New Zealand-based biotechnology startup Nutrition from Water (NXW), previously known as NewFish, has developed a microalgae-based whey for sports, wellness, advanced nutrition, and other categories such as baking and dairy-free confectionery.
Branded as Marine Whey, the ingredient is said to offer an amino acid profile that rivals that of leading traditional animal proteins while surpassing plant-based proteins in digestibility. Described as allergen-free, vegan, and non-GMO, the protein ingredient is currently undergoing certification for self-attained GRAS.
In addition, it has a neutral sensory profile, allowing for multiple applications, from nutritional foods and beverages to everyday meals and snacks, benefiting elite athletes and everyday consumers alike.
The biotech plans to introduce Marine Whey to the global market within the next year, starting with the US and Japan. In the US, NXW recently joined MISTA, a San Francisco-based open innovation food technology ecosystem, as a startup member, where it presented samples of its microalgae-based whey. Notable startups that have scaled through the MISTA ecosystem include NotCo, Geltor, and Yali Bio.
“Just like high-quality dairy whey”
“We’re finalizing our Marine Whey™ prototypes and planning to supply many tonnes over the coming year to prioritized coalition partners, and we’re having fun with the MISTA ecosystem testing various applications.
“Our Marine Whey™ behaves and functions just like high-quality dairy whey, with a much smaller environmental footprint and a price point at scale that allows us to feed millions of growing families across Africa, Asia Pacific, and the Americas,” NXW CEO Toby Lane shared when announcing the partnership with MISTA.
The MISTA partnership follows NXW’s winning Cargill’s Nutrition for Tomorrow Award 2024 in Singapore at Future Food Asia in May 2024.
Non-extractive proteins
Founded in 2022 by Hamish Howard and Alex Worker, NXW aims to create a new food category by fermenting microscopic organisms like microalgae from pristine rivers, lakes, thermal springs, and oceans.
To avoid disrupting natural ecosystems, the company utilizes non-extractive marine science — fermentation — to preserve marine biodiversity while supporting human nutrition.
NXW has offices in Auckland and San Francisco today and is working with a manufacturer in Portugal to scale the product for next year’s launch.
The company is backed by leading biotechnology investors, including the San Francisco accelerator IndieBio, Katapult Ocean from Norway, the SOSV fund, and New Zealand Olympian and SailGP sailor Pete Burling. Additionally, the startup has the backing of the New Zealand Government’s Ministry for Primary Industries through the Sustainable Food & Fibre Futures fund.
Making microalgae nutrients accessible
NXW, dedicated to advancing its “natural nutrition from water,” in collaboration with the Cawthron Institute, has explored over 300 live strains in culture and another 300 cryopreserved strains that could potentially represent new superfoods.
As explained by the company, a primary criterion for selecting these microalgae is their high protein content, which is crucial for natural nutrition food applications. Other essential traits for commercial scalability include high yields (microalgae that can double in biomass daily), effective incorporation in food, and better performance in industrial settings.
The startup points out that utilizing microalgae creates low-impact and circular production systems, where microalgae produce sugars used by other microalgae to make proteins.
“Microalgae are an armored organism, and some are extremely robust. Utilizing proprietary technology and IP, NXW breaks down that armor through processes such as high-pressure homogenization to make the nutrients inside the microalgae accessible to the human body and to neutralize the taste, aroma, and colour.”
