Taste and colour-neutral microalgae as a plant-based food ingredient

With increasing consumer demand for sustainable, plant-based and protein-rich food, the Danish food-tech company Aliga Microalgae has succeeded in developing a nutritious white chlorophyll-free and flavour-neutral Chlorella algae as an alternative ingredient with large potential in the future plant-based food markets.

Algae is one of the most nutritional plants that can be consumed and in recent years more and more food and beverage manufacturers have started to explore the usage of algae as a vegan, sustainable, plant-based and protein-rich alternative. Yet, its high content of chlorophyll and strong flavour has so far prevented a wider use of it.

the company developed an algae ingredient with neutral flavour and colour to utilise the full nutritional properties of algae without affecting the sensory of the finished food.

From green outsider to sought-after ingredient

There are only six types of algae that are EFSA approved for human consumption today, Chlorella being one of them. Although Chlorella algae has been consumed in Europe as a dietary supplement since the 1950’s due to its rich nutritional profile, it has not gained attraction within the food ingredient markets because of its green colour and algae off-taste.

Aliga Microalgae is about to change this with its proprietary white Chlorella ingredient. From the beginning of their establishment, the goal was to bring algae from a niche supplement product to a core food ingredient in vegan, plant-based and hybrid food formulations. To do so, the company developed an algae ingredient with neutral flavour and colour whose improved organoleptic properties enables food manufacturers to utilise the full nutritional properties of algae without affecting the sensory of the finished food.

Clean label versatile superfood

Aliga Microalgae’s innovative ingredient is a clean-label superfood that only consists of fermented and dried Chlorella algae which naturally contains vitamins, minerals, fibres and protein amino acids. It can be applied in most plant-based and hybrid recipes, from analogue meat-, fish and seafood formulations to bakery-, savoury- and vegan cheese products as well as protein bars and granola.

The European plant-based market has increased rapidly over recent years and is expected to continue growing even faster pointing forward. Aliga Microalgae is today producing its Chlorella ingredients at its production facilities in Denmark and the Netherlands to meet the growing market demands for its algae-based ingredients.