ALGEMY INGREDIENTS is a young and innovative start-up based in Vic, in the north of Barcelona. The mission of the company is to develop ingredients from microalgae that are truly healthy, sustainable and delicious.
One of the main objectives of the INNOAQUA project is to extract high-added value ingredients from algae biomass, both macroalgae and microalgae, to be used in the formulation of innovative seafood products. In this sense, ALGEMY INGREDIENTS SL is taking an active role in the demonstration of the microalgae biorefinery in a pre-commercial scale, developing a sustainable single cascade extraction process suitable to obtain several ingredients that meet the food formulators needs and that can valorise the whole microalgae biomass.
Microalgae are unicellular microorganisms that are rich in protein, lipids (including omega-3 fatty acids), vitamins, pigments, and other health-beneficial components. All these natural compounds can be extracted, isolated, and turned into nutrition ingredients useful for the formulation of innovative vegan food products. All these ingredients, together with those obtained from macroalgae and fish leftovers, will be extensively characterized, focusing on their techno-functional properties (such as their water holding capacity, emulsifying, jellifying and foaming properties…) in order to obtain products that meet the requirements of food formulators and packaging developers in terms of characteristics, safety, quality and regulatory compliance.
Along the INNOAQUA project, ALGEMY will not only take part in the processing of the microalgae biomass to extract 5 unique ingredients (proteins, carotenoids and omega-3 rich oil, vitamins, peptides and amino acids and a carbohydrate-rich solid fraction) but will also take part in the incorporation of these ingredients into the formulation of different innovative vegan products. Specifically, the company will develop microalgae vegan snacks and powdered meals, such as cookies, protein shakes, energy bars or omega-3 rich gummy bears. All these products will benefit from the excellent nutritional properties of the ingredients obtained from algae.
The development of the innovative vegan algae-based food products will be performed with a sustainability perspective, as well as with a consumer-oriented approach. In this sense, ALGEMY is participating in understanding how consumer perception and social norms affect the consumption of innovative algae-based seafood products. This information will lead to the identification of main consumer target groups and ultimately to the involvement of these final consumers in a co-creation methodology that aims to achieve product prototypes that enjoy broad social acceptance and improved market penetration.
