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Seaweed seen at the Free From Food expo !
Walking through the aisles of the Free From functionnal food expo in Amsterdam last month, you could easily notice a pavilion exclusively reserved to the seaweed sector.
Indeed, the free from food expo is Europe’s only dedicated free from and functional food trade show and conference. It gathered, last 23-24th november 2021, hundreds of exhibitors and actors of the free from (dairy, allerge, lactose, gluten, …), organic, vegan and functionnal worlds. And it is true that seaweeds are ticking most of these boxes : they are natural, free from additives or animal products, clean label, plant-based, and vegan.
A dozen of exhibitors, both producers of raw material/ingredient and finished goods including seaweeds were presenting their latest products.
Among them :
- A smoothie with added frozen green seaweed to bring a subtle umami taste and color (Dutch Seaweed group)
- Vegan tuna with 10% algae to make a tasty vegan tuna sandwich (Bettaf!sh)
- A vegan caviar, which pearls bursts open like caviar and offer a salty, umami and fishy taste thanks to seaweed (Cavinoir)
A common point between these 3 products ? For now, seaweed enter in their composition mostly for taste and texture but not really for their health benefits which are not proven yet.
So are algae really part of the future of food ? Or is it only a short-lived trend ?
According to Spoonshot’s analysis, references to seaweed, kelp, and algae in consumer and business media are inching up again after a significant decline over 2020, that might be related to the covid situation. Since early 2021, interest in seaweed has gone up by 20% and is projected to go up by another 15% over the next 12 months.
Like mushrooms, insects or yeasts, seaweeds are studied for their new potential health benefits including nutritional benefits and functional properties. It is said that they might have gut health benefits and that they are rich in vitamins, minerals, fibers and proteins depending on the type of seaweed. Apart its benefits for human consumption, seaweed also promise to be a great sustainable ingredient in regards to its potential of carbon capture to tackle climate change.
What are the growth factors of the algae sector ?
According to Vitor Verdelho, General Manager, founder and board member of the EABA (european algae biomass association), algar sector is likely to grow in the next few years in food (ingredients or health food) but also in feed, cosmetics, chemicals ou even fuels.
In the food sector, increasing public awareness about algae biomass will be a key factor to this growth as it would generates demand for producers, based on consumption. Novel food approvals will also be eagerly awaited as it will open the door to new product developement and allow a larger trade portfolio. Furthermore, technlogy and R&D bottlenecks such as scaling up the production still need to be overcame.
No doubts that we will see new food products with seaweed as ingredients in the next few years : snacks, condiments&spices, soups&canned goods, fresh produce and supplements are the main food categories more likely to contain it.
