The Norwegian company came to market three years ago with DHA-only algae oils and now seeks to meet demand for oils containing both EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid).
“Because fish has always contained both EPA and DHA, there’s a natural expectation in the market for that,” Ståle Søfting, sales and marketing director at GC Rieber VivoMega AS, told NutraIngredients.
Boosting EPA and DHA in algae omega-3 oils
The new ingredient is highly concentrated and is able to deliver large amounts of EPA and DHA in their natural triglyceride form for better absorption and formulation efficiency, according GC Rieber VivoMega.
“This allows brands and formulators to either use less oil and co-formulate with other ingredients, or simply deliver a bigger dose of omega-3,” Søfting said.
“The oil is separated from the biomass, and we take the oil into our plant as our raw material. We clean it, purify it and concentrate it. We make various ratios of EPA and DHA, and we run them through the same quality processes as our fish oils, including an extremely neutral taste and smell profile.”
Sustainability and flexibility drive rising demand for algae-based omega-3 oils
Multiple consumer categories are driving this growing demand for combined EPA and DHA algae oil products, Søfting noted.
“Obviously, there’s the vegan part of the market but also other parts of the market that aren’t specifically looking for vegan products but are potentially looking for a sustainability story around their product,” he said.
The demand for a sustainability narrative is becoming key as consumers want flexibility in their food and supplement choices.
“I think I see more of the sustainability driver across the board as people swap in and out of not just veganism but also how willing they are to engage with animal-derived products, and people are kind of coming back to them in some ways,” Søfting said.
GC Rieber VivoMega has worked with fish oils for around 60 years, sourcing them from natural, wild-caught fish in the ocean, although supply can fluctuate due to climate conditions. In contrast, algae oils are produced on land through fermentation in controlled tank environments.
“There’s no pollution like there unfortunately is in the ocean,” Søfting said. “As a source of omega-3, we think algae oils are needed in the space to meet future demand.”
Algae omega-3 cost reductions and scale to rival fish oil
The momentum to bring algae omega-3 products to the market is very likely to continue, Søfting noted, highlighting that the algal omega-3 category is needed to meet future global demand.
He said that it could even have the potential to match fish oil production as the industry sees more algae oil production at scale, and while it is an expensive business now, it is becoming more cost effective as technology develops.
“Cost has to improve over time to really compete with fish, but that’s developing step by step,” he added. “Down the road, anything is possible.”
