Salmon from spirulina? Israeli food tech company commercializes seafood alternative

Israeli-based food tech company AlgaeCore Technologies is commercializing its spirulina ingredient – Simplii Texture – with the launch of a new facility and innovative technologies, creating a sea of opportunities for plant-based seafood and meat.

Launched in 2015, AlgaeCore is vertically integrated, growing the blue-green algae spirulina and using food tech to produce food ingredients, supplements and plant-based fish and meat under its SimpliiGood brand, Lior Shalev, company CEO and co-founder, explained.

“We have an amazing ability to actually produce analogs, which mimic meat and fish. We decided to start with smoked salmon because we think it is a super interesting product. Smoked salmon is becoming more expensive,” Shalev elaborated.

Creating plant-based salmon with food tech

AlgaeCore creates a plant-based smoked salmon that resembles and tastes like its animal-based counterpart using two IP-protected technologies.

First, AlgaeCore removes the green chlorophyll from the spirulina through a decolorization process that can turn the algae creamy white, purplish blue or salmon pink, Shalev explained. The process creates a sidestream that can be used for natural food dyes or supplements.

Then, a texturizing process condenses the spirulina into a high-moisture texturized vegetable protein, recreating the sensorial profile of smoked salmon, Shalev explained. This process does not require any extrusion or 3D printing – common methods in creating plant-based meat textures.

“We are using the inherent long fibers that we have inside the spirulina by itself,” he elaborated. “Our technology allows us to build a texture that is very similar to the long fibers you would find in fish or in meat.”

The end result is SimpliiGood, a single-ingredient meat and fish alternative that contains up to 74% protein, iron and beta-carotene, Shalev noted. Food manufacturers can combine the spirulina with rice flour, tapioca, oil and spices to create unique plant-based fish and meat, the company stated.

Food manufacturers in Germany, Holland, Italy, Israel and Switzerland are piloting Simplii Texture, and AlgaeCore expects the first retail launch to come from a private label product by the end of the year.

AlgaeCore achieved regulatory approval for its ingredients in Israel and Europe and will finish its FDA dossier in the coming months.

SimpliiGood on surviving the food tech hype cycle

Food tech companies are emerging on the other side of the Gartner hype cycle, as venture capitalists slowly return to the space, following years of lackluster investment in the space.

Since its inception, AlgaeCore netted $19 million in seed funding, including a key investment from NFX. The food tech company tacked another $4 million from the Israel Innovation Authority this month, bolstering its commercialization efforts, Shalev explained.

SimpliiGood controls its manufacturing process from harvesting to producing finished ingredients, providing a full picture on creating a commercially viable proteins, Shalev explained.

In contrast, many food tech companies are embracing an asset-light business model, where they supply the technology to a partner that manufactures an ingredient.

“When we are talking about food, it is not only about producing technology and selling that technology to someone else. It is about understanding your supply chain. It is about understanding how to scale. It is about understanding regulatory issues,” Shalev elaborated.