Dallas-based restaurant holding company Great American Food Chain has completed its merger with GreenMatter Biotech, which commercializes plant-based, biodegradable alternatives to traditional plastics, to bring existing R&D, distribution, and retail partnerships in the regenerative materials space.

“GreenMatter goes into this next chapter with real momentum”, Joe H. Wicker Jr., CEO of Phoenix-based GreenMatter, said in a statement.

“We closed 2025 with $2.5 million in revenue and the market is moving in our direction,” the CEO added. “The demand for biodegradable materials is not a future conversation. It’s happening now, and we’ve built the product platform and the partnerships to meet it at scale. Our goal is to become a leader in the plant-based biodegradable industry. The public markets give us the visibility and the capital access to accelerate what we’ve already put in motion.”

Wicker will assume the roles of CEO and chairman

Edward Sigmond—who served as chairman, president, and CEO of Great American Food Chain since its founding in 2003—is stepping down with the merger, as his leadership paved the way for the transition. Wicker is assuming the roles of CEO and chairman of the board of directors of the combined company and will lead GreenMatter Biotech’s next phase of growth across product development, distribution, and strategic partnerships, the company said.

Under Wicker’s leadership, GreenMatter Biotech had a profitable first year and $2.5 million in revenue in 2025 and now moves into more public markets with the merger, the company said. With an active pipeline, expanding distributor relationships, and growing demand for biodegradable materials, the combined company is ready for continued expansion into the second half of 2026 and beyond, Green Matter added. 

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