Origin by Ocean and Valio issue a statement of intent on making use of Baltic Sea algae in food production. Valio's research and product development team scientists will begin testing how Origin by Ocean's refined algae ingredients work in food products.
Origin by Ocean’s vision is to create a business ecosystem based on Baltic algae in Finland. Valio’s product development know-how is the strongest Finland’s food industry, its research laboratories having been led by Nobel Prize winner A.I. Virtanen for nearly 50 years.
Ingredients from algae
Snacks have become increasingly important in Finland’s everyday life, and this trend seems to not be settling down. It’s possible to use natural processing aids made of algae that maintain the product’s texture until the expiration date to help in manufacturing. Having the product’s texture in good condition will help to generate less food waste. Hopefully, future algae applications may lead into entirely new kinds of products.
– It’s great to be involved in supporting a Finnish company that is developing future food innovations from the algae in local waters. Until now, algae-based texture-controlling agents have not been available in Finland. We at Valio have accumulated a wide variety of experience of different ingredients over the decades, from milk to oats and berries. Now, it’s fun to get to test an ingredient that’s all new to use with a young company, says Valio SVP for research and development Harri Kallioinen.
– This is an important step for us on our path towards new products in the food and snack markets. We are aiming for more future use of algae-based ingredients in food products. What’s also important to us is having production close to the consumer, says Origin by Ocean founder, Chief Business Activist Mikael Westerlund.
