Plant-based omega-3 pioneers Qualitas Health, Ltd., (doing business as “iwi”) is now partnering with Spain’s Grupo Indukern, Barcelona, and Sweden’s Gullspång Re:food VC, Stockholm. Officials say these strategic partnerships help Qualitas Health accelerate company growth through development of innovative, algae-centered products and increase its footprint in the plant-based products market.

Food oils and fats certainly benefit from the ongoing advancements in seed oil breeding, extraction technology, functionality improvement, and competition in the multibillion dollar field. And, as pointed out in these pages, new sources of oil from seeds, grains, and even algae are constantly expanding the options for processors.

Spirulina, commonly known as blue-green algae, is a photosynthetic bacteria valued for its rich nutritional profile and natural coloring properties, and it is one of two species of microalgae that are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the FDA.

One of the greatest challenges facing manufacturers and their culinary teams is developing products that not only meet the health, environmental, and clean-label demands of consumers, but that also deliver the high-quality taste and texture profiles indispensable to success. It falls on ingredient makers and suppliers to support these efforts.