPowder as a natural texturizer and SunPulp as a protein ingredient for plant-based meat applications.

In January 2026, the company announced another collaboration with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland through the Sunflopro project, which aims to convert sunflower processing side streams into functional protein ingredients.

Together, these initiatives reflect a broader strategy built around circular ingredient development in which multiple functional components are derived from the same sunflower feedstock.

As Time-travelling Milkman enters its next growth phase, the company said its immediate priorities include expanding commercial trials with food manufacturers across Europe, scaling Oleocream production and preparing for a Series A funding round.

The leadership transition, it said, marks the beginning of a new stage focused on bringing its sunflower-based ingredients from the laboratory to large-scale food manufacturing.