The Australian plant-based meat manufacturer v2food and the Dutch biotech Lgem have joined forces to make plant-based meat more appealing.
The companies collaborated to scale the production of RepliHue, a red microalgae-derived ingredient that replicates the visual experience of cooking conventional meat without synthetic additives, such as heme.
Shades of pink and brown during cooking
v2food, Australia’s leading brand, aims to provide sustainable, high-quality, and tasty plant-based meat to help people reduce their meat consumption. According to the company, a visual indication of successful cooking is needed to convince skeptical consumers of the viability of these alternatives.
The plant-based company, looking for clean-label solutions to enhance its products, identified a strain of temperature-sensitive red microalgae that reacts to heat exposure, creating different shades of pink and brown during cooking.
“v2food found the algae crucial in replicating the natural food coloring process of meat during cooking”
Later, recognizing the importance of expertise in industrial-scale algae cultivation, v2food reached AlgaeHUB by Lgem to produce the microalgae-based colorant at scale.
Pieter Oostlander, CSO at Lgem, shared in the case study of the microalgae cultivation: “v2food found the algae crucial in replicating the natural food coloring process of meat during cooking. They approached Lgem with the question of how to scale up the cultivation of this algae to an industrial level while optimizing production efficiency to the fullest extent.”
Industrial-scale algae cultivation
By harnessing the natural properties of microalgae, Lgem and v2food aim to make plant-based products more appealing to mainstream consumers, helping shift eating habits toward a more environmentally friendly future.
RepliHue is described as a clean-label and scalable protein solution that enhances the visual appeal of plant-based meats without synthetic additives. v2food publicly launched the first application of the plant-based colorant at the SXSW Sydney event in October 2023.
“This partnership underscores the potential of algae in transforming sustainable food solutions”
Following successful inoculations and trials, a production facility will be developed in Australia to produce the ingredient at an industrial scale and incorporate it into v2food’s plant-based meat.
“Lgem’s expertise in industrial-scale algae cultivation enabled the successful scale-up of this project, which is set to enter production in Australia. This partnership underscores the potential of algae in transforming sustainable food solutions,” Lgem shared on social media.
